How to increase virtual memory in Windows XP with Service Pack 2

Transcription

1 How to increase virtual memory in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 1. Double-click on 'My Computer' found on the desktop. 2. Click on 'Control Panel' in the left hand pane of 'My Computer' under the category 'Other Places'. 3. Double-click on the 'System' icon in the main window of the control panel.

2 4. Navigate to the tab labeled 'Advanced'.

3 5. Under the performance heading, click the button labeled 'Settings'. This will be the first button on the 'Advanced' tab. 6. In the newly opened dialog, 'Performance Options', once again navigate to the table labeled, 'Advanced'. This tab pane outlines various options regarding the performance of your system. For this guide we will ignore the 'Processor scheduling' and 'Memory usage' options and skip down to 'Virtual memory'. Windows XP comes with a built in feature called a paging file. The paging file is a section of your hard drive that Windows reserves for system usage. The operating system manages this area of your hard drive as if it were additional memory, hence the name 'Virtual Memory'. How Windows does this is beyond the scope of this guide, however what is important is how much space Windows is allowed to allocate for this use.

4 7. Note current the paging file size which is listed in the organizational box labeled, 'Virtual memory'. Microsoft recommends that the paging file be no smaller than the amount of physical memory in the computer. If you are not certain how much physical memory is in your computer, follow the Side Task: Determining the amount of physical memory in your computer. If you do know how much physical memory your computer has, skip ahead to step 8. Side Task: Determining the amount of physical memory in your computer. Click the cancel button on the 'Performance Options' dialog. You should now be back to the 'Advanced' tab of the 'System Properties' dialog. Navigate to the tab labeled, 'General' on the 'System Properties' dialog. This tab pane lists general system information for your computer. The info is divided into three sections, System, Registered to, and Computer.

5 Under the heading, Computer, look for the line that lists the amount of RAM. This pane will look slightly different for each computer/ hardware combination. However, generally the amount of RAM is listed on the third line under the 'Computer' heading. Make a note of the amount of RAM listed under the 'Computer' heading. Also make a note as to whether this amount is given in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). Navigate back to the 'Advanced' tab. Once again click on the 'Settings' button under the 'Performance' heading. Navigate to the tab labeled, 'Advanced' in the 'Performance Options' dialog.

6 8. If the size of the paging file, listed under the 'Virtual memory' heading, is less than the amount of physical memory in your computer, click on the button labeled, 'Change'. The newly opened dialog box is divided into three main sections. The topmost area lists the hard drives available to your computer along with their 'Volume Label' and the size of the paging file stored on that hard drive [If there is one]. The middle section of this dialog houses options for how the paging file is managed as well as the minimum and maximum size of the paging file. Finally, the bottommost section of the dialog shows vital statistics for the current state of the paging file. 9. Select the drive that shows sizing information under 'Paging File Size (MB)' in the hard drive list box. If your computer has only one hard drive installed there will be only one entry in this list box. Otherwise, the paging file is usually stored on the hard drive that also has your Windows installation on it.

7 10. In the middle area of the 'Virtual Memory' dialog, select the radio item labeled, 'Custom size'.

8 11. In the box labeled 'Initial size (MB)' type in the amount of physical memory your computer has. The number in this box must be listed in terms of megabytes (MB). If the amount of physical memory listed in the 'General' tab of the 'System Properties' dialog was given in terms of gigabytes (GB) then you must multiply the number given by 1,000 before entering it into this box. Otherwise, enter the number as it was given.

9 12. In the box labeled 'Maximum size (MB)' type in two times the number you supplied in Step 11.

10 13. Click the button labeled, 'Set' in the middle section of the current dialog. 14. Click 'OK' to save the changes you've made and close the 'Virtual Memory' dialog. 15. Click 'OK' to save the changes and close the 'Performance Options' dialog. 16. Finally, click 'OK' once more to save changes made and close the 'System Properties' dialog. Congratulations! You've increased the size of your virtual memory in the Windows XP operating system. You should now notice an increase in speed when opening new programs and running memory intensive applications.