The computer's virtual memory is used in multitasking operating systems. Thanks to it, it provides greater efficiency when running multiple programs.
Virtual memory is the portion of the hard disk space allocated by the system when there is insufficient RAM to improve performance. In this case, data that is not currently used by the computer is moved to the so-called paging file. The size of this file is the same as the amount of virtual memory. As a rule, for the normal functioning of the system, the size of the paging file should be 1.5 times the size of the RAM. But if the user often plays computer games with complex graphics or 3D-animation, or creates complex programs himself, then the file size should be doubled or even tripled in relation to RAM. Connecting virtual memory allows more rational use of RAM resources by moving secondary data to secondary storage. At the same time, the processes running simultaneously work in isolation, "not knowing" about each other. There are two ways to implement virtual memory: page and segment. In a paged implementation, the RAM is divided into regions of the same size (pages), which are taken as a unit of memory. A running process sends a memory request to an address contained in virtual memory. The address represents the page number and offset within it. The system can flush a page that has not been used for a long time to the hard disk. Segment organization divides virtual memory into segments of arbitrary size. When a process accesses memory, some of the segments are moved to RAM, and some remain on the hard disk. A certain level of access rights can be assigned to each segment. The work of segment memory is similar to page memory, but it has a slower access speed. In most cases, the increase in virtual memory occurs automatically, but there are situations when the user needs to do it manually. However, in this case, you need to keep in mind that the system performance may exceed acceptable limits and the computer, on the contrary, will become much slower. You can manually increase the virtual memory in the Control Panel in the "System" or "System and its maintenance" section. On the command "Change parameters" the "System Properties" window appears, in which you need to select the "Advanced" tab. In the "Performance" section - the "Options" button. In the window "Performance Settings" - the "Advanced" tab, "Virtual memory" -> "Change". To increase the paging file size, uncheck the "Automatically select paging file size" command and set the required value.
