How to clear virtual memory, and why it should be done

Users of personal computers should know that there are more than one type of memory. Elementary concepts about this we are taught at the first lessons of computer science at school. So, many probably remember that in addition to the computer's RAM, there is also virtual memory. This concept is inherent in most modern operating systems. Its wide distribution can easily be explained by its low cost and at the same time considerable advantages. After all, virtual memory helps to increase the performance of the CPU without unnecessary costs. What is she like?

Currently, many computers use 32 or 64 megabytes of RAM. For a single execution of many programs this is a catastrophically small amount. We used to do several things at the same time, and therefore often run the browser along with the mail services, adding to that music player and text editor. Running all together, these programs cause a big load on the processor, and there is not enough RAM for them. If there were no virtual analogue in the system, it would be necessary to close unnecessary processes.

Principle of operation

The essence of the virtual memory in this case is this: the computer searches the RAM for data that has not been used for a long time, and creates their copies on the hard disk. This, in turn, will free up additional space that will be used to download new programs and applications. The process of copying occurs automatically, which means that users do not even know about it. Or consider that the memory in their computer is enough for a hundred or more applications. In fact, every access to virtual memory reduces performance.

If this happens infrequently, the owner of the computer simply does not notice the slowing down of the machine. But the constant use of virtual memory can significantly affect the work. Therefore, such an important condition for good performance was and will be the amount of "RAM". If it is enough, then the slowdown is less damaging: we see only a short pause when changing tasks. Also, to preserve performance and privacy, users need to know how to clear virtual memory.

Why it is necessary

In operation, virtual memory uses a so-called swap file. It stores all the collected data about the computer and its owner. This is rather risky, since especially dangerous viruses can get to it. Therefore, in order to prevent undesirable consequences and to protect yourself from the threat, it is so important to remember how to clean virtual memory. It is best to do this periodically.

How to clear Windows XP virtual memory

In this system, there is a function that allows automatic cleaning of memory, but initially it is disabled. In order not to conduct the tedious procedure manually (the more that you will have to do this all the time), the most reasonable thing is to use this built-in function. So, how to clean up virtual memory on a Windows system.

First you need to go through the start menu to the control panel. There we will need the "administration" icon. Clicking it twice with the left mouse button opens a new window. In it, you need to find the tab of the local security policy and go over it. The opened window will have the name "Local security settings". In it we will choose again local policies and security settings.

Here, attention should be paid to the option "Shutting down: clearing the page file of virtual memory". Click on it with the right mouse button, select the properties. There are only two provisions here, change to included and save your choice. Now we know how to clean up virtual memory. It remains to restart the computer two times (!) In order for the changes to take effect: then the paging file will be automatically cleaned.