In terms of buying more RAM, you should also take into account that if you have a relatively old PC, it can be a complicated task, as stores nowadays only have DDR4 RAM in stock and it is extremely hard to find DDR3 RAM for sale, let’s not talk about DDR2, which is the type of RAM used by old PCs. Either way, you just might not want to spend the money to expand your computer’s RAM, but if you get an out of memory error, you want to know if there is something to do first. to verify.
Insufficient memory, why is this error displayed?
When the operating system gives you the Out of Memory error, the meaning is quite literal: your PC does not have enough memory to do what you were doing and therefore you cannot do it. As you well know, RAM is a very valuable resource in any PC and unfortunately it is quite limited, although as we have already told you today it is usually more than enough. to have 8 GB for most things, or 16 GB if you already intend to use the PC for heavier tasks or for gaming.
The RAM memory management in Windows 10 is quite good, and although you can see that with the PC just booting up you have virtually no RAM available, this is because the operating system pre- allocates memory resources to the programs that you use most frequently in order to accelerate their load of allocating memory resources to its internal management. In the event that more memory is needed to run other programs, Windows will reallocate this pre-allocated memory to make room for new tasks, but the physical capacity of your RAM may be literally insufficient.
Either way, don’t despair, because while Microsoft itself says the minimum amount of RAM required to run Windows 10 is 2GB for 64-bit systems, it is capable of running with that memory capacity. .. as long as they are well managed. Resources. So let’s see what we the users can do about it.
Is the RAM in good condition?
It never hurts to first check if the RAM memory is in good condition and correctly configured, as there is a possibility that there is a part of it which cannot be used because it is damaged. It is rare, but it can happen, so we will check it in the simplest way possible, that is, with the tool that integrates the operating system itself. To do this, click the Start button and type “Windows Memory Diagnostic” (without the quotes) to start the tool.
A window will appear that will offer you two options (in addition to canceling, of course):
- Reboot now and check if there are any issues (recommended) what it will do is reboot the system and start the memory checker. If it finds any problem, it will let you know, so that you can act on it (for example this tool will tell you if there are any fatal errors in memory, in which case you would have no other choice. than replacing it with another because it will be damaged). .
- Check for problems the next time you start the computer. With this option, you will be able to continue using the computer normally, but the next time you turn it off, turn it back on, or restart it, this memory checker will start.
Adjust system settings to consume less RAM
Windows 10, and in particular its latest versions, is designed for relatively modern PCs that are overloaded with hardware resources and, as a result, RAM memory consumption may be increased. Fortunately, it is very easy to reduce Windows RAM usage if you have insufficient memory, so you will have to click on the Start button and type “Control Panel” to access the old Windows Control Panel. Then, in the Control Panel, click on “System”.
In the window that opens, you need to click on “Advanced System Settings” located on the left side.
A new window will open, in which you will need to access the Advanced Options tab and, in the Performance section, click on the “Settings …” button.
A new window will open in which you can adjust the visual effects; By default, “Let Windows choose the most suitable configuration for the computer” is selected, but if you encounter the Insufficient memory error, it is clear that this is not the most suitable, so you can always select the last one. option and modify it or directly check the option “Adjust for better performance”.
This will make Windows a bit more “ugly” visually, but it will improve your performance and decrease your RAM consumption, so this is ideal if you get the out of memory error.
Insufficient memory? Use virtual memory
Finally, the best solution for PCs with little physical RAM is to use virtual memory. This will reserve part of your storage device as if it were RAM; This is not ideal as its performance is much lower, but at least you will not have the problem of insufficient memory and it will allow you to run the programs that you could not before.
To enable it you need to go back to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced System Settings -> Advanced Options -> Performance -> Settings, but instead of configuring the Visual Effects tab, you need to go to the advanced options again. where you will see At the bottom you have the Virtual Memory option.
Click the Edit button and make sure you’ve enabled it. In the next window, you can manually assign the part of the hard drive that you want to use as virtual memory or if you want Windows to manage it automatically. This is however strongly recommended on computers that have less than 8 GB of RAM.
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