| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| 1029usr078198 |
Posted - September 25 2009 : 08:49:48
Listen now. or Download the archive.
Question: Glen asks, "I get this message every once in a while that says, 'Virtual Memory Low'. Does this mean I need more memory?"
Answer: Well, Glen, great question. First, I want to assure you that nothing is actually wrong with your computer. Memory (or RAM) is a finite resource but regardless of how much RAM you actually have, Windows lets each program think it has 2 gigabytes. When more RAM is needed than is available, Windows swaps old data to a file on disk to make room; if that old data is needed later, it'll be swapped back in. Because this process creates memory that doesn't really exist, it's called Virtual Memory, and the file that Windows uses is called a "swap file". When Windows manages the size of the swap file, it tries to make the file as small as possible to conserve disk space. That message you get says that Windows is enlarging the swap file. It doesn't take long, but if you get an "out of memory" error from a program during that time, just try again to do whatever you were doing after the message goes away.
Cool Site: Microsoft At Home: Did you ever wonder if your password is weak? Would you like to test it? Would you like to know how to optimize the performance of your computer or add memory? These are just a few of the things you can do at the Microsoft At Home website. I have to admit that the memory article is a bit dated now, but it's still useful because it shows how to know when to add memory. You can learn about new security features in Windows 7, to be released in less than a month. You can also download game demos and learn many ways to more effectively use your computer. Areas of interest include pictures, videos, music, security and troubleshooting. By the way, check the show notes: I've got a link to a Tim Hawkins video on YouTube about troubleshooting.
Cool Gadget: Cellular Enabled Router: You've no doubt seen the commercials about Sprint's MiFi that lets you connect up to 5 users to their cellular network. And for a couple of weeks we've been considering cellular wireless Internet access. Well this week, we'll talk about the Netgear Cellular-enabled router. With this router, you plug a USB cellular device from your cell carrier into the router and then you can connect 4 wired or many wireless computers to the Internet. The nice thing about this is that while you can use it in your home, just like a cable or DSL router, you can take it with you in the car or RV, unlike wired connections. You can use it in places where Cable or DSL isn't available. Cable and DSL are noticeably faster technologies, so they aren't going away anytime soon, they just aren't portable.
It's All "Geek" To Me: Defragment: On last week's show, we talked about fragmentation. This week, we turn our attention to Defragment. Remembering the magazine article that starts on one page, then says "Continued on Page something-or-other". This article is fragmented. If you defragmented the article, when you ran out of page, you'd just turn the page and the story would continue. In the case of computer files, defragmenting puts for a given file, all the little blocks of data in a row so that they can all be quickly read from one end to the other. That's how defragmenting speeds up your computer, but you really don't have to do it more than 3 or 4 times a year, because it's a very intense process in terms of how much it works your hardware.
Links
Microsoft At Home:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/
Tim Hawkins – Tech Support on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkLq1j1kOaU&feature=related
Computer Trap Shoot 2006 on YouTube [You’ve got to see this! (Websclusive Link)]:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXUIlULqUGQ&feature=related
Sprint MiFi (Scroll to bottom of page):
http://www.sprint.com/business/?id12=UHPCHP_Link_ShopBusinessSolutions
Netgear Cellular-enabled router:
http://www.netgear.com/3g
List of compatible USB Cellular Modems:
http://www.netgear.com/3G_uSB_Modems
Defragment on TechTerms:
http://www.techterms.com/definition/defragment |
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