Virtual Memory
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office politics
It's all just 1s and 0s
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from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/v/virtual_memory.html
virtual memory
(n.) An imaginary memory area supported by some operating systems (for example, Windows but not DOS) in conjunction with the hardware. You can think of virtual memory as an alternate set of memory addresses. Programs use these virtual addresses rather than real addresses to store instructions and data. When the program is actually executed, the virtual addresses are converted into real memory addresses.
The purpose of virtual memory is to enlarge the address space, the set of addresses a program can utilize. For example, virtual memory might contain twice as many addresses as main memory. A program using all of virtual memory, therefore, would not be able to fit in main memory all at once. Nevertheless, the computer could execute such a program by copying into main memory those portions of the program needed at any given point during execution.
To facilitate copying virtual memory into real memory, the operating system divides virtual memory into pages, each of which contains a fixed number of addresses. Each page is stored on a disk until it is needed. When the page is needed, the operating system copies it from disk to main memory, translating the virtual addresses into real addresses.
The process of translating virtual addresses into real addresses is called mapping. The copying of virtual pages from disk to main memory is known as paging or swapping.
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Real-World Answers about Virtual Memory
HoLoCroN
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Nice link Samuels.... good find and thanks for providing the source!
As far as Disk space needed, the computer automatically sets aside a certain amount of disk space for virtual memory (Also known as the "page" file).
Depending on the size of your hard drive, window will usually set a percentage. You can also manually change this by going into system settings.
WinXP
Right Click on "My Computer" and go to "Properties" then click on the "Advanced" tab. There you can click on the "Settings" button in the Performance section. Click on the "Advanced" tab and you will see the Virtual Memory section on the bottom and amount alloted. If you want to change it just hit the Change Button.
Win2k
Right Click on "My Computer" and go to "Properties" then click on the "Advanced" tab. There you can click on the "Performance Options" button in the Performance section.
You will see the section called Virtual Memory then click on "Change."
As far as Disk space needed, the computer automatically sets aside a certain amount of disk space for virtual memory (Also known as the "page" file).
Depending on the size of your hard drive, window will usually set a percentage. You can also manually change this by going into system settings.
WinXP
Right Click on "My Computer" and go to "Properties" then click on the "Advanced" tab. There you can click on the "Settings" button in the Performance section. Click on the "Advanced" tab and you will see the Virtual Memory section on the bottom and amount alloted. If you want to change it just hit the Change Button.
Win2k
Right Click on "My Computer" and go to "Properties" then click on the "Advanced" tab. There you can click on the "Performance Options" button in the Performance section.
You will see the section called Virtual Memory then click on "Change."
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