How to Fix Low Virtual Memory on Windows

What Causes This?

Low virtual memory happens when Windows runs out of available RAM and doesn’t have enough paging file space on your drive to handle the extra load. This is usually caused by too many apps running at once, a paging file that’s too small or disabled, or a system drive that’s nearly full. In some cases, memory-heavy programs, browser tabs, or background startup apps create enough pressure to trigger the warning.

Common Symptoms

• Windows shows a “Your system is low on virtual memory” warning
• Apps freeze, crash, or take a long time to open
• The PC becomes very slow when multitasking
• Browser tabs reload often or stop responding
• You notice high memory usage in Task Manager

How to Fix It Manually

1. Check current memory usage

   • Open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
   • Click More details if needed.
   • Open the Processes tab and sort by Memory to see which apps are using the most RAM.
   • Close apps you don’t need, especially browsers with many tabs, games, editors, or virtual machines.

2. Restart your PC

   • Click Start > Power > Restart.
   • A restart clears stuck background processes and can immediately reduce memory pressure.

3. Make sure the paging file is enabled and managed properly

   • Press Windows key + S, type advanced system settings, and open View advanced system settings.
   • Under Performance, click Settings.
   • Go to the Advanced tab, then under Virtual memory, click Change.
   • Make sure Automatically manage paging file size for all drives is checked.
   • If it was off, turn it on, click OK, and restart your PC.

4. Increase the paging file manually if needed

   • Go back to Advanced system settings > Performance > Settings > Advanced > Virtual memory > Change.
   • Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
   • Select your system drive, usually C:.
   • Choose Custom size.
   • Set Initial size to about 1.5 times your installed RAM in MB and Maximum size to about 3 times your RAM in MB.
     • Example: for 8 GB RAM, use 12288 MB initial and 24576 MB maximum.
   • Click Set, then OK, and restart the PC.

5. Free up space on your system drive

   • Open Settings > System > Storage.
   • Check how much free space is left on C:.
   • Delete temporary files, empty the Recycle Bin, and remove large apps or files you no longer need.
   • If your drive is nearly full, Windows may not be able to expand the paging file properly.

6. Disable unnecessary startup apps

   • Open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
   • Go to the Startup apps tab.
   • Right-click apps you don’t need at startup and choose Disable.
   • Restart and see if memory usage improves.

7. Check for apps with abnormal memory use

   • In Task Manager, watch whether one app keeps climbing in memory usage over time.
   • If so, update that app, reinstall it, or stop using it temporarily.
   • If the problem happens all the time during normal use, your PC may simply need more physical RAM.

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Kudu can help fix low virtual memory problems by cleaning temporary files, freeing disk space, reducing startup load, and cutting down background system pressure. It’s a faster way to handle the common causes without digging through multiple Windows menus yourself.

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