How to increase Virtual Memory size (if ram is low)

If your computer is slower then one of the most vital causes is the installed RAM. If your RAM size is small and you are running more applications at a time, then you may face different problems. 

To avoid such problems windows create a virtual memory space on your HDD and it automatically manages it. Virtual memory is nothing but the reserved memory space in your HDD to assist RAM. By increasing the virtual memory available for your system you can increase the performance of your system. Please follow the simple steps below to increase your system's performance.

NOTE:-Low RAM size is not the only problem for slower performance. The performance of your system also depend upon your processor speed and other factors. So by increasing only the virtual memory you may not experience more performance speed. Increasing the virtual memory will increase your performance a bit.

Step 1:- Go To Advance System Settings

In Windows XP
In windows XP right click on the My Computer and select "Properties". You will find the "System Properties" window. In this window click on the "Advanced" tab to reach to the Advanced System Settings.
In Windows Vista and later
In Windows Vista and Windows 7 right click on the My Computer and select "Properties". You will find a window giving you the information regarding your window version, RAM, Processor information. In this window click on the "Advanced System Settings" located at left side.

Otherwise you can also go through the Control Panel --> System.

Step 2:- Go To Performance Option

In the Advanced tab of the System Properties locate the Performance group and click on the "Setting" to reach "Performance Option". In the performance option window click on the "Advanced" tab.

Step 3:- Reach the Virtual memory Settings Window.

In the Advanvced tab of Performance Option locate the Virtual Memory group and click on "Change" to reach at the "Virtual Memory" Window.
Here you can find the actual size of the virtual memory for your system. Uncheck the "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" check box to set virtual memory yourself.

You can select the drive in which the virtual memory will be created. When you select a particular drive the window will show you the free space available on that drive.




In the above picture you can find that C drive is selected and the option "System managed Size" is active. If "No Paging File" option is selected then we are not using paging file in that particular drive.

N.B:- The page file is created during the Windows installation and resides on the hard drive in which windows is installed. Page files are measured in MB and otherwise known as virtual memory and the size of the page file is based on how much RAM is installed in the computer. By default, a page file is 1.5 times the amount of installed RAM. 

Step 4:- Change the Virtual Memory.

To set the virtual memory select the desired drive and see the recommended size and currently allocated size. Then select "Custom size" option. 
Now give a "Initial Size" and "Maximum Size" in MB and click on "Set" to set the virtual memory. 



You have to set the maximum size larger than the currently allocated size to increase the performance. For initial size it may be between the size of the installed RAM to currently allocated size.

NOTE:- While setting virtual memory make sure to close all the running programs. It is not mandatory to close all the programs but it is recommended. 

You must have administrative access to the system to change virtual memory size.

How To Change Windows 7 Logon Screen Easily [Without Using Hacks & Tools]

Finally Microsoft has incorporated a new feature in the latest version of Windows which allows the end user to change the logon screen background without having to use any hacks or third-party tools.

In previous version of Windows, user had no option but to use third-parry tools like Tune-Up-Utilities to change the logon screen background. But in Windows 7, the case is different. Windows 7 now supports customization of Windows 7 logon screen officially. Replacing the old logon screen is as easy as changing desktop wallpaper (desktop background). Thanks to withinwindows for finding out this excellent feature.

Follow the given procedure below to change the Windows 7 logon screen:

Step 1: Download the registry file from here. Extract the file and double-click on the file to enable this feature (Alternative method: right-click, select Merge).

Step 2: Now, head over to the following folder:

C:\Windows\System32\oobe (“C” is your Windows Seven Installation drive)

Step 3: Here, create a new folder named Info. Again, create a new folder inside the Info folder and rename it as backgrounds.

Step 4: Copy your favorite image file to this folder and rename it as backgroundDefault. Note that the image must be in JPG format and the size should be less than 256 KB.

Step 5: You are done. Reboot your system and see the change.

The following files (sorted by width-to-height ratio) are supported in C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info\Backgrounds folder:

* backgroundDefault.jpg
* background768×1280.jpg  (0.6)
* background900×1440.jpg  (0.625)
* background960×1280.jpg  (0.75)
* background1024×1280.jpg (0.8)
* background1280×1024.jpg (1.25)
* background1024×768.jpg  (1.33-)
* background1280×960.jpg  (1.33-)
* background1600×1200.jpg (1.33-)
* background1440×900.jpg  (1.6)
* background1920×1200.jpg (1.6)
* background1280×768.jpg  (1.66-)
* background1360×768.jpg  (1.770833-)

And users who prefer to use a third-party instead can check out free tools such as Windows 7 Logon Screen Changer and Logon Screen Rotator to set your own picture as logon screen background withe a mouse click. How to change Windows 8 lock screen guide might also interest you.