FIX: "Limited Virtual Memory" Error Message When You Start Your Computer

When you set the paging file (Pagefile.sys) on your computer to a size that is lower than the recommended size of 12 megabytes (MB) plus the amount of random access memory (RAM), a temporary paging file (Temppf.sys) may be created, and you may receive the following error message after you log on:

This issue can occur when the temporary paging file uses a substantial amount of free space on the hard disk, and the remaining available hard disk space is less than the initial size of the paging file setting that you configured in Control Panel.

To resolve this issue, use the appropriate method:

Windows NT-Based Computer

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2. Click Virtual Memory, set the "Initial Size" and the "Maximum Size" values for the paging file to 0 (zero), and then restart your computer.
3. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
4. Click Virtual Memory, reset the "Initial Size" and the "Maximum Size" values to the recommended values for Windows NT, and then restart your computer.

Windows 2000-Based Computer

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2. Click the Advanced tab, click Performance Options, click Change, set the "Initial Size" and the "Maximum Size" values for the paging file to 0 (zero), and then restart your computer.
3. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
4. Click the Advanced tab, click Performance Options, click Change, reset the "Initial Size" and the "Maximum Size" values to the recommended values for Windows 2000, and then restart your computer.

After you configure the paging file to an appropriate size, the temporary paging file is deleted and virtual memory errors no longer occur.

To work around this issue, create enough free disk space to accommodate the size of the temporary paging file.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

The error message listed earlier in this article can occur when the initial paging file size is reduced to an amount considerably smaller than the recommended amount. Windows recognizes that the paging file size is insufficient and creates a temporary paging file of up to 20 megabytes in the Winnt\System32 folder. The System dialog box in Control Panel is then displayed, forcing you to address the paging file problem.

When the free hard disk space on your computer is 30 megabytes or less, issues can occur when you try to correct the insufficient paging file size. The combination of the insufficient paging file size and the temporary paging file size can easily use all of the available free hard disk space. This does not leave enough free space to create a paging file large enough to eliminate the need for the temporary paging file.

The only way to free the disk space that is used by the temporary paging file is to create an appropriately-sized paging file. When it is no longer needed, the temporary paging file is deleted the next time you start your computer, and the disk space is then freed.