Virtual Memory should be configured to a specific amount of space on your hard drive to be used when your system physical memory resources are depleted. Depending on what you do and how much physical memory is installed, some say 2 times the physical memory is the best setting. Always use the same number for minimum and maximum. Personally, I have my virtual memory set for 256 megs and never have any problems. You really shouldn't let Windows configure you Virtual Memory and swap file, you will constantly hear your hard drive grinding away looking for the swap file. Also, you should NEVER disable Virtual Memory either, this could cause your computer to be inoperable in some cases. Configuring your own swap file size will speed up your system to a degree, but don't expect a dramatic increase.

that advice will only hold true if you have at least 512 megs of ram.less ram if your running less programs will work allso.first time you use up the amount of ram you have installed and the amount of space set for virtual ram memory you will get error messages and programs will cease to function. setting it to low will cause system problems. ••• Resistance is invigorating! •••kill spyware

There is ongoing debate about the value of fixing virtual memory. Most users allow Windows to manage it without any problems. As it happens, I don't but I have specific reasons for that. See point 16 on the homepage link on this response.

Yes, you can let Windows manage virtual memory, but I just did not like to hear my hard drive grinding away while windows looked for the large swap file which is placed who knows where on the drive. By configuring your own swap file and defragging with Diskeeper, it puts the file at the end of your drive and keeps it out of the way.