Dumping Memory.

[bricro]

I use Windows XP and occasionally a blue page appears and at the bottom of which, it says " dumping physical memory to disk"
I should be grateful for an explanation of what this means,please.
Thank you in advance.

[Wak]

I don't know if this will help but I'll carry on, anyway!!!
The computer memory is known as RAM memory (Random Access Memory) and is used to run programs and store temporary data, etc. while running.
If the RAM gets too full then the computer moves what it doesn't really need at that time from the RAM to a Virtual memory on the hard drive.
The Virtual memory should be about 1.5 to 2 times the size of the RAM.
To find these things, RIGHT click on My Computer on Desk top, click PROPERTIES, Click GENERAL tab and note the size of the RAM in MB (at bottom of page).
Now click ADVANCED tab, click settings in PERFORMANCE, click ADVANCED tab.
See section marked Virtual memory, click CHANGE button and make the max to be 1.5 or 2 times the size of the original RAM.
If the Virtual memory is too small it can cause the computer to run slow while it sorts out which data to store and which to remove.
I hope this helps in some way.

[bricro]

Thank you very much WAK.
In Virtual Memory the Custom Size Button is ticked.and shows
Initial size MB 1536
Max Size MB 1536
Then a heading
Total paging file size for all drives.
Min allowed 2MB
Recommended 766MB
Currently allocated 1536 MB.

It looks like I am on 2x size of original RAM already.

Would it help to clear out a lot of files eg stored e-mails.photos etc.?
Best regards Bricro

[Wak]

Probably. Double click MY Computer on desk top and see how much free space you have on Drive C:\

[rojash]

I'm afraid Wak is leading you on a completely false trail.

If your machine keeps showing the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) it's most likely a hardware or driver problem.

When Windows crashes so completely that it needs to restart, it performs a Memory Dump. This is literally a copy on the hard disk of the contents of the RAM at the time the problem occurred. In theory, this dump could be analysed to find out what went wrong. In practice, that ain't gonna happen.

What you need to do this think back to what changed immediately prior to this problem first occurring, to try and identify the cause of the problem (maybe you installed some new hardware - or had a driver update?).

Another possibility is overheating.

[ChuckFickens]

I agree with Rojash...

the BSOD should have quite a lot of other information on it. if you can jot down the general gist of that and post it we may be able to point you in the correct direction (though then again sometimes the actual text is no help at all!!)

[bricro]

Thank you all.
BSOD has gone and I don't know if and when it will come back..
I do leave my computer on stand-by for long periods and maybe this causes overheating!