Insufficient Memory to Perform Tasks on a Computer

Insufficient memory errors occur due to a lack of available physical or virtual memory on your computer. Causes can range from a lack of physical memory to run programs to too many programs open or running in the background, a small paging file or a virus taking up your computer's processing power. Insufficient memory errors are easily fixed in most cases, with the worst-case scenario generally requiring replacement of the memory modules.

System Requirements
Every program and operating system comes with minimum system requirements, and many have recommended requirements as well. If the amount of memory installed on your computer is less than the minimum recommended for a particular product, you may have problems launching the software or keeping it running smoothly. Your computer's system properties contains information on how much memory your computer has installed, so you don't need to open up your computer case to see if you meet minimum requirements.


Virtual Memory Your computer's virtual memory is space allocated on your hard drive to be used as additional memory. Windows uses virtual memory, also known as a paging file, in response to memory demands that go beyond the physical memory's capacity. You receive a "Low on virtual memory" warning if you run too many programs at once, have programs running in the background or launch a program with requirements that exceed what your computer can handle. You can adjust the size of the paging file as long as you have sufficient hard drive space to accommodate it.
 
Hardware Failure Physical memory modules may degrade over time, have a sudden, catastrophic failure or simply be loose in the memory slot. Reseating the memory module eliminates any issues caused by the Random Access Memory, or RAM, not being inserted completely in the slot. If the memory still doesn't act correctly, it may need replaced. A memory diagnostic program like Memtest throughly tests your RAM sticks to check for hardware faults. A RAM replacement fixes insufficient memory issues in this situation.
 
Viruses A virus can make your computer run out of physical memory, virtual memory and hard drive space. The virus runs in the background of your computer, taking up processing power. If it runs many instances of its executable program, which contains instructions for basic computer operations and is denoted with the file extension ".exe," you may encounter "insufficient memory" errors due to the RAM and virtual memory tied up by the virus. Programs run slowly or won't open at all. If the virus self-replicates, your hard drive space gets consumed by the virus files. Not all viruses act in this manner, but if you are unable to find another cause for your insufficient memory problems, running an anti-virus program is a good idea.