There is not enough memory to enable the service. If there is not enough space for Windows virtual memory: we solve the problem

Garden equipment 21.10.2019
Garden equipment

Content distributed via the Internet, programs and operating systems is becoming more and more demanding every day on the hardware of our computer. High-quality videos take up a lot of processor resources, OS updates are clogged free space on the hard drive, and applications with a huge appetite “devour” RAM. In this article, we will look at the problem with the system warning about low memory in Windows.

Computer memory is the system resource most in demand by applications, and if there is a shortage of it, we will see a well-known message on the monitor screen.

There are several reasons for this:

  • There is physically not enough RAM on the PC.
  • Missing or insufficient paging file size.
  • High memory consumption by running processes.
  • The system hard drive is “full” to capacity.
  • “Pumping out” of RAM by viruses or very demanding programs.

Below we will look at each of these reasons and try to eliminate them.

Reason 1: RAM

RAM is the place where information is stored and transferred to the central processor for processing. If its volume is small, then “brakes” in the operation of the PC may occur, and the problem that we are talking about today may also arise. Many applications with stated system requirements can actually consume much more RAM than is written on the developer’s official website. For example, the same one, with a recommended volume of 8 GB, can “use up” all the free memory and “remain dissatisfied.”

The only way to eliminate the lack of RAM is to purchase additional modules in the store. When choosing brackets, you should be guided by your needs, budget, and the capabilities of your current PC platform.

Reason 2: Page file

The paging file is the virtual memory of the system. All information that is not used in the process is “uploaded” here. this moment RAM. This is done in order to free up the latter’s space for priority tasks, as well as for faster re-access to already prepared data. It follows from this that even with large volume RAM, the paging file is necessary for normal system operation.

An insufficient file size may be interpreted by the OS as a lack of memory, so if an error occurs, you must increase its size.

Read more: Increasing the paging file in.

There is another hidden reason for a failure associated with virtual memory - the location of the file, in whole or in part, on “bad” sectors hard drive. Unfortunately, without certain skills and knowledge, it is impossible to accurately determine its location, but it is quite possible to check the disk for errors and take appropriate measures.

Reason 3: Processes

At its core, a process is a collection of resources and certain information necessary for the operation of an application. During operation, one program can launch several processes - system or own - and each of them “hangs” in the computer’s RAM. You can see them in "Task Manager".

When RAM is low, certain processes that should be run directly operating system There may not be enough “space” to complete any tasks. Of course, Windows immediately informs the user about this. If an error occurs, look at the “Manager” (click CTRL+SHIFT+ESC), there you will see the current memory consumption as a percentage. If the value exceeds 95%, then you need to close those programs that are not currently in use. This is such a simple solution.

Reason 4: Hard drive

The hard drive is the main storage location for data. From what was written above, we already know that it also contains the paging file – virtual memory. If a disk or partition is more than 90% full, then normal operation of the latter, as well as applications and Windows, cannot be guaranteed. To fix the problem, you need to free up space from unnecessary files and, possibly, programs. This can be done both by system means and with the help of specialized software, for example, Conclusion

The reasons that cause an out of memory error on a computer are, for the most part, very obvious and can be eliminated quite simply. The simplest step - purchasing additional RAM sticks - will help solve almost all problems, with the exception of viral infection.

When working with heavy programs, many Windows 10 users periodically encounter a system message that appears about the lack of memory on the computer. What this warning indicates, what kind of memory we are talking about, and what needs to be done in this case, we will talk in this article.

To free up memory for programs to run normally, save your files, and then close and restart any open programs.

Naturally, the message talks about operational and virtual memory system, not hard drive space. Among the most common reasons for the low memory warning to appear are:

  1. Too much a large number of running programs or processes
  2. There is not enough random access memory (RAM) on the computer to function properly
  3. Incorrect paging file configuration (or disabling it completely)
  4. The system disk has run out of space, preventing the dynamic page file from growing
  5. Memory leak in one of the programs

Amount of RAM and number of running applications

The first and second reasons, I think, do not require any special comment and are closely related. The solution is to increase the size of RAM on your computer by purchasing an additional memory stick (for modern system for comfortable work there should not be less than 4 GB of RAM) and/or close unused resource-intensive applications (you can use the task manager to see how much memory a particular process/program consumes).

Setting up the swap file

As you probably know, the page file is an extension of your computer's RAM and is a hidden file called pagefile.sys on the system drive into which Windows dumps data from unused (but running) programs in RAM.

By default, the size of the paging file in Windows 10 is controlled by the system (and this is normal). There are MSFT recommendations (simplified) that in modern Windows it recommends setting the initial (minimum) size of the paging file equal to the amount of physical memory (RAM) installed on the computer. Wherein maximum size The paging file is limited to three times the amount of physical RAM. However, these recommendations are often violated by the users themselves or by all sorts of “system optimizers”. If the available space in this file is not sufficient to accommodate new data pages of running applications, Windows may issue warnings about insufficient computer memory.

The paging file on disk is, by definition, slower than RAM, so the more data is stored in it and the more actively it is used, the more the system will slow down from the user's point of view. Naturally, the decision to add RAM will be better than increasing the size of the paging file

To avoid the warning, verify that the page file is enabled and change the minimum and maximum page file size.


Not enough hard drive space

Check what is on the system Windows disk There is enough space to accommodate a swap file of the sizes specified in the paragraph above. Everything, of course, is individual, but in a modern user edition of Windows, when there is less than 8-10 GB of free space on the system disk, this is not very good.

Memory leak

You can find the process with leaked memory using the task manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del), to do this, go to the tab Details and sort processes by column Memory.

Look to see if there are any programs with abnormal memory consumption on the list (naturally, you need to be aware that in nature there are also resource-intensive applications: games, graphic and video editors, browser, etc.). Try updating/reinstalling/uninstalling such a program (everything is very individual here, perhaps a bug with a specific program has already been described by the manufacturer or on a specialized forum). In some cases, it’s worth checking whether it’s enabled (this feature can sometimes help save RAM a lot).

If the memory leak is associated with one of the drivers or system components, the utility will help identify the problematic driver Poolmon(the technique is described in the article).

30.03.2014 2 19621

If you receive a message on your Windows PC about lack of virtual memory or “brakes” appear in games that are caused by the same reason, then do not despair, because there is a solution to this problem.

First let's look atsigns of low virtual memory. One such factor is when a message appears on your monitor indicating that a program or application has stopped responding. Another sign of this problem is a decrease in PC performance, problems with the timely display of windows or system menus. Do you have to wait for a long time after clicking on the Explorer launch button? This is a sure sign that the system needs more memory to complete all current tasks.

Reasons for lack of memory may be a lack of RAM or a small paging file, which is created by the system to compensate for the small size of RAM. It is this page file that is called virtual memory.

Increase the swap file You can do this in the following way: right-click on my computer -> properties -> advanced system settings -> advanced -> Settings (performance) -> Advanced -> change (virtual memory). Here you can install required amount swap file.

Another reason for low memory is the untimely release of used resources by any program. In this case, they talk about a memory leak.

If we always have one way to increase RAM - purchasing and installing new additional sticks with memory for a PC, then we can increase virtual memory using software methods.

The main way to prevent virtual memory shortage is to control the number of processes and applications running simultaneously on the PC. By reducing the number of main consumers of your PC's resources, we will achieve a significant reduction in the load on RAM and virtual memory, and, consequently, freeing it up to perform priority tasks. This can be achieved excluding from startup some not particularly important applications, disabling processes that are not used in daily work on the PC. But when doing this, we must be extremely careful, because this way we can disrupt the functionality of the entire system.

The way to increase virtual memory, which the OS itself provides us, is to increase the size of the paging file. To do this, you need to open the system parameters and set large parameters in the virtual memory section. The best option These values ​​will be set to a level that is twice the amount of RAM.

Often, when downloading applications from the Play Market, users see an error that says: “There is not enough free Android memory.” But do not worry, as this problem is solved quite simply.

Why is Android not enough?

All users of smartphones based on the Android OS download games and utilities from Google Play. However, the time comes when, when installing an application, it is interrupted and the message “Insufficient free Android memory” appears. And this story repeats itself with all programs. Fixing this problem is simply simple: you need to clear the device’s memory. This is done in the following ways:

  • get rid of temporary files and cache;
  • clear program data;
  • remove updates for some applications;
  • fix the error in Google play.

The first and one of the most simple ways free up the device that comes to mind is to remove unnecessary utilities and games or transfer them to a memory card. In the latter case, only the register of these programs will remain on the phone and To do this, go to Settings||Applications, go to the “All” tab and sort by size (for convenience). We find any program that can be moved, open information about it, where we select “Move to SD card”.

However, if there is essentially nothing to delete, and all programs are needed or are already based on a flash drive, you can use other methods.

Clearing the cache

If there is not enough free Android memory, the first thing you need to do is clear the cache. Special applications such as Clean Master and CCleaner will help us with this. By the way, they are not only able to clear memory of temporary files, but also speed up RAM, as well as delete unnecessary data from the memory card (music, photos, etc.).

Open the application, click on “Trash”. After the scanning is completed, check the boxes of what we want to delete, then click clear. In addition, it will help remove installed programs and speed up the processor (that is, stop utilities running in the background).

C C leaner

Launch CCleaner, click "Analyze". After analysis, we mark what should be deleted, then “Clear”. It is also possible to delete unnecessary files on the memory card.

Deleting application data

If, after cleaning with special utilities, there is still not enough free Android memory, you can delete the data of some programs (for example, a log of searched words in dictionaries, a saved account and a cache of downloaded pictures on social networks, saving and Accounts in games, etc.). Sometimes this data can weigh 20-50 MB, which will not interfere at all when downloading new programs.

We also go to “Applications”, which are in the settings, select everything and sort by size. We open information about some utility and see how much space the data takes up. If it’s a couple of megabytes or more, feel free to clean it (if it’s less, it’s pointless). Click “Clear data” and “Clear cache” (if any, of course). There should now be enough memory.

If there is still not enough space and “Android” writes “Not enough free memory,” then you can easily “delete” updates of some utilities, for example, Google play. However, it is worth remembering that all of his settings will be deleted, so he will immediately start installing updates on everything.

Problems in Google play

Errors often occur in Google Play itself, when the error “Not enough free Android memory” pops up, although in fact there is plenty of it. To do this, you need to clear the cache in the Play Market itself and some of its components. However, this must be done manually, since specialized utilities cannot handle this.

Go to “Settings” and, as usual, to “Applications”. Open the Google Play Store utility, go into it and click on “Clear cache”, and then on “Clear data”. We perform the same actions with the components "Google Play services", "Downloads" and "Google services Framework".

Reboot the device. Then we try to download again.

This instruction provides details on what to do if, when downloading any application for Android phone or tablet from the Play Store, you receive a message that the application could not be downloaded because there is not enough space in the device memory. The problem is very common, and a novice user cannot always fix the situation on his own (especially considering that there is actually free space on the device). The methods in the guide are listed in order from the simplest (and safest) to the more complex and likely to cause any side effects.

First of all, a few important points: even if you install applications on microSD card, the internal memory is still in use, i.e. must be available. In addition, the internal memory cannot be fully used (space is required for the system to operate), i.e. Android will report that there is not enough memory before there is free space. smaller size downloadable application.

Note: I do not recommend using special applications to clear the device’s memory, especially those that promise to automatically clear memory, close unused applications, etc. The most common effect of such programs is, in fact, slower operation of the device and.


How to quickly clear Android memory (the easiest way)

As a rule, for a novice user who first encountered the “insufficient space in device memory” error when installing an Android application, the simplest and most common successful option There will be a simple clearing of the application cache, which can sometimes take up precious gigabytes of internal memory.

In order to clear the cache, go to settings - “ Storage and USB drives", then at the bottom of the screen pay attention to the item " Cache data».

In my case, it's almost 2 GB. Click on this item and agree to clear the cache. After cleaning, try downloading your application again.

In a similar way, you can clear the cache of individual applications, for example, the cache of Google Chrome (or another browser), and Google Photos takes up hundreds of megabytes during normal use. Also, if the error " Not enough memory" is caused by an update to a specific application, you should try clearing the cache and data for it.

To clean, go to Settings - Applications, select the application you need, click on “ Storage"(for Android 5 and above), then press the " Clear cache"(if the problem occurs when updating this application, then also use " Clear data»).

By the way, note that the occupied size in the application list displays smaller values ​​than the amount of memory that the application and its data actually occupy on the device.

Removing unnecessary applications, transferring to SD card

Check out " Settings» - « Applications» on your Android device. Most likely, you will find in the list those applications that you no longer need and have not launched for a long time. Remove them.

Also, if your phone or tablet has a memory card, then in the settings for downloaded applications (i.e. those that were not pre-installed on the device, but not for all), you will find a button " Move to SD card" Use it to free up space in Android's internal memory.

Additional ways to fix the "Insufficient memory on device" error

The following ways to fix the error " not enough memory"When installing applications on Android, in theory they can lead to something not working correctly (usually they don’t, but still, at your own peril and risk), but they are quite effective.

Removing updates and data from Google Play Services and Play Store

1. Go to settings - applications, select applications "Google Play Services»
2. Go to “Storage" (if present, otherwise on the app details screen), delete the cache and data. Return to the application information screen.
3. Click on the buttonMenu" and select "Uninstall updates».

4. After removing the updates, repeat the same for Google Play Store.

Upon completion, check whether it is possible to install applications (if you are informed about the need to update Google Play services, update them).

Clearing Dalvik Cache

This option is not applicable to everyone. Android devices, but try:

  1. Go to the menu Recovery (). Actions in the menu are usually selected using the volume buttons, confirmation by a short press of the power button.
  2. Find an item Wipe cache partition (important: under no circumstances Wipe Data Factory Reset - this item erases all data and resets the phone).
  3. At this point, select " Advanced", and then - " Wipe Dalvik Cache».

After clearing the cache, boot your device in normal mode.

Clearing the data folder (Root required)

This method requires root access, but it works when the error “ There is not enough memory on the device"occurs when updating an application (and not only from the Play Store) or when installing an application that was previously on the device. You will also need file manager with the support root-access.

  1. In folder delete the folder " lib » (check if the situation has been corrected).
  2. If the previous option did not help, try deleting the entire folder /data/app-lib/application_name/

Note: if you already have root, also take a look at data/log using a file manager. Log files can also eat up a significant amount of space in the device's internal memory.

Untested ways to fix the error

I came across these methods on stackoverflow, but I have never tried them, and therefore I cannot judge their performance:

  • By using Root Explorer transfer some applications from data/app V /system/app/
  • On Samsung devices (I don’t know if on all of them) you can type on the keyboard *#9900# to clear log files, which may also help.

These are all the options that I can offer at the current time for correction Android errors « There is not enough space in the device memory».



We recommend reading

Top