Memory error - sudden onset of low memory

[Andy_St88]

As of last weekend I noticed a change in my Chrome browser which often coincides with some new hassle to my laptop. Using Windows 7 I believe 4 Gb or RAM, never had a problem since I got this and now I cant open more than a few browser windows or do anything else if Chrome is running, in fact anything gives me error warnings. It starts with the "Windows created a temporary paging file on your computer because of a problem that occurred with your paging file configuration". It will go on to a pop up window for performance options. When trying to manually allocate more usable memory it wont set it and I get the error message - SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe is corrupt. The file or directory \pagefile.sys is corrupt and unreadable.

I have tried to research this problem and there have been a number of solutions I have seen which seem reasonable but I have been asking around before attempting anything. The easiest would be to simply replace the SystemPP.exe file if it is the problem as one site suggested. I have held off running a chkdsk as I had a problem last year and I think it was that which took almost 4 days to finish running and if I can avoid that ordeal...

Any suggestions? I am hoping this is a simple fix

 

[johnb35]

The first thing I would do is scan your system for malware using Malwarebytes. If that turns up nothing, then It seems you may have some corrupted system files in which the system file checker would be your next step no matter how long it takes. If there is an issue with that then it may be time to do a fresh install of windows.

To be honest, having only 4gb of ram these days is not enough and you should increase your ram to at least 8gb. How many extensions do you have running in chrome? Have you tried using a different web browser such as firefox?

 

[Andy_St88]

Having come across this problem and generally Chrome sets it off, I know how to set more ram, but unfortunately this problem doesnt allow me to do that until whatever it is gets resolved. As far as I know I dont use any extensions, never went to the Chrome store and got any if that is what you mean, so probably none. Its just simpler to use Chrome so I dont use any other browser.

I was looking up this problem and found a few worthwhile sites with steps to resolving such problems and despite not having actually done any of it, I did download it last night, so best run it.

I was hoping to avoid the checker but it seems I might not be able to, this would have to happen at the worst time of the year as this week is busy for me to be without a working puter.

As for reinstall windows - I know its the simplest thing to do but I would hope to fix this problem if possible. Now this might sound odd but I often hear about reinstalling windows as a fix to anything, the first thing virtually everyone says, but I dont get it. I have bought 4 pcs over the past 20 years and its all preinstalled, how does one reinstall it when you buy a pc/laptop preloaded and given no install disks with the purchase?

I am hoping to fix this without having to go to that, for me, extreme length. I had a major problem last year and got things working without doing that.

 

[johnb35]

how does one reinstall it when you buy a pc/laptop preloaded and given no install disks with the purchase?

Since the conception of windows 8, technically you don't need installation media anymore. There is an option called reset this pc available in settings under update and security and then click on recovery on the left. This option either allows you to keep your personal data intact while reinstalling the OS or wipe everything and start fresh. And since the conception of Windows 8, MS has allowed you to visit their website to download the ISO which you can make into a bootable usb or bootable dvd to reinstall the OS.

Download Windows 10

You download the tool on that page and follow the prompts to create whichever media you need usb or dvd.

As I said, having only 4gh of ram really isn't enough these days especially when running many instances of chrome which can be memory hogging. Run Malwarebytes first to check for any malware that could be using up memory, quarantine anything that it finds.

Unfortunately there are many times when your system has missing or corrupt system files, the system file checker still can't solve the issue, which means you are forced to do a reinstall of the OS.

Have you disabled any unnecessary programs from running at bootup? What is your memory usage after restarting pc? Use task manager for that. Are you using a regular HDD or SDD? Getting an SDD would make things run better