[John Bull]

I would be grateful if somebody could explain clearly my confusion regarding VM and Hibernation.

I have been Hibernating for a long time with no trouble, no alerts, no nothing, it all seems perfect, but I have been told this :-

"Whatever the "Total Physical Memory" size is, is what the "c:\hiberfil.sys" file size will be.

So, if your PC has 2 GB of physical RAM installed, and your C: drive has only 1 GB of free space, then Hibernation won't work and will be disabled."

Is this person saying that I cannot use 1GB of my 2GB because my hard drive is inadequate ? Or my Pagefile size is too small ? My experience does not reflect what is said in the above statement.

You will see from VM1 that my TVM is 2 GB, AVM is 1.96 GB and the Pagefile space is 1.03 GB. My TPM is 512.00 MB and the APM is 153.41 MB.

The Free space on my C-drive is 58,249 MB - see VM2, which is close to the "Properties" figure of 56.9 GB shown in VM3.

I cannot see where my system is lacking capacity or is not configured correctly, but that is why I am asking for clarification. Perhaps I am way off track, but then I am no Geek, just a foot-slogger.

I am posting here to obtain a fresh viewpoint and possibly explanation of this matter from a completely different source.

VM1


VM2


VM3

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Hibernate and Virtual Memory are not related other than they both occupy space on your hard drive.

Hibernate uses hiberfile.sys which will be approximately the same size as your installed ram of 512MB. It occupies space on the hard drive and is created at boot time (if Hibernate is enabled) along with pagefile.sys.

TPM, AVM, TVM don't play a part in this process.

Virtual Memory (VM) is pagefile.sys and defaults to 1.5 times the size of your installed ram. In your case, if you have not changed anything it would be 768MB. This is where data in memory is moved to (swapped out) when there is not enough real memory to run everything that you are trying to run.

Not having enough ram is one of the primary causes of slow computers.

[Ztruker]

Hibernate and Virtual Memory are not related other than they both occupy space on your hard drive.

Hibernate uses hiberfile.sys which will be approximately the same size as your installed ram of 512MB. It occupies space on the hard drive and is created at boot time (if Hibernate is enabled) along with pagefile.sys.

TPM, AVM, TVM don't play a part in this process.

Virtual Memory (VM) is pagefile.sys and defaults to 1.5 times the size of your installed ram. In your case, if you have not changed anything it would be 768MB. This is where data in memory is moved to (swapped out) when there is not enough real memory to run everything that you are trying to run.

Not having enough ram is one of the primary causes of slow computers.

[John Bull]

Hibernate and Virtual Memory are not related other than they both occupy space on your hard drive.

Hibernate uses hiberfile.sys which will be approximately the same size as your installed ram of 512MB. It occupies space on the hard drive and is created at boot time (if Hibernate is enabled) along with pagefile.sys.

TPM, AVM, TVM don't play a part in this process.

Virtual Memory (VM) is pagefile.sys and defaults to 1.5 times the size of your installed ram. In your case, if you have not changed anything it would be 768MB. This is where data in memory is moved to (swapped out) when there is not enough real memory to run everything that you are trying to run.

Not having enough ram is one of the primary causes of slow computers.

Many thanks for your reply, but it does not explain the comment about 2GB and 1GB given by some prophet about Hibernation not working if one does not equal the other.

Quite frankly the guy does not know what on Earth RAM is all about. To give a statement like this when my Hibernation works perfectly is akin to judging the weather forecast by the performance of a pine cones dependence on humidity.

I can alter my pagefile size by customising the data on Computer Management, but at present I prefer let Windows do it automatically, which it does.

[Macboatmaster]

Quite frankly the guy does not know what on Earth RAM is all about

Well actually whoever the guy you refer to is - he is in essence correct.

In hibernation the data held in ram is copied to the HDD. Therefore if, as he says, there is insufficient free space on the hard drive, equal to the amount of data held in ram then in very basic terms hibernation is bound to fail.

HIBERNATION
Hibernation is a power-saving state designed primarily for laptops. While sleep puts your work and settings in memory and draws a small amount of power, hibernation puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk, and then turns off your computer. Of all the power-saving states in Windows, hibernation uses the least amount of power. On a laptop, use hibernation when you know that you won't use your laptop for an extended period and won't have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time.
Upon hibernation, the computer saves the contents of its memory (RAM) to a hard drive Upon resumption, the computer is exactly as it was upon entering hibernation

SLEEP
Sleep is a power-saving state that allows a computer to quickly resume full-power operation (typically within several seconds) when you want to start working again. Putting your computer into the sleep state is like pausing a DVD player—the computer immediately stops what it's doing and is ready to start again when you want to resume working.
When placed in this sleep mode, aside from the ram which is required to restore the machine's state, the computer attempts to cut power to all unneeded parts of the machine. Because of the large power savings, most laptops automatically enter this mode when the computer is running on batteries and the lid is closed.


However whilst hibernation MAY work for you and without any apparent problems - your problem is that you have ONLY 512Mb of ram of which ONLY 448Mb can ever be available. The fact that Microsoft advice that XP Home WILL run with 64Mb of ram but recommended 128Mb is not in essence reality.

Additonally you will find all manner of reports on the web regarding some process that will work with such a setup and then just as many telling you it will not.
Generally they should be ignored unless from a reputable source.

FINALLY

Is this person saying that I cannot use 1GB of my 2GB

NO because you do NOT have 2Gb.
The principle is PHYSICAL memeory.

and as the pagefile by default is 1.5 times the physical memory installed that in your case would be 768MB as my colleague Ztruker has said
Therefore

I can alter my pagefile size by customising the data on Computer Management, but at present I prefer let Windows do it automatically, which it does.

If you have NOT made any changes, that evidence alone indicates that you are trying to run a setup that has insufficient PHYSICAL memory.

[John Bull]

Dear Mac, I have deleted all the text to be brief.

I would just like to thank you for a superb reply on almost every detail that I seem to be mixed up on. Your answer satisfies me perfectly and is so well expressed.

The interplay of all the factors can be confusing and consulting the web does not clear the air much. In fact there are many contradictions voiced which simply clog the matter up even more.

Anyhow Mac, I am so grateful for your most explicit reply and of course your patience and tact.

I sincerely apologize to "that guy" for my comment - he was right and I was wrong.