What does virtual memory provide to an operating system?

IT Exam Items RepositoryCategory: IT EssentialsWhat does virtual memory provide to an operating system?

What does virtual memory provide to an operating system?

  • the creation of virtual partitions on the hard drive
  • an increase in data storage
  • an increase in the speed of accessing RAM
  • a temporary storage of data until enough RAM is available to process it

Explanation: The OS uses virtual memory when a computer does not have enough RAM available to run a program. Virtual memory moves data from RAM and places it in a paging file on the hard drive. A paging file is a place where data is stored until enough RAM is available to process the data. This process is much slower than accessing the RAM directly.

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