# Video memory? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469 "2002-12-23T02:46:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/1 "2002-12-23T02:46:59Z")
I’ve installed a game. It says I need 12mb of avilable video memory. 1. How would I clear up “video memory”? Is it the same if I were to delete a document and get more drive space? 2. Where would I find out my video memory? ---
**Author:** ![Morningstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Morningstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morningstar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/2 "2002-12-23T03:04:51Z")
Your video memory would be the amount that the graphics card in your computer has. There is no way to ‘clear it out’ or make any substantial amout available. It’s dependent on the hardware in your computer. One way to find out (on Windows machines) is to go to the control panel through the start menu, click on ‘display’ and have a look at the ‘settings’ tab. It may tell you. Otherwise you could just try running the game. Unless your machine is quite old, you shouldn’t have a problem. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/3 "2002-12-23T03:05:32Z")
Your game is telling you that you need a video card with 12MB of memory. You apparently don’t have one. You can’t just “clear up” video memory. It’s either there or it isn’t. I don’t know if there’s a simple way to find out how much memory your video card has, but you could try looking for the name of your card under “Display Adapters” in the Device Manager. Find your card’s manufacturer’s web site and look up the specs there. A video card with 16MB or 32MB of RAM can be had for about $30 these days. ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/4 "2002-12-23T03:09:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morningstar \* > \*\*Your video memory would be the amount that the graphics card in your computer has. There is no way to ‘clear it out’ or make any substantial amout available. It’s dependent on the hardware in your computer. > > One way to find out (on Windows machines) is to go to the control panel through the start menu, click on ‘display’ and have a look at the ‘settings’ tab. It may tell you. Otherwise you could just try running the game. Unless your machine is quite old, you shouldn’t have a problem. \*\* I’ve tried 3 or 4 times. Still won’t work and their is no losting for video card. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/5 "2002-12-23T03:15:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmileyDeath \* > \*\*and their is no losting for video card. \*\* Could you tell us all what that means? I’m usually pretty good at disambiguating bad grammar and spelling, but that has me stumped. “… there is no lusting for a video card.” ? (Which would be an ungrammatical way of saying “I don’t want another video card,” I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/6 "2002-12-23T03:20:11Z")
t’s obvious - ‘Listing’ Or maybe I am too drunk and didn’t realize that you were joking **Derleth** ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/7 "2002-12-23T03:20:21Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve tried 3 or 4 times. Still won’t work and their is no losting for video card. Look at the entry under “Display Adapters.” It’s going to say the name of your video card, but it will not say “VIDEO CARD” in giant letters to point it out to you. I would recommend you read (or at least skim) a book on PC hardware. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/8 "2002-12-23T03:23:04Z")
If I may add- Video memory is at the mercy of whatever game is playing. If your video card has 12 MB then your game can use all 12MB. there will be nothing to ‘clear out’ ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/9 "2002-12-23T03:26:31Z")
**Lob** , even when drunk you’re better at parsing than I am. – Derleth bows ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/10 "2002-12-23T03:28:15Z")
Right click on the desktop, click ‘properties’, on click the ‘settings’ tab at the top, click ‘advanced’ in the screen that appeared, click ‘adapter’ in the next screen to appear. The top-left word under ‘adapter’ should be the name of your card. Tell us what it says. ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/11 "2002-12-23T03:34:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Could you tell us all what that means? I’m usually pretty good at disambiguating bad grammar and spelling, but that has me stumped. > > “… there is no lusting for a video card.” ? (Which would be an ungrammatical way of saying “I don’t want another video card,” I guess.) \*\* Listing :o ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/12 "2002-12-23T03:38:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*Right click on the desktop, click ‘properties’, on click the ‘settings’ tab at the top, click ‘advanced’ in the screen that appeared, click ‘adapter’ in the next screen to appear. The top-left word under ‘adapter’ should be the name of your card. > > Tell us what it says. \*\* Desktop being the start button? Or the screen? I went to Control panel the first time… I’m sorry, it’s just I’m a idiot with computers soemtimes. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/13 "2002-12-23T03:41:35Z")
Right-click on the blank screen that is there before you open any windows. An image of some type, called the background, is probably there. ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/14 "2002-12-23T03:44:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Right-click on the blank screen that is there before you open any windows. An image of some type, called the background, is probably there. \*\* I got a “display properties”. Doesn’t have anything like that in there tho’. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/15 "2002-12-23T03:50:22Z")
I could be wrong, but I suspect SmileyDeath is leading us up the garden path. ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/16 "2002-12-23T03:55:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*I could be wrong, but I suspect SmileyDeath is leading us up the garden path. \*\* What? No ☹ ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/17 "2002-12-23T04:01:32Z")
Okay, here’s another way to find out. Go to the Start Menu-\>Programs-\>Accessories-\>System Information. You should see something that looks a bit like Windows Explorer, with hierarchical folders. Click on the folder marked “Components.” Within that folder, there is another folder named “Display.” Click on it. Tell us what words appear in the right-hand pane of the screen when you do. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/18 "2002-12-23T04:02:36Z")
Whoops. Make that Start Menu-\>Programs-\>Accessories-\> **System Tools** -\>System Information. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/19 "2002-12-23T04:06:15Z")
Ok I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt SmileyDeath - 1. (don’t do this yet) hold the ‘ctrl’ key down. while it is held down press the ‘m’ key (this minimizes all windows - hence the ‘don’t do this yet’). 2. (don’t do this yet either) now right-click anywhere that isn’t an icon (a little picture with words under it) or a start bar (the greyish thing at the bottom). then follow the instructions in my last (but one) thread. now that you’ve read the instructions - follow them. Excuse me if I am talking-down too much/going into too much detail. I got the impression that you were clueless. And my insultometer is useless when I have been drinking. (I hate to have to admit that every time. But I would hate more for people to think I am an idiot without knowing why) ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469/20 "2002-12-23T04:07:57Z")
Ah. Thhat was easy too understand. Ok: Basic was: SiS 6326 Display Alloc resources: Logical Configuration 0 IO Range: Base=x03B0 End=x03BB Min=x03B0 Max=x03BB Alias=x04, Decode=x03 Base=x03C0 End=x03DF Min=x03C0 Max=x03DF Alias=x04, Decode=x03 Base=xDE00 End=xDE7F Min=x0000 Max=xFFFF Alias=xFF, Decode=x00 Memory Address Range: Base= x000A0000 End= x000AFFFF Min= x000A0000 Max= x000AFFFF Base= x000B0000 End= x000BFFFF Min= x000B0000 Max= x000BFFFF Base= xEF000000 End= xEF7FFFFF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF Base= xEFFF0000 End= xEFFFFFFF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF Base= x000C0000 End= x000C7FFF Min= x000C0000 Max= x000C7FFF Base= x10000000 End= x1000FFFF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF Driver: sis6326m.inf dd326\_32.dll 5/17/1999 3:21 PM Size: 179712 dd326.dll 5/17/1999 1:21 PM Size: 10912 sis6326m.vxd 6/21/1999 3:22 PM Size: 26770 sis6326m.drv 6/21/1999 3:22 PM Size: 161456 Default Monitor Monitor Alloc resources: None [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-memory/144469.md?page=2)