Computer Concept Courses (CCC) Practice Test 2025 - Free Practice Questions and Study Guide

Virtual memory is a storage method that utilizes a portion of the disk space to simulate additional RAM when there is not enough physical memory available. This process allows a computer to handle larger workloads or run more applications simultaneously than would be possible with just the installed RAM.

When the system runs low on RAM, it can swap data that is not currently being used from the RAM to a designated area on the hard drive (or SSD). This virtual memory acts as an overflow space, enabling the operating system to free up RAM for other processes that require immediate access to memory. The data stored in virtual memory can be brought back into RAM as needed, allowing for smoother multitasking and overall system performance, despite the inherent speed differences between RAM and disk storage.

Other methods listed, such as cache memory, primarily deal with speeding up access to frequently used data and do not serve the same compensatory function for RAM shortages. Flash storage and SSDs refer to types of physical storage rather than methods that manage memory overflow.