Question:easy

What is thrashing in virtual memory?

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Look for the option about constant page swapping, not about speed or leaks.
Updated On: Jul 2, 2026
  • Excessive paging that slows down system performance
  • A process that executes too quickly
  • A memory leak in the operating system
  • A process that remains in the ready queue for too long
Show Solution

The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Think about what the CPU is actually busy doing. In a healthy system the CPU runs process code most of the time. In a thrashing system the degree of multiprogramming is pushed so high that each process gets very few frames.

Every reference then tends to miss the frames it needs, triggering a page fault and a disk transfer. The CPU utilisation from real work collapses while paging I/O climbs. The system looks busy but gets little done.

So the defining sign is heavy paging that drags system performance down.

$$\text{Thrashing} = \text{high page-fault rate} \Rightarrow \text{low useful throughput}$$\[\boxed{\text{Excessive paging that slows down system performance}}\]
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