Made Virtual Memory settings low on XP, and 10 times better!?!?

Jason B · Feb 8, 2007

I swear making the Virtual Memory settings LOW helped me tremendously!

I run ALOT of multilple programs on my PC. I made my Virtual memory settings very low and my computer runs 10 times better under load.

Some thoughts... I have 1 gig of ram on XP myself. For the longest time, if I had about 15 things open, multiple IE browsers, CuteFTP, paint program, IM, etc, and when I would try to open up anything else, I couldn't. When I would double click on another program, nothing would happen. Here is what I saw when hitting cntrl/alt/delete:

At this point above ^^ I couldn't do much of anything else, unless I started closing out windows.

NOW, I went into Virtual memory settings, which WAS on "let windows manage" and I changed it to this:

Now, rebooted, and opened about 23+ programs, + adobe photoshop, tons of IE windows, tons of stuff and NO LAG and I could still open more programs! The pc runs 100% better when all these apps are open.

Here is what I had now when I hit cntrl/alt/delete:

Remember, I opened many, many more programs that the last time.

For you gurus out there... How is this possible? How can my computer be running this much better, and why can I open twice as many programs than I could before I changed the virtual memory settings to those low #'s?

My computer feels twice as fast under load now.

bchur83 · Feb 8, 2007

Did you hit Set after you changed that setting? It appears that you did not, look at the Commit Charge - Limit. It shows you still have 2.5GB of Ram/PF, which is what you had in the first SS.

Jon · Feb 8, 2007

Not to mention at the very bottom

Commit Charge: 924M/2462M

If you have 1GB of physical memory in that system, then you still have a page file.

Jason B · Feb 8, 2007

bchur83 said:
Did you hit Set after you changed that setting? It appears that you did not, look at the Commit Charge - Limit. It shows you still have 2.5GB of Ram/PF, which is what you had in the first SS.

Hmm, I'm pretty sure I hit set, because it did make me REBOOT. Now what? Why is it running so much better.

Before, anything that went over 600 mb of used ram, in the 1st .jpg I couldn't open any other programs and it got real bad...

meionm · Feb 8, 2007

You didn't change anything, same amount of page file prior and after

Jason B · Feb 8, 2007

Crap. Hmm, it made be reboot, but I see what you are saying... The only other thing I did was install a program called CachemanXP, which just lets you see memory and ram refresh.

So, I guess the big question is, if I have 1 gig of ram, what should I put the VM settings to?

jiggamanjb · Feb 8, 2007

Jason B said:
Crap. Hmm, it made be reboot, but I see what you are saying... The only other thing I did was install a program called CachemanXP, which just lets you see memory and ram refresh.

So, I guess the big question is, if I have 1 gig of ram, what should I put the VM settings to?

Windows Managed Size or 3GB

Neuromancer · Feb 8, 2007

Microsoft says 1.5 times the amount of RAM you have

If you do not use standby or hibernate power settings though, I have always been of the mind, More RAM, less pagefile

At 1024 RAM I ran 1024 min max PF at 2GB of RAM I run 0 PF.

I am back to running 2GB PF in Vista with 2GB of RAM because it pages much better then XP does.

Set MIN and MAX to same size to prevent fragging your hdd.

Depending on your setup. You can put the pagefile on a second hard drive too (note: not a second partition, must a 2nd physical drive, and you want it on the first partition of that drive) , this will also tweak performance a little bit. Only if the second hdd is close in speed to the main OS drive.

Also just like the Matrix Raid "slicing the best part of the diksk" thread, you can do this on any HDD or raid array. Erase partitons. Create a small 4GB partiton. Create a 40GB partiton the nwhatever is left

Install Windows to 2nd partition. Move PF to small partiton. Also move TMP and TEMP folder to small partition. Walla. Now the fastest part of your HDD is used for swap files. (This is much more work then its worth IMHO but just letting you know your options)

There are also registry tweaks you can do to boost PF performance. One is good the other is debateable.

One is prevent paging core system files. The other is clear pagefile at shutdown. However this makes shutdown a longer process, and Since I only shutdown when I am restarting, I dont do it. There is also software out there that "defrags" your pagefile, again not something I ever tried.

Stick to first 2 suggesstions and you will be fine.

meionm · Feb 8, 2007

Jason B said:
So, I guess the big question is, if I have 1 gig of ram, what should I put the VM settings to?

If you have 1gb set it to no more to 1gb. On my notebook I have set it to 800mb initial size and 1000mb max.

One Bull · Feb 8, 2007

I thought it was better to have it set at one pagesize rather then from xxxmin to xxxxmax?

Froz · Feb 8, 2007

1.5x up to 2gb for a 32bit OS. if 1.5x = > 2gb, set the min and max to 2gb. it's plain as day in the ms white papers.

Jason B · Feb 9, 2007

Ok, I'm not the best with computers, so bear with me. I only have one harddrive for the member that asked. THIS is the main reason I want to tweak things.

Right, now, my system is like this below, when I hit cntl/alt/del, yes I have many things open/running:

Now, in this state, I CAN NO LONGER OPEN THNINGS! If I try to open CuteFTP, double click it, nothing happens, paintshop pro, same thing, double click, it just doesn't open or do anything. I can open smaller things without a problem.

What is wrong? What do I need to change? If I start closing windows, then I can open those other programs. I don't get it. Please help.

bchur83 · Feb 9, 2007

Take a SS of the processes tab. If that is on a clean boot, you have other issues. 53 processes is a bit on the high side. Maybe also check the event viewer to see what is going on.

therookie · Feb 9, 2007

virtual memory is always freindly to play with ...

Jason B · Feb 9, 2007

bchur83 said:
Take a SS of the processes tab. If that is on a clean boot, you have other issues. 53 processes is a bit on the high side. Maybe also check the event viewer to see what is going on.

No, not on a clean boot. It's find after a clean boot, but then when I start opening a bunch of stuff this happens. Ideas? There isn't anything special going on in the processes tab.

Now when I hit control/alt/delete, I won't even show!

Jason B · Feb 9, 2007

bchur83 said:
Take a SS of the processes tab.

--- Operating System ---

Windows XP Home Edition SP2

--- CPU ---

AMD AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3200+ 2200 MHz

--- Display adapter ---

VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP

Driver version: 6.14.10.113

--- RAM ---

Usage: 600/1024 MBytes

Peak Usage: 747 MBytes

--- Paging File ---

Usage: 230/728 MBytes

Allocation: 728/2000 MBytes

--- Running Processes ---

C:\OLD_D\Program Files\aim5_9\aim.exe | 13.41 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\ALCXMNTR.EXE | 1.32 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe | 0.96 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe | 1.21 MBytes
C:\PROGRA~1\CACHEM~1\CachemanXP.exe | 1.28 MBytes
C:\PROGRA~1\CACHEM~1\CachemanXPSettings.exe | 9.42 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe | 5.47 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe | 1.01 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe | 1.36 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe | 1.98 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\DefWatch.exe | 1.58 MBytes
C:\OLD_C\Eudora\EUDORA.EXE | 11.05 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\EXCEL.EXE | 2.98 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE | 37.58 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE | 9.06 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 43.78 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 62.10 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 6.89 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 31.06 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 56.07 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 59.77 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE | 29.05 MBytes
C:\HP\KBD\KBD.EXE | 4.63 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe | 0.98 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\LTMSG.exe | 1.30 MBytes
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe | 17.63 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\msoffice.exe | 7.63 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MsPMSPSv.exe | 0.57 MBytes
C:\Program Files\RAMpage\RAMpage.exe | 0.87 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\Rtvscan.exe | 26.31 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe | 2.34 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Smith Micro Shared\FAX\SMLoader.exe | 5.02 MBytes
\SystemRoot\System32\smss.exe | 0.16 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SPBBC\SPBBCSvc.exe | 0.35 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe | 3.31 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe | 2.49 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe | 12.95 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe | 1.64 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe | 4.19 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Ulead Systems\DVD\ULCDRSvr.exe | 0.32 MBytes
C:\PROGRA~1\SYMANT~2\VPTray.exe | 3.09 MBytes
\??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe | 0.71 MBytes

RollingThunder · Feb 9, 2007

Jason B said:
--- Operating System ---

Windows XP Home Edition SP2

--- CPU ---

AMD AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3200+ 2200 MHz

--- Display adapter ---

VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP

Driver version: 6.14.10.113

--- RAM ---

Usage: 600/1024 MBytes

Peak Usage: 747 MBytes

--- Paging File ---

Usage: 230/728 MBytes

Allocation: 728/2000 MBytes

--- Running Processes ---

C:\OLD_D\Program Files\aim5_9\aim.exe | 13.41 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\ALCXMNTR.EXE | 1.32 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe | 0.96 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe | 1.21 MBytes
C:\PROGRA~1\CACHEM~1\CachemanXP.exe | 1.28 MBytes
C:\PROGRA~1\CACHEM~1\CachemanXPSettings.exe | 9.42 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe | 5.47 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe | 1.01 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe | 1.36 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe | 1.98 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\DefWatch.exe | 1.58 MBytes
C:\OLD_C\Eudora\EUDORA.EXE | 11.05 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\EXCEL.EXE | 2.98 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE | 37.58 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE | 9.06 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 43.78 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 62.10 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 6.89 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 31.06 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 56.07 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | 59.77 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE | 29.05 MBytes
C:\HP\KBD\KBD.EXE | 4.63 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe | 0.98 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\LTMSG.exe | 1.30 MBytes
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe | 17.63 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\msoffice.exe | 7.63 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MsPMSPSv.exe | 0.57 MBytes
C:\Program Files\RAMpage\RAMpage.exe | 0.87 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\Rtvscan.exe | 26.31 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe | 2.34 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Smith Micro Shared\FAX\SMLoader.exe | 5.02 MBytes
\SystemRoot\System32\smss.exe | 0.16 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SPBBC\SPBBCSvc.exe | 0.35 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe | 3.31 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe | 2.49 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe | 12.95 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe | 1.64 MBytes
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe | 4.19 MBytes
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Ulead Systems\DVD\ULCDRSvr.exe | 0.32 MBytes
C:\PROGRA~1\SYMANT~2\VPTray.exe | 3.09 MBytes
\??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe | 0.71 MBytes

Right off the bat you have 8 IE windows open! Symantec AV and their other programs are known resouce hogs, plus MS Office, Excel, MSN. That's just a start. No wonder you can't open anything else.

Here's my typical task manager while posting this:

Jason B · Feb 9, 2007

Ok, with some help from bchur83, I got this working much better.

It turns out the settings in VM that I thought I made earlier didn't take because I had cachemanXP and another memory manager running. I uninstalled those, and per bchur83's advice:

Took the page file off my C: and moved it to a 2nd partition to clear the page file. Put it back to C: and set the Virtual Memory to min/max 128-128.

I've had it running for about 45 min with 54 processes going and it's running great! Harddrive isn't going crazy, and I can STILL open those other programs I couldn't open before. The harddrive is so quiet it's crazy.

I think the biggest misconception with this page file is, "I" thought, "hey I have 1 gig of ram, so the page file on the harddrive won't be used until I use 1 gig up of physical ram", but in all actuality, if you set your page file high, you harddrive is working, even if you aren't even near the 1 gig used of physical ram!!! Windows cheats you and shares it with the harddrive which can lag your system up.

It feels like I have a new PC.

Jason B · Feb 14, 2007

This ended up making the biggest difference!!!

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=238&pgno=0

Immortal_Hero · Feb 14, 2007

I run a 3GB PF with 2GB of memory. I tend to use a lot of my page file b/c I will Alt Tab games and do other things like encode video, burn disks, surf, etc.

Made Virtual Memory settings low on XP, and 10 times better!?!?

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