Pagefile.sys do I even need it? (Windows XP)

I have 2 gigs of ram.

Yes.

Edward78 said:

I have 2 gigs of ram.

Click to expand...

For everyday computing you don't need it and can safely do away with the page file if you are using a netbook. However, you will gain little and could potentially lose a lot.

For example, I started having strange problems on my desktop machine with IE not opening new windows when I had many already open. Other applications would fail to launch for unknown reasons. I traced the problem to not having a page file when I had multiple windows and applications running. The strange thing is that WinXP didn't warn me I was out of pages, it just started acting in unpredictable ways.

The only reason not to have a page file is the situation where you have a slow SSD as the main drive, or you have a drive with very little space left and can't clean it.

Ok how do I set it to clear at shutoff on XP home?

orion456 said:

For example, I started having strange problems on my desktop machine with IE not opening new windows when I had many already open. Other applications would fail to launch for unknown reasons. I traced the problem to not having a page file when I had multiple windows and applications running. The strange thing is that WinXP didn't warn me I was out of pages, it just started acting in unpredictable ways.

Click to expand...

Orion, I'm not sure you are seeing an issue with the pagefile in what u mention above. More than likely your issue is with the desktop heap space, which for any power user should be increased to minimize the "too many open" windows issue.

Articles about desktop heap and how to change it:

Article 1

Article 2

Damn. This question has been asked quite a bit....

With 2GB of ram, keep it. With 4, its your choice, however as someone stated, there is little to gain from it while potentially a lot to lose. It just depends on teh applications you use and if it needs it.

chawks2 said:

Orion, I'm not sure you are seeing an issue with the pagefile in what u mention above. More than likely your issue is with the desktop heap space, which for any power user should be increased to minimize the "too many open" windows issue.

Articles about desktop heap and how to change it:

Article 1

Article 2

Click to expand...

Could be, but reenabling the pagefile fixed the problem, unless heap space is related to the pagefile.

Edward78 said:

Ok how do I set it to clear at shutoff on XP home?

Click to expand...

I'm getting the impression that the OP wishes to not use his pagefile for security reasons as opposed to performance/disk space reasons.

Check out this article, OP. However, if you are really paranoid, I might suggest using the CryptoSwap utility that's part of Jetico's BestCrypt encryption software.