Page File Question

[takiwa]

can someone explain to me about the page file system in XP...and why I have my page file set at 128M, but the task manager shows my page file usage at 145M?

 

[repo man11]

This page has some info on the page file.
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP17.htm
Not sure about the difference between your setting and usage though.

 

[aftermath]

Have you set the maximum to 128 because windows will resize it if you havn't.

 

[moorcito]

Just get at least 512mb more of memory and disable your page file.

 

[Crash893]

here is something ive always wondered
if you got 512 and disabled it does it make the computer run faster?



second windows uses this basic math to make your page file

ram*1.5= min ram*2= max

 

[takiwa]

ok...to answer some questions.

I have set min-max at 128-128, on partition E (I read somewhere that it's recommended to have the page file on a drive other than the one your Windows install is on, for speed, I guess...)

I have 512M RAM, but Adobe Photoshop seems to require a page file...it wouldn't run until I set one

I was just wondering why I have it set for one thing, and Windows decides to use however much it wants to anyway...that's kinda screwed up

 

[moorcito]

I have 512M RAM, but Adobe Photoshop seems to require a page file...it wouldn't run until I set one

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. It seems like Photoshop is the one program that "needs" a page file. If I were you, I'd dump photoshop and get GIMP, it's just like photoshop but it's free.

here is something ive always wondered
if you got 512 and disabled it does it make the computer run faster?

As far as making the computer run faster by disabling it, I don't know exactlly. More memory will definitally make it run faster because windows won't use the page file. For example, at work I have a duron 700 w/ 128mb that can be superslow at times because it's swaping stuff in and out of the page file. Now at home I have 384mb in my PIII and I have never seen win98 actually use the page file.

Now, I know that on machines with small amounts of ram, a swap file is good, but for some reason a page file on a computer with more than 512mb sounds too much like the 640K of memory that Bill said would be enough for everyone. It's just stupid.

 

[takiwa]

so why would it use more than what I have it set for?

 

[Crash893]

doesnt photo shop have its own page file

 

[takiwa]

I don't know...all I know is when I try to run it with no page file set, it won't run.

 

[mbentley]

can someone explain to me about the page file system in XP...and why I have my page file set at 128M, but the task manager shows my page file usage at 145M?

do you have your page file set to 128 - 128? if so, that is awfully weird as it *shouldn't* take more than is allowed in the settings...

 

[takiwa]

yeah...it's at 109M now, and it stays at about 114M (after I'm up and running, it's about 60M at boot), but when I posted this thread, it was at 145M. I keep checking it, and it hasn't gotten that high again...I am trying to remember what I was running when it hit that. But, yeah, it's at 128-128.

 

[mbentley]

yeah...it's at 109M now, and it stays at about 114M (after I'm up and running, it's about 60M at boot), but when I posted this thread, it was at 145M. I keep checking it, and it hasn't gotten that high again...I am trying to remember what I was running when it hit that. But, yeah, it's at 128-128.

i see that you list one hard drive in your sig... is that formatted in one partition? i guess i haven't really looked at my page file usage that much so notice it going over like that... maybe you should raise the size of your page file to about 175-175 or so... somewhere in that range and then check the page file usage to see if it is within whatever you assigned it. it might increase speed, but i doubt there is any measurable difference. i figure that if it is allocated a larger space and doesn't use it all, there is no harm done, but if it's too small, it will have to add onto the page file somewhere else on the disk, not right next to other sectors, making it slightly slower possibly. just my guess on the situation.

 

[takiwa]

Well, it's even higher now...

I have 3 partitions on my HDD. 1 6G for Windows, and two 15.6G storage and backup partitions...No matter what I set my page file at, Windows uses what it wants to, apparently. This is starting to p|ss me off...

 

[mbentley]

i would just try to increase your page file... windows actually recommends a page file of 1.5 times the ram you have. you probably actually only need 1/3 of your system memory. try that and see how it works.

 

[repo man11]

From the link:From Fastest to Slowest, these are the configuration you can try:

* No swap file at all. Some software may fail.
* A static swap file on a separate hard drive (and preferably, controller) from Windows and frequently accessed data.
* A dynamic swap file on a separate hard drive (and preferably, controller) from Windows and frequently accessed data.
* A static swap file on a separate partition, but on the same physical hard drive as Windows.
* A dynamic swap file on a separate partition, but on the same physical hard drive as Windows.
* The Default: A dynamic swap file on the same partition and physical hard drive (usually C as Windows.