there's a lot of nonsense in the page file debate, and a lot of what I read seems to be holding to the age old rule of "page file should be 1.5x RAM"

that doesn't make sense, though. as you have more RAM, your need for a page file decreases, so your page file should get smaller

at what point would most of you say a page file is unnecessary (for windows XP)? 2gb ram? 4gb?

6/6/2007 2:45:30 PM

it depends on a lot of things. it's needed to post memory dumps when windows crashes... etc.

imho since hard drive space is so inexpensive, the 1.5x rule is a good place to start... ideally i'd say if you have 2gb or more you don't really need a page file, but i still prefer to have one.

obviously the less physical memory you have the more virtual memory you'll need.

the optimal configuration (imho) is to create a separate 2-4gb partition just for the page file (and any other scratch disk configs for other apps) thus all the writing to disk the page file does, it won't fragment your hard drive... if you page file is on your primary partition you are in for a serious performance hit

also be sure to set your min/max to the SAME number so windows doesn't try to adjust it on it's own, this way your page file remains the same size the entire time and doesn't fragment your drive and decrease performance more than it already does.

[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 3:17 PM. Reason : .]

6/6/2007 2:50:58 PM

By default windows puts the page file on the os partition? So you're saying by creating a new partition and putting the page file there, performance is increased?

6/6/2007 2:53:01 PM

i'm not saying the page file performance is increased, but your overall system performance is increased since it's not being fragmented every second by the page file... allowing windows to find the file it needs faster.

not only does windows put the page file on the primary partition, but it also sets the default to allow windows to adjust the page file size whenever it feels like it causing a bigger performance hit.

[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 2:58 PM. Reason : .]

6/6/2007 2:56:04 PM

I had no idea. So is it a complicated process to move and set the default size of the page file?

6/6/2007 3:03:15 PM

nope, the only difficult thing is creating a new partition without losing your windows install

system -> advanced -> performance settings -> advanced -> virtual memory / change ->

click on drive C:
click on Custom Size
Initial & Max size should be: 4MB (required only for small memory dump [64KB])
-or-
Initial & Max size should be: 1/3 your physical memory (required only for kernel memory dump)
click Set

click on drive D: (or next drive letter)
click on Custom Size
Initial & Max size should be: 1.5x-3x your physical memory (2gb x 1.5 = 3.5GB or 3072 MB)
click Set


[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 3:16 PM. Reason : .]

6/6/2007 3:12:54 PM

if you have a page file of 4gb it allocates a 4gb file that won't be fragmented any more than when it was originally created by windows.

6/6/2007 3:13:10 PM

i dont have a page file and i can hibernate just fine

6/6/2007 3:14:40 PM

^^true, but i've never had a non-fragmented 4gb file ever, unless it's the only file on it's own partition, it's even better if it's on your secondary drive as it can utilize both drives to increase performance

[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 3:20 PM. Reason : .]

6/6/2007 3:15:37 PM

^^yeah, hibernation is it's own file, n/m

6/6/2007 3:16:36 PM

^^ mine isn't fragmented b/c it's the original one windows made

and if i ever move it to another drive, i move it to one w/ no files on it.

[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 3:30 PM. Reason : ]

6/6/2007 3:30:45 PM

^that's exactly my point, you don't want the file fragmented, hence it's better on it's own without other files on it's partition, the ideal page file is one that A) doesn't resize & B) doesn't move

[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 4:18 PM. Reason : .]

6/6/2007 4:12:53 PM

as i mentioned in the other thread, when using one hd (such as on a laptop), my favorite partition configuration is:

windows: 20-30gb
page: 2gb
my documents: rest of hd

at 2gb, i think there's a lot of debate as to whether page is necessary, but as mentioned before, hd's are so inexpensive that 2gb of hd space is nothing and well worth the performance increase potential

*shrug*

6/6/2007 4:44:29 PM

^my configuration in my desktop is the same, i typically set the page file partition to drive z: and using tweakUI i hide the partition as well, keeping only C: & D: for windows / programs... my 2nd drive is for storage, scratch/page

6/6/2007 4:50:23 PM

lol

you can use disk management to assign or remove a drive letter instead of tweakui

6/6/2007 5:40:05 PM

lol

it wasn't to assign or remove a drive letter it is to hide it, read the sentence again and notice the and

[Edited on June 6, 2007 at 6:03 PM. Reason : .]

6/6/2007 6:02:46 PM