Re: Virtual Memory Paging File
- From: "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:14:14 -0700
Sourcerer wrote:
"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eH0ruACQHHA.1248@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sourcerer wrote:
I have a laptop computer, 1.8GHz processor and 1.5GB RAM.
Right now, I have 4 programs running (not counting background
processes and services, and I'm rarely running more than that,
except when I have multiple instances of IE or Firefox open).
Applications I'm running are Outlook, Visual Studio .NET, Excel,
and Windows Task Manager, and I'm only using 423MB of memory. I
have never used up all my memory. In fact, I don't even remember
using half of it. I want to know why I need that Virtual Memory Paging
File, under
these circumstances? Unlike my RAM, my disk space is quite limited
(given that I have two operating systems installed), and that 2.3GB
which the paging file occupies (recommended size) would be quite handy
if
I freed it. As it is, it's using 5.75% of my hard disk space which
I have reserved for Windows, and
that is quite large portion.
Can I safely remove the Paging file,
No, that is always a bad idea. Do not disable the Page File. Windows
preallocates memory to the Page File in anticipation of possibly
needing to use it. If you disable the Page File, those allocations
get made to real memory instead, and the result is that you can
never use that part of your RAM.
Thank you for the reply, but I have one more question.
I tried disabling the page file, just to see what happens. I was
running the same programs I ran at the time of my original posting,
and my total memory usage was 345MB only (with paging file on, it was
423MB, though it could be because my computer was up longer than
during the experiment).
So, why should I fret over not being able to use a small part of RAM
because of the allocations you mention, when during the vast majority
of time when my system is running, half or more of it is not occupied
at all (i.e. the OS does not find any use for it)?
You have 1.5GB, which is way more than most people running WIndows XP can
make effective use of. Only those people running especially memory-hungry
applications need that much memory, and apparently you are not one of them
(at least at the moment). So the issue I mentioned may not be significant to
you today.
But the mix of applications most of us run changes all the time, and what
isn't significant today might be significant tomorow. Given that, and given
that there is no benefit to running without a page file, to me it's a
no-brainer. Don't turn it off.
Over and above that significant disadvantage, there is no possible
benefit to disabling it. If it's not needed, it won't be used.
or reduce its size?
Yes, you caan certainly reduce its size. The default is usually much
larger than most people need, especially those with lots of RAM. For
more information, read this article by the late MVP, Alex Nichol,
"Virtual Memory in Windows XP " at http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm
Thanks for the link.
You're welcome. Glad to help.
--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
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