Re: Virtual memory problem? - PF usage grows, not freed when apps

Gregg

I n recent years there have been countless arguments over pagefile ( also
called virtual memory ) settings. Some believe that the user should leave
Windows to manage virtual memory. Others believe in setting just a minimum
and others in having a minimum and a maximum. Some will set the minimum and
maximum at the same figure. Some believe in having a partition dedicated to
hold only the pagefile, whilst others are opposed to that idea.

There are several pitfalls for the unwary, particularly if disk space is at
a premium. Setting a too small maximum can result in the system crashing if
the pagefile needs to expand beyond the maximum permitted. However, if there
is little extra disk space available the setting of a greater maximum may
make little difference. This can mean loss of data, which may or may not be
important. There will of course be low memory warnings before this point is
reached.

If you put the page file in it's own partition it is generally recognised
that this is best placed in the first partition on the second hard drive. If
you have a dedicated partition you should retain a small pagefile in the
same partition as the windows operating system to satisfy demands from the
system for virtual memory. For certain operations the system needs virtual
memory rather than ram memory.

It is desirable to try to use RAM memory rather than virtual memory. Reading
from and writing to ram memory is quicker than to and from virtual memory.
Therefore where the Commit Charge is regularly greater than the available
RAM memory it is desirable to add more memory up to the maximum allowed by
the motherboard. Setting a maximum size for the pagefile needs to be based
on peak demands, which can be monitored using Task Manager and / or a
specialised utility. However, it is also wise to have a generous cushion for
unexpected demands. However, as Alex Nichol commented in the article posted
earlier the greater the RAM the system is able to access the less will be
it's need for virtual memory. The great majority of informed users of XP now
agree that setting a maximum, which is a multiplier of RAM memory is not a
sensible approach.


F= Fellow and I am a member of this professional body:
http://www.ifac.org/About/MemberDetails.tmpl?MemID=5456514

You are the first person to ask in 5 years.

I do not work for Microsoft. Trying to help with computer problems is a
hobby much as others choose to do crosswords.

--

Regards.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"FL Guy" <FLGuy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5A92DA74-5803-4B25-9A91-6BA8E40A0E58@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> "Gerry Cornell" wrote:
>
>> I would download and install the patch.
>>
>> With regard to virtual memory remove the maximum so that there is no
>> maximum.
>
> OK, I have installed the patch, and updated the VM settings.
>
> (For now at least, I set the max to 3 GB - I wasn't comfortable with NO
> limit :-). I also increased the minimum to 1.5 GB, given that this system
> has
> 'only' 512 of physical RAM at this point, and I tend to run 4 or 5 apps
> simulataneously + WIN XP.)
>
> I will now run without rebooting for a a few days (or until the problem
> resurfaces :-), and see if the problem recurs. I'll post again if it
> does.
> If it doesn't happen again, I'll try to remember to post an update in a
> few
> days just to confirm
>
> Thanks very much for the suggestions (and questions :-).
>
> By the way, sorry to say that I have no idea what "FCA" stands for. If
> you
> don't mind my asking do you work for (or contracted by) Microsoft?
>
> regards,
> Gregg


.

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