Pagefile setting

AlexRD · 07 Aug 2010

Hiya,

I had an idea which at first seemed to be brilliant, but then it went down again.
There is a program called ramdisk which creates a partition that uses the RAM.
I thought hey, why not put the pagefile in that partition, so i would have RAMpagefile. Superfast?

But then i remembered ram is wiped every time you reboot, so i don't know, i think it would screw up my pagefile.

I just wrote that on top so that other people might have the chance to try this, because i abandoned it :P

My real question is, i have 12 GB's of RAM and i don't know if i need pagefile.
I've read that it reduces fragmentation, no file swapping etc, but also some programs use the pagefile for some reason, and if i disable it, an error message would appear to those programs saying Out of memory.

I sometimes use 3dsmax and Ulead Videostudio, do i really need pagefile?

Sorry for the long thread,
Thanks,
Alex.

Wishmaster · 07 Aug 2010

Short answer, Yes you do.

Many will suggest to let Windows manage the PF. And for the most part, I too agree.

However, in some cases I would say reducing it a bit doesnt hurt.

For example, If you have 6GB+ or RAM, and/or a smaller SSD, A 12GB PF IMO isnt really needed.

I've changed the size of mine a bit , but always have one. ATM, with 8GB of RAM, I set mine at a min and max of 500MB on the OS SSD, & a 3.75Gb one on a secondary SSD. I havent had any issues. (My OS Drive is only 40GB)

If multiple drives, you can use a small 500MB on the OS drive, and a larger PF (set or system managed) on a secondary drive if you prefer.

However you decide to do it, do not disable it.

CarlTR6 · 07 Aug 2010

+1 I concur with Wishmaster.

dolittle · 07 Aug 2010

I would have a page file. On the C drive that is where it belongs. I have a SSDs plus 8 gig of ram an I set my PF to 1 gig.

AlexRD · 07 Aug 2010

Ok, but why not disable it?

dolittle · 07 Aug 2010

You know that is a dam good question.

Disable the Page File

Description: Eliminate writing memory to the SSD, free over 2GB of disk space.

WARNING: If you run out of memory the program you're using will crash.

Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Settings (Performance) -> Advanced Tab -> Change -> Uncheck Automatically manage -> No paging file -> Set -> OK -> Restart your computer
Alternatively, if you want to play it safer, you can set a custom size of 200MB min and max.

I guess if you never run out of memory you shouldn't need a PF.
Going to search some more :)

Wishmaster · 08 Aug 2010

Not neccasarily doolittle.

One program i can think of right off the top of my head was Everquest 2. (Used to play it alot)

With the PF disabled, the game would simply lock up at certain points and crash saying out of memory. Virtual Memory error.
I had 8GB, yet never exceed 4GB of RAM use.

Enabled the PF again, and the error disappeared.

Physical RAM wasn't an issue here.
On some testing with it, It would also do if the PF was set around 1GB or less. Around 2Gb+ PF the issue went away.

Theres a few other games and apps that expect to see a PF, and if its not found can act similar.

sandman · 09 Aug 2010

I have always set mine to 1.5X the amount of ram or about that, mine is set at 6142mb's min max with 4 gig of ram and I am trying something new separate page files on two separate drives, time will tell if it makes much of a difference. I have also ran the system with no paging file and did not have any issues. Years ago the memory manager or free memory was a big software program with Windows 98-95 and even XP can't remember any of the names.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m.../ff382717.aspx

Desslok · 09 Aug 2010

Wishmaster said:

With the PF disabled, the game would simply lock up at certain points and crash saying out of memory. Virtual Memory error.
I had 8GB, yet never exceed 4GB of RAM use.

Enabled the PF again, and the error disappeared.

Physical RAM wasn't an issue here.
On some testing with it, It would also do if the PF was set around 1GB or less. Around 2Gb+ PF the issue went away.

Theres a few other games and apps that expect to see a PF, and if its not found can act similar.

Seen the same thing. I disabled mine on my home machine a while back after reading an article on it (anandtech possibly?). But had a couple similar errors/crashes as mentioned with certain games/apps.