Virtual Memory

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  1. Posts : 83
    Win7 RTM
       #1

    Virtual Memory


    Hi My question should be a simple one but im confused should i let the system manage my VM or should i set the numbers my self? Another question i have is it better to run the VM on the system disk or a second slave drive? here is a screen shot of what i have going on now.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,377
    Win7x64
       #2

    Archangel83 said:
    Hi My question should be a simple one but im confused should i let the system manage my VM or should i set the numbers my self? Another question i have is it better to run the VM on the system disk or a second slave drive? here is a screen shot of what i have going on now.
    1) Leave the default settings unless you have some particular reason to change them.

    2) Both drives. The OS "knows" which disk is least busy at any given point in time, and it'll use the corresponding pagefile.
      My Computer


  3. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #3

    Trying to outsmart the system is usually not a good idea. Unless you know a lot more than the hordes of programmers that developed the system, I would keep my hands off.
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  4. Posts : 5,941
    Linux CENTOS 7 / various Windows OS'es and servers
       #4

    Hi there
    Paging as prev poster says leave as default - the OS usually knows best.

    However I'll disagree about the VM.

    If the host is relatively inactive whilst you are doing your work in the VM then IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU HAVE THE VM.

    The biggest bottleneck a VM has on home type computers is RAM - VM's need oodles and oodles of RAM once you start running serious apps on them.

    Remember ALL RAM you allocate to a VM is permanently allocated to the VM and NOT available to the host.

    What will happen when the host runs out of memory is not excessive paging per se - it will happen later read on.

    A a FAR worse phenomenon known as SWAPPING will occur. This will try and write the ENTIRE virtual machines address space to disk and Swap in the host's memory requirement.

    There won't be enough memory in the HOST to do this operation so paging will increase so much that the disk light will be hard on and your computer will appear to have locked up -- this is called "thrashing".

    If you are running a VM don't over allocate RAM to it and when using the VM don't have any or at least minimal activity on the host. There isn't a 1:1 relationship in the requirements for a REAL to Virtual machine.

    So it really doesn't matter on what disk you allocate the VM - put it on the fastest if I were you.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  5. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #5

    jimbo45 said:
    Hi there
    Paging as prev poster says leave as default - the OS usually knows best.

    However I'll disagree about the VM.

    If the host is relatively inactive whilst you are doing your work in the VM then IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU HAVE THE VM.

    The biggest bottleneck a VM has on home type computers is RAM - VM's need oodles and oodles of RAM once you start running serious apps on them.

    Remember ALL RAM you allocate to a VM is permanently allocated to the VM and NOT available to the host.

    What will happen when the host runs out of memory is not excessive paging per se - it will happen later read on.

    A a FAR worse phenomenon known as SWAPPING will occur. This will try and write the ENTIRE virtual machines address space to disk and Swap in the host's memory requirement.

    There won't be enough memory in the HOST to do this operation so paging will increase so much that the disk light will be hard on and your computer will appear to have locked up -- this is called "thrashing".

    If you are running a VM don't over allocate RAM to it and when using the VM don't have any or at least minimal activity on the host. There isn't a 1:1 relationship in the requirements for a REAL to Virtual machine.

    So it really doesn't matter on what disk you allocate the VM - put it on the fastest if I were you.

    Cheers
    jimbo
    This is an excellent point. I originally allocated 2GBs for my Win7 virtual partition (using vBox). That left 1.25GBs for my host Vista (4GB RAM in 32bit). BAAD news. My Vista was only creeping along whilst my Win7 hardly used 500MBs. Then I reduced the virtual partition to 1GB which leaves 2.25GBs for the Vista host. Now both systems perform very well and I hardly notice any impact on the Vista host. Just at the very beginning after opening the virtual partition it needs a little time for superfetch to rearrange the real estate. But that is minor.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 83
    Win7 RTM
    Thread Starter
       #6

    ok first thank you all for your responses. now about drive speed how do i figure out what one of my 2 drives is the faster is their a tool in windows or is their a freeware program that could tell me that info? as for default settings win7 had the virtual memory on the system disk i only changed it to my slave disk as i once was told that having the vm on a different drive other then the os disk would increase performance this being said should i switch it back to the os disk or leave it on my slave ?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 4,573
       #7

    This thread is seriously derailed. The OP seems to be mislabeling the page file as VM (virtual memory). Jimbo is discussing Virtual Machines.

    How 'bout them Cowboys?!
      My Computer


  8. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #8

    Antman said:
    This thread is seriously derailed. The OP seems to be mislabeling the page file as VM (virtual memory). Jimbo is discussing Virtual Machines.

    How 'bout them Cowboys?!
    Aha, I think you are right. But the other discussion was useful too. A real Babylon.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,377
    Win7x64
       #9

    Archangel83 said:
    ok first thank you all for your responses. now about drive speed how do i figure out what one of my 2 drives is the faster is their a tool in windows or is their a freeware program that could tell me that info? as for default settings win7 had the virtual memory on the system disk i only changed it to my slave disk as i once was told that having the vm on a different drive other then the os disk would increase performance this being said should i switch it back to the os disk or leave it on my slave ?
    What Antman said. Jimbo's advice pertained to a different definition of "VM", not the pagefile settings you're discussing.

    If you're looking to make the best possible use of that second drive for pagefile purposes, don't just move the entire pagefile. Instead, split it up across both drives - say 2GB on the first drive, 2GB on the second, and so on for any new drives (spindles) you add to the system in the future.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1,326
    Windows 7 Ultimate RTM (Technet)
       #10

    jimbo45 said:
    Hi there
    Paging as prev poster says leave as default - the OS usually knows best.

    However I'll disagree about the VM.

    If the host is relatively inactive whilst you are doing your work in the VM then IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU HAVE THE VM.

    The biggest bottleneck a VM has on home type computers is RAM - VM's need oodles and oodles of RAM once you start running serious apps on them.

    Remember ALL RAM you allocate to a VM is permanently allocated to the VM and NOT available to the host.

    What will happen when the host runs out of memory is not excessive paging per se - it will happen later read on.

    A a FAR worse phenomenon known as SWAPPING will occur. This will try and write the ENTIRE virtual machines address space to disk and Swap in the host's memory requirement.

    There won't be enough memory in the HOST to do this operation so paging will increase so much that the disk light will be hard on and your computer will appear to have locked up -- this is called "thrashing".

    If you are running a VM don't over allocate RAM to it and when using the VM don't have any or at least minimal activity on the host. There isn't a 1:1 relationship in the requirements for a REAL to Virtual machine.

    So it really doesn't matter on what disk you allocate the VM - put it on the fastest if I were you.

    Cheers
    jimbo
    Ummm, the OP was not talking about a Virtual Machine....he was talking about Virtual Memory.
      My Computer


 
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