MAX Virtual Memory?

[MLStrand56]

What is the MAX Virtual Memory? Is the MAX Virtual Memory different for 32bit & 64bit OS's?

I know that there is a MAX because I set mine to 10Gig & it was not accepted by 32bit Win7.

MLStrand56

 

[OldMX]

If you mean pagefile, on 32bit it should be around 3.3~4GB tops

 

[Layback Bear]

How would Windows 7/32 with 4 gigs of ram except 10 gigs in virtual memory. My suggestion is don't set it and just let Windows 7 take care of memory. It does it quiet well.

 

[strollin]

Having a 10G pagefile (virtual memory) would be counter-productive. Windows swaps out portions of memory to disk when it runs short of physical memory with the objective of preventing a system crash due to insufficient memory. Your hdd or even an ssd is slower than RAM so performance suffers greatly. It's a compromise, run slowly or crash. The recommended pagefile size for Win 7 is equal to how much RAM you have but, as has already been stated, the average user should just let Windows manage it.

 

[MLStrand56]

What is the MAX Virtual Memory? Is the MAX Virtual Memory different for 32bit & 64bit OS's?

I know that there is a MAX because I set mine to 10Gig & it was not accepted by 32bit Win7.

MLStrand56

While I appreciate everybodies suggestions, Nobody has actually answered my questions.

MLStrand56

 

[seavixen32]

A quick search on Google reveals that the maximum size of virtual memory is three times the installed memory.

Change the size of virtual memory

As you are using a 32-bit version of Windows, the maximum you can set your virtual memory at is 9.75GB (3x3.25) and explains why Windows is telling you that you can't set it at 10GB.

I agree with strollin that it's best to let Windows manage it.

 

[logicearth]

Read: Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

A couple of final limits related to virtual memory are the maximum size and number of paging files supported by Windows. 32-bit Windows has a maximum paging file size of 16TB (4GB if you for some reason run in non-PAE mode) and 64-bit Windows can having paging files that are up to 16TB in size on x64 and 32TB on IA64. For all versions, Windows supports up to 16 paging files, where each must be on a separate volume.

 

[MLStrand56]

How would Windows 7/32 with 4 gigs of ram except 10 gigs in virtual memory.

With a 1TB HD in this computer, I can afford 10Gig of Virtual Memory.

Since it's the concensus here that Windows only uses Virtual Memory, when it runs out of RAM, the question becomes, Why WOULDN'T Win7 be able to use a 10Gig Virtual Memory?

Since my questions refer to setting the Virtual Memory to MAX, Recommending that I let Windows set the Virtual Memory, is of NO help to me.

MLStrand56

 

[Layback Bear]

I don't believe the size of your hard drive has anything to do with the setting of your ram. IMHO Windows 7 unlike the older systems doesn't need such settings. Windows 7 does like lots of ram. For 99% of the people who use Windows 7/64 just add more ram if possible. Their are very few tweaks to Windows 7 that will make things better. Now you might be the 1% .
Have a nice day.

 

[strollin]

What do YOU think the advantage would be to 10G of virtual memory? Your computer would run so slowly (if Windows ever needed to use all of it) that it would come to a stand still swapping things in and out of RAM to disk.

 

[seavixen32]

How would Windows 7/32 with 4 gigs of ram except 10 gigs in virtual memory.

With a 1TB HD in this computer, I can afford 10Gig of Virtual Memory.

Since it's the concensus here that Windows only uses Virtual Memory, when it runs out of RAM, the question becomes, Why WOULDN'T Win7 be able to use a 10Gig Virtual Memory?

Since my questions refer to setting the Virtual Memory to MAX, Recommending that I let Windows set the Virtual Memory, is of NO help to me.

MLStrand56

There is no correlation between hard drive space and RAM. Drive space is drive space and RAM is RAM - two totally different entities.

The link I posted you states quite clearly that the maximum amount of virtual memory you can use is three times your usable memory.

You have Windows 7 x86 so the maximum amout of RAM it can utilise is 9.75GB i.e. 3 x 3.25GB.

You say that Microsoft's suggestion that you let Windows set the amount of virtual memory is no good to you.

That being the case, our work here is done and I suggest you take it up with Microsoft.

As you're so knowledgeable they'll probably offer you a job.

Have a nice day.

 

[JimLewandowski]

Let's clarify terms.

Virtual memory exists in two forms. Each address space is allowed to access physical memory via virtual memory addresses (limitations are different between 32-bit and 64-bit). When I use the term "virtual memory", I am referring to this addressable memory via applications/running units-of-work.

The PAGING file is virtualizing PHYSICAL memory and allowing the system to perceive having more PHYSICAL memory than it really has. For this situation, I use the term "virtual PHYSICAL memory" to denote the paging file is included.

 

[Britton30]

What is the MAX Virtual Memory? Is the MAX Virtual Memory different for 32bit & 64bit OS's?

I know that there is a MAX because I set mine to 10Gig & it was not accepted by 32bit Win7.

MLStrand56

While I appreciate everybodies suggestions, Nobody has actually answered my questions.

MLStrand56

It was answered below.

A quick search on Google reveals that the maximum size of virtual memory is three times the installed memory.

Change the size of virtual memory

As you are using a 32-bit version of Windows, the maximum you can set your virtual memory at is 9.75GB (3x3.25) and explains why Windows is telling you that you can't set it at 10GB.

I agree with strollin that it's best to let Windows manage it.

 

[logicearth]

It was answered below.

Yet incorrect answer...Mark Russinovich provided the real answer at the end of his article. The limit is 16TB, or 4GB without PAE but most computers today are running in PAE mode. A quick test on my computer, 10GB pagefile is acceptable. I don't have a big enough HDD to test 1TB.

When it comes to stuff like this, no one better to ask then Mr. Russinovich.

 

[Layback Bear]

After reading all this including Mark Russinovich information it mounts to one thing IMHO ; let Windows 7 handle it. We have begged for years for such a operating system to handle such things and we got it in Windows 7 and now some are trying to tweak it like it's XP, why?
Keep in mind it took a Pitch Fork, C4 and a Blond Sweaty to get off of XP-PRO.

 

[aremkay]

Virtual memory limit?

If you mean pagefile, on 32bit it should be around 3.3~4GB tops

So if I make 2 or 3 partition-drives (4gb's each) and configure them for almost full pagefile each (8 - 12 gb total), I could be slowing down my 64bit thingo?

Could that be the cause of having to stare at 'not responding' apps so often?

I run 3-4 machines on KVM. One is exclusively for data, with a Carbonite connection, and is also synchronized with my laptop (hp dv7), when I am on home turf.

Apps I run from the others, on network of course.
I am heavy into InDesign, and the same 400 page encyclopedia I could load into XP using CS2, I cannot load into Win7 64bit 4gb memory, and even section by section I can hang. But that aside, other run-of-the-mill apps are hanging, sometimes until death.

Any savvy comments or solutions?

 

[aremkay]

Read: Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory - Mark's Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

A couple of final limits related to virtual memory are the maximum size and number of paging files supported by Windows. 32-bit Windows has a maximum paging file size of 16TB (4GB if you for some reason run in non-PAE mode) and 64-bit Windows can having paging files that are up to 16TB in size on x64 and 32TB on IA64. For all versions, Windows supports up to 16 paging files, where each must be on a separate volume.

This response answers my queries. The others tend to say 'what can be done is not necessarily what should be done.' This in itself is good advice to be heeded.

Thank you.

 

[JimLewandowski]

Re: Paging file. It doesn't matter what's written to it, but rather is there any single instance of any page being READ from it (as then you have a potential problem).