Questions regarding Pagefile.sys

[glennc]

Hello,
You Gentlemen recently helped me remove the clean pagefile.sys on shutdown thus shortening the time immensely. My question, is there a way to clean the pagefile.sys with maybe overwrites manually? I have 4GB of RAM and the pagefile.sys suggested 5390 MB. I rarely run 80% of my RAM, does that amount of disk space sound prudent?
Also would a 8 GB flash drive set to use as extended memory be faster than a HD Caviar Black with 3G SATA? Thanks, trying to get ideas as my main drive is becomming moderately full.
Thanks for any advice or opinions.
glennc

 

[DeaconFrost]

I wouldn't waste my time with Readyboost, considering you have more than 1 GB of system memory. How is your 500 GB drive broken down that you are running out of space on it?

 

[glennc]

Hello DeaconFrost,
Thanks for your reply and assistance. I have 119 GB left of 465 GB. I currently have 5370 MBs for pagefile.sys. On my XP system I was using a third of a 160 GB drive.
So I'm unfamiliar enough to be concerned. I would also like to wipe my pagefile.sys once in a while manually.
glennc

 

[pparks1]

I have 4GB of RAM and the pagefile.sys suggested 5390 MB. I rarely run 80% of my RAM, does that amount of disk space sound prudent?

Unless you are very tight on disk space, I wouldn't change it or worry about it.

Also would a 8 GB flash drive set to use as extended memory be faster than a HD Caviar Black with 3G SATA?

No, the flash drive will be many, many times slower. Even with a USB 3.0 interface, you have far more bandwidth available to the hard drive.

 

[glennc]

Hello pparks1,
Thanks for your response and thoughts on the matter. Glad for the info reference the flash drives.
glennc

 

[DeaconFrost]

Do you know what is using all of that space on your main drive? That seems like a huage amount of space in use...even with a few large games installed. I do agree that it is best to let the pagefile alone, aka system managed, and there's no reason to ever want to or consider wiping the pagefile. Find out what's taking up all of your space, and that will be a far better solution.

 

[glennc]

Hello DeaconFrost,
Thanks for following up. I am of the habit of setting the pagefile.sys to the system requested for minimum and maximum, giving me a static block of memory. This is probably taking up some of it. I've read the you should clear your pagefile.sys for leftover data, thus I had it previously wiping on shutdown. I would like a way to do that manually intermittently. The largest amount of files is photos, some music files for
rhapsody. Not much else I can think of. I will check in more depth.
glennc

 

[DeaconFrost]

The concept of setting a min and max for the pagefile worked well in Windows XP, but hasn't been a needed or valid tweak since then. Vista, and then Windows 7 moreso, could manage the virtual memory system very well on their own.

I'm not sure where you read about clearing the pagefile, but that isn't needed at all. I can't say I've ever heard of such a thing, and I wouldn't waste any time or effort worrying about it.

The thing to remember is, Windows 7 isn't Windows XP, and shouldn't be treated as such. Most, if not all, of those "tweaks" that enthusiasts have done with XP aren't needed anymore. We can finally sit back, let the system handle itself, and just go on using our computers.

 

[Keiichi25]

The whole clearing the pagefile originated with security issues where it could be used to gather scant information that could be used to violate security. I recall this as being one of the 'necessary evils' for some machines when you wanted to be sure people couldn't mess with something on that system. The draw back is, I do not believe there is a way to manually clear the pagefile, as it is a system controlled file and still requires a restart for changes within it, which is why clearing the pagefile only happens at shutdown.

Also, since the pagefile is directly related to Virtual Memory, messing with that location during system operation is much like you trying to yank out your ram and sticking it back in while the computer is on. Don't forget, Windows is still actively using the pagefile for virtual ram at any given time during operation.

 

[glennc]

Hello Gentlemen,
Thank you for the education. I know that Windows 7 is different as it has taken a disliking of me. But I will let it handle the pagefile.sys as it might give me more space.
Still wondering about the wiping the file as they have W7 programs designed to do just that. Great stuff, thanx
glennc

 

[DeaconFrost]

I wouldn't worry about wiping the file, unless this is some kind of kiosk system that many people share and use. Simply put, on your own system, there's no need to do so.

 

[Keiichi25]

I wouldn't worry about wiping the file, unless this is some kind of kiosk system that many people share and use. Simply put, on your own system, there's no need to do so.

Well, unless you are a paranoid techno geek that feels that people are going to get sensitive information out of your pagefile. But at that point, you should have a giant electro magnet nearby to flip on, because if you are that worried about people accessing your data, you should just flick a switch and rub a giant magnet around your system to make it completely inaccessable.

Just so you know, the government and some others have data recovery tools to really get at what you have on your system that a pagefile purge won't save you.

 

[whs]

Even with a relatively large RAM you can never be sure when the pagefile is being used. For normal operations it will probably not be used, but e.g. AV scans use it very often.
Make the test: Scan with your AV program whilst you have the Resource Monitor > Memory tab open. Look at the Hard Faults/sec diagram on the bottom right. If that shows any activity, then your page file is active.
Now imagine what would happen if you ran a cleanup during that time. That would be like pulling the plug on your OS disk. Unfortunately there is no "Safely Remove" for the pagefile.sys.
This is what it shows on my system with 4GBs of RAM when I run a Norton scan - pretty busy despite of more than 1GB of free RAM and plenty of cached RAM.

 

[Layback Bear]

Here is few things to think on. Windows 7 is not XP. It works different and better than XP. The tips and tweaks we all did with older operating system seldom apply to Windows 7. The only one that is any where close is Vista. Try this and it will help you understand the way Windows handles Ram. Start/ type in resmon enter. Go to memory. You will notice that there are several sections. You will notice that your ram is not being used up, its puts in cached and standby. If your system needs it (bang) its got it. Just let Windows 7 do its job, you will like it.

 

[glennc]

Well you Fine Members have convinced me. I ain't gonna worry about it. I appreciate the explanations and tests to show what is happening. Good stuff!
glennc