Page File turned off, or is it?

killer_cow · 01-21-2005, 04:54 PM

Hey guys, I decided to see what it was like to run XP without a page file, so i set all my drives to 'No page file', applyed and rebooted.

Everything is running so much quicker... but then I check task manager and it says that I am actually still using page file (for god knows what i dont know [ive got very little open]) and says my PF usage is about 200 MB (fluctuating), yet when I check the system settings everything is indeed set to 'No page file'.

So why is task manager still saying im using page file?

Thanks in advance,

KC

technobeast · 01-22-2005, 01:28 AM

This is Windows - even if it has enough RAM it still swaps files in VM file. Linux has no such problems

- it fills the RAM first and just after the RAM is full it swaps files on HDD. This is a much better case of memory management imho. But you shouln't bother - just put some space for swap (100-200MB constant) and leave Win to fill in it.

killer_cow · 01-22-2005, 06:41 AM

Windows does it again!

Thanks technobeast. Everyday you learn yet another mistake with windows. My question is however if i havn't told it where i want my page file to be... will it just take its own initiative and use up my very limited C: drive?!

There must be someway to tell windows to not touch my hard drive.... reg keys?

system file target pratice?? anything?!

Cheers,

KC

technobeast · 01-22-2005, 07:04 AM

Why don't you put some space from another partition and not C:\. This way you may save yourself from trouble if a program or a game is coded to swap parts in the vm file. If no swap is found OS would crash I assume.

p.s. An interesting story can be mentioned here. At work I use Win2k on a 256 MB RAM machine with 1GB swap. I once decided to disable the swap->defragment->put the swap back on C: drive and have one chunk swap file. Yes... but no. Guess what. Win2k loaded fine, and just before I started defragmentor, my smart head gave birth to a brilliant idea - what would happen if I launched Adobe Premiere (6.01 used).... well nothing really interesting happened. Machine crashed in a gorgeous way and after the reastart all my drivers (for professional video products - MPEG decoders and Real Time video editting) and codecs were so messed that I had to reinstall. LOL I would never do this thing again

Cheers

01-21-2005, 04:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
killer_cow Moo indeed. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a grassy field :D Posts: 140	Page File turned off, or is it? Hey guys, I decided to see what it was like to run XP without a page file, so i set all my drives to 'No page file', applyed and rebooted. Everything is running so much quicker... but then I check task manager and it says that I am actually still using page file (for god knows what i dont know [ive got very little open]) and says my PF usage is about 200 MB (fluctuating), yet when I check the system settings everything is indeed set to 'No page file'. So why is task manager still saying im using page file? Thanks in advance, KC __________________

01-22-2005, 01:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
technobeast The Grim Reaper! Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 2,387	This is Windows - even if it has enough RAM it still swaps files in VM file. Linux has no such problems - it fills the RAM first and just after the RAM is full it swaps files on HDD. This is a much better case of memory management imho. But you shouln't bother - just put some space for swap (100-200MB constant) and leave Win to fill in it. __________________ Liked this post and found it helpful? Click on the image under my avatar to add to my reputation

01-22-2005, 06:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
killer_cow Moo indeed. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a grassy field :D Posts: 140	Windows does it again! Thanks technobeast. Everyday you learn yet another mistake with windows. My question is however if i havn't told it where i want my page file to be... will it just take its own initiative and use up my very limited C: drive?! There must be someway to tell windows to not touch my hard drive.... reg keys? system file target pratice?? anything?! Cheers, KC __________________

01-22-2005, 07:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
technobeast The Grim Reaper! Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 2,387	Why don't you put some space from another partition and not C:\. This way you may save yourself from trouble if a program or a game is coded to swap parts in the vm file. If no swap is found OS would crash I assume. p.s. An interesting story can be mentioned here. At work I use Win2k on a 256 MB RAM machine with 1GB swap. I once decided to disable the swap->defragment->put the swap back on C: drive and have one chunk swap file. Yes... but no. Guess what. Win2k loaded fine, and just before I started defragmentor, my smart head gave birth to a brilliant idea - what would happen if I launched Adobe Premiere (6.01 used).... well nothing really interesting happened. Machine crashed in a gorgeous way and after the reastart all my drivers (for professional video products - MPEG decoders and Real Time video editting) and codecs were so messed that I had to reinstall. LOL I would never do this thing again Cheers __________________ Liked this post and found it helpful? Click on the image under my avatar to add to my reputation

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode