virtual memory optimization guide rev. 4.0 - final.txt

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For the curious, do not click on Disable virtual memory. (Not recommended) because that will force Windows 95/98 to use only physical RAM.

Creating A Semi-Permanent Paging File In Windows 9x

Creating a semi-permanent paging file is rather similar to creating a permanent paging file.

First, open up System Properties, either through the Control Panel or by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties.

Once in System Properties, click on the Performance tab and you'll see the following picture :-

Right at the bottom, you'll see a Virtual Memory... button. Click on it to get the following screen :-

By default, it is set to Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings. (Recommended). Ignore the Recommended label and select Let me specify my own virtual memory settings.

Now, you will be allowed to choose the partition you wish to place the paging file in. We will touch on this later.

To create a semi-permanent paging file, you will need to set both the minimum and maximum values. They must not be the same. If they are the same values, then the paging file becomes a permanent paging file.

The minimum value determines the size of the permanent component of the semi-permanent paging file. The maximum value determines the maximum size of the paging file (both permanent and dynamic components) and thus limits how much the dynamic component can expand.

In the example above, Windows 98 will create a permanent paging file of 150MB when it starts up. But if the paging file cannot meet the memory demands of the computer, it will dynamically expand the paging file, up to a maximum of 6692MB.

It is highly recommended that you create a large permanent component that will meet all of your usual memory needs. Use the dynamic component as a backup for emergencies.

Once you set the two values, click on OK and then let Windows 95/98 reboot the system. A permanent paging file will be created on your hard disk. Please note that the dynamic component of the paging file will only become active after the system's virtual memory requirements exceed the minimum value.

For the curious, do not click on Disable virtual memory. (Not recommended) because that will force Windows 95/98 to use only physical RAM.

Creating A Permanent Paging File In Windows 2000

In Windows 2000, it takes a little bit more digging to get where you want.

First, open up System Properties, either through the Control Panel or by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties.

Once in System Properties, click on the Advanced tab. There will be three options. Click on Performance Options... and you'll see the following picture :-

The second section you see is titled Virtual Memory. Under it, there's a Change... button. Click on it to get the following screen :-

By default, there won't be any values set for both the Initial size (MB) and the Maximum size (MB) options.

You can select the partition you wish to place the paging file in by clicking on the list of partitions shown on the screen. Again, the selection of partition will be discussed in detail later in this article.

To create a permanent paging file, both values for the Initial size and the Maximum size must be the same.

Please note that Windows 2000 will not automatically add a dynamic component to a permanent paging file. If you run out of memory with a permanent paging file, it will halt the application and generate the "Out of memory" error message.

Naturally, you will have to decide on a size for the paging file. We will be discussing this later in this article but for now, we will use an arbitrary value of 150MB. Once you set the two values, click on OK and then let Windows 2000 reboot the system. A permanent paging file will be created on your hard disk.

You will note that Windows 2000 does not allow a paging file size of less than 2MB.

Creating A Semi-Permanent Paging File In Windows 2000

Again, it's almost similar to creating a permanent paging file.

First, open up System Properties, either through the Control Panel or by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties.

Once in System Properties, click on the Advanced tab. There will be three options. Click on Performance Options... and you'll see the following picture :-

The second section you see is titled Virtual Memory. Under it, there's a Change... button. Click on it to get the following screen :-

By default, there won't be any values set for both the Initial size (MB) and the Maximum size (MB) options.

You can select the logical drive you wish to place the paging file in by clicking on the list of logical drives shown on the screen. Again, the selection of logical drives will be discussed in detail later in this article.

To create a semi-permanent paging file, you will need to set both the minimum and maximum values. They must not be the same. If they are the same values, then the paging file becomes a permanent paging file.

The minimum value determines the size of the permanent component of the semi-permanent paging file. The maximum value determines the maximum size of the paging file (both permanent and dynamic components) and thus limits how much the dynamic component can expand.

In the example above, Windows 2000 will create a permanent paging file of 150MB when it starts up. But if the paging file cannot meet the memory demands of the computer, it will dynamically expand the paging file, up to a maximum of 1422MB.

It is highly recommended that you create a large permanent component that will meet all of your usual memory needs. Use the dynamic component as a backup for emergencies.

Once you set the two values, click on OK and then let Windows 2000 reboot the system. A permanent paging file will be created on your hard disk. Please note that the dynamic component of the paging file will only become active after the system's virtual memory requirements exceed the minimum value.

You will note that Windows 2000 does not allow a paging file size of less than 2MB.

Creating A Permanent Paging File In Windows XP

Like in Windows 2000, it takes a little digging in Windows XP to get where you want.

First, open up System Properties, either through the Control Panel or by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties.

Once in System Properties, click on the Advanced tab. There will be three sections.

Click on Settings in the Performance section and the Performance Options screen will pop up. Click on the Advanced tab and you'll see the following picture :-

The second section you see is titled Virtual memory. Under it, there's a Change button. Click on it to get the following screen :-

You can select the logical drive you wish to place the paging file in by clicking on the list of logical drives shown on the screen. Again, the selection of logical drives will be discussed in detail later in this article.

To create a permanent paging file, both values for the Initial size and the Maximum size must be the same.

Please note that Windows XP will dynamically expand the paging file when you run out of memory, even if you create a permanent paging file. When this happens, you will get an error message telling you that Windows XP is trying to expand the paging file to create more virtual memory.

In this example, we are using an arbitrary value of 512MB. Once you set the two values, click on OK and then let Windows XP reboot the system. A permanent paging file will be created on your hard disk.

You will note that Windows XP does not allow a paging file size of less than 2MB.

Creating A Semi-Permanent Paging File In Windows XP

Creating a semi-permanent paging file is rather similar to creating a permanent paging file.

First, open up System Properties, either through the Control Panel or by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties.

Once in System Properties, click on the Advanced tab. There will be three sections.

Click on Settings in the Performance section and the Performance Options screen will pop up. Click on the Advanced tab and you'll see the following picture :-

The second section you see is titled Virtual memory. Under it, there's a Change button. Click on it to get the following screen :-

You can select the partition you wish to place the paging file in by clicking on the list of partitions shown on the screen. Again, the selection of partition will be discussed in detail later in this article.

To create a semi-permanent paging file, you will need to set both the minimum and maximum values. They must not be the same. If they are the same values, then the paging file becomes a permanent paging file.

The minimum value determines the size of the permanent component of the semi-permanent paging file. The maximum value determines the maximum size of the paging file (both permanent and dynamic components) and thus limits how much the dynamic component can expand.

In the example above, Windows XP will create a permanent paging file of 512MB when it starts up. But if the paging file cannot meet the memory demands of the computer, it will dynamically expand the paging file, up to a maximum of 768MB.

It is highly recommended that you create a large permanent component that will meet all of your usual memory needs. Use the dynamic component as a backup for emergencies.

Once you set the two values, click on OK and then let Windows XP reboot the system. A permanent paging file will be created on your hard disk. Please note that the dynamic component of the paging file will only become active after the system's virtual memory requirements exceed the minimum value.

You will note that Windows XP does not allow a paging file size of less than 2MB.

Making The Paging File Contiguous

After creating a permanent or semi-permanent paging file, check and make sure it is contiguous. You can ensure it is contiguous by defragmenting the hard disk before you creating the permanent or semi-permanent paging file. However, that does not always work.

In such cases, you will need to defragment the paging file after it is created. Unfortunately, Windows XP's Defrag utility does not have the ability to defragment the paging file. You will have to use a third-party defragmentation utility to do this. I will use Diskeeper as an example.

Windows NT, 2000 and XP does not allow the paging file to be defragmented while it is in used. Therefore, you must set Diskeeper to move the paging file during the next reboot.

Run Diskeeper and click on Change your settings to expand its menu. You will see the screen below.

Look for and click on Set a boot-time defragmentation. That will display this screen.

Now, select the partition where the paging file resides and tick the checkbox of Defragment the paging file option. The option will be grayed out if there is no paging file in that partition.

Then click OK and reboot the computer. Diskeeper will load up during the boot process and defragment the paging file.

Once Diskeeper has completed its operation, Windows XP will boot up and start using the newly optimized paging file that is contiguous.

Please note that Diskeeper requires a certain amount of free space to defragment the paging file. If you do not have the necessary amount of free space in that partition, then Diskeeper may not defragment the paging file.

Wanna Do It For Free?

You can easily do this for free. Just download a trial copy of Diskeeper!

Moving The Paging File To The Outer Tracks

Moving the paging file to the outer tracks is a powerful way of increasing paging file performance. In fact, it will give the paging file a bigger boost in performance than just making it contiguous. Why is that?