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Thread ID: 25003 2002-09-23 12:50:00 Why is a pagefile used when there is RAM spare flying_green_leprachaun (1767) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
82348 2002-09-23 12:50:00 I have 640mb ram, & there is 480mb spare {so sayeth tweak-xp pro, thanx to tweak'e's news}

so Why does XP insist on using the pagefile, I mean there is Oooodles of room ramwise.
flying_green_leprachaun (1767)
82349 2002-09-23 19:33:00 NT has always done this. The only way around it would be to create a ramdisk and put your page file on there - I don't recommend it. It is stupid and wants to maintain a ratio of free memory based on an algorithm that probably dates back to 16Mb machines.
Be happy in that it pages things it doesn't need and they should just sit there and not swap in and out much.
robo.
robo (205)
82350 2002-09-23 21:38:00 Thannx Robo... I have set it to be no bigger than 256mb, if it wants one it can have one, but 1300mb was to much ;-) flying_green_leprachaun (1767)
82351 2002-09-24 07:44:00 The real question is are you having performance problems because of the paging? If not then don't stress. BIFF (1)
82352 2002-09-24 07:53:00 Well, yeees, but 1300mb? What sort of database server would need that much? And performance would suck if it used it.
robo.
robo (205)
82353 2002-09-24 08:07:00 Try running an Exchange server with 1900 concurrent users, or a Citrix server with 200 users. You'll soon need that page file. BIFF (1)
82354 2002-09-24 19:37:00 Yes, that's fine, but a server on a ten user network doesn't need that. Especially if it is only running backup exec. I think they set a ratio for the default pagefile years ago based on disk space and never changed it. Throw in an 80Gb drive and it has a party.
That's why we tweak.
robo.
robo (205)
82355 2002-09-26 07:05:00 Suit yourself then. Messing with the page file is not something that I would regard as productive 'tweaking'. Microsoft know what they are doing and whether it is a server or workstation you will find the best performance with the appropriate ratio of virtual to physical memory. Benchmark it and see for yourself. I think it's pretty lame to complain about pagefile sizes on a 80GB disk, by the way.

I wouldn't regard NT as 'stupid' myself, but you are entitled to your opinion.
BIFF (1)
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