Now that you’ve
configured all relevant memory management options it’s time
to get to grips with the final option: the Page File itself.
Depending on the forums/sites you visit the question – What
should I set the Page File to? - is sure to bring you a
variety of responses and ensuing arguments (not to mention
the usual fantasies).
The first thing to
do is determine the Minimum Page File required for
your system. The simplest way to do this is to open
System Properties, then the Advanced tab and
press the Performance Settings button, selecting the
Advanced tab, finally pressing the Change
button. Select the Drive which XP is installed to and
set the Paging file size for selected drive to
Custom size, setting the Initial size to 1000MB
and Maximum to 1500MB (Lower the Initial
accordingly if Hard Drive space is an issue). If you have
multiple drives available ensure these are set to
No paging file. Click Ok and restart as required
for the changes to take effect.
Once restarted press
Ctrl + Alt + Delete simultaneously and
load the Task Manager, selecting the Performance
tab. This tab allows use to monitor peak Virtual Memory use (The
Peak value in the Commit Charge (K) section).
This window can be minimized and you should then run
your most resource intensive Applications in order to see
just how Virtual Memory is utilised. Once you’re satisfied
with your testing switch back to Task Manager.
The Peak
value records maximum Virtual Memory use during the
session, in K, e.g. in the image above 324548K. Dividing
this amount by 1024 gives you the value in MB – 317MB
in this instance. For improved stability this value should
be padded, so add at least 50MB to this value, e.g. 317MB
should be increased to 400MB. This provides us with a
Minimum Page File size to use.
Once more open
SystemProperties, select the Advanced tab
and press the Performance Settings button, selecting
the Advanced tab, finally pressing the Change
button.
A few general points
to recall before you do anything;
If you have only 1
Hard Drive, split into multiple partitions, the Page File
should be set to the partition XP is installed to, you
should not create multiple Page Files for
different partitions in this case, i.e. 1 Hard Drive = 1
Page File.
If you have multiple
Hard Drives installed it is beneficial to locate the Page
File on the Hard Drive XP is not installed to;
but only where the other Hard Drive is of a
similar or better performance, e.g. if you have a SATA Drive
and ATA 100 Drive the Page File should be located on the
SATA Drive regardless as it is notably faster.
The Page File should
not be located on a mirrored Drive, e.g. RAID array, if
possible as fault tolerance/backup is not required and may
decrease performance.
Do not use a
formula to determine Page File size (Such as RAM multiplied by X); it’s outdated and
inappropriate.
In case you didn’t,
please take note of how you’ve set Write debugging
information and any requirements as to the Page File
configuration (This can result in Page Files needing to be
created on the Boot Volume and the faster Drive, e.g. if you
selected a Small memory dump you’d need to set a
MB Page File on the Boot Volume, while you could set the
primary Page File (the one we’ve determined the Minimum
for) to a different Drive).
It’s also worth
noting that XP automatically increases the Page File
size should it be necessary (reducing it afterwards); this
essentially means creating a Permanent (Initial size =
Maximum size) Page File is pointless. Having considered this
and the above points, select the Drive(s) you wish to locate
the Page File on and click Custom size, setting the
Initial size to the value calculated, e.g. 400MB in
my example. As noted, XP will increase the Page File
size if required, so the Maximum size should be set
to a much higher value (Several hundred MBs should suffice);
this can avoid Windows prompting you that it has to
increase the Page File size. Once set press Ok
and restart your PC as required.
