Good to clear XP page file on exit?

[Klanky]

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile whenever my
XP Pro system exited?

I understand this registry key can do it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"

Would it be better to start with a new page file because it would
be smaller file and the pages of a required set of pages might be
more close together if the file was recently created?

On the other hand, would it be better if some pages were already
created so that the initial launch time of applications (etc) is
not slowed down by having to create new pages in the page file?

Please advise.

I am a home use with one standalone PC connected to the Net via
cable.

 

[Andy Lee]

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile whenever my
XP Pro system exited?

I understand this registry key can do it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"

Would it be better to start with a new page file because it would
be smaller file and the pages of a required set of pages might be
more close together if the file was recently created?

On the other hand, would it be better if some pages were already
created so that the initial launch time of applications (etc) is
not slowed down by having to create new pages in the page file?

Please advise.

I am a home use with one standalone PC connected to the Net via
cable.

Page file clearing can be both a good and bad thing. Performance good
it means the pagefile created on bootup is not fragmented. Performance
Bad Shutdown and startup can be a lot longer especially if the
pagefile is large i.e. >1Gb. Security good as less temporary
information is left on the PC to be retrieved by somebody else who
gains unauthorised access to the PC.

Ref your mention of application launch. The initial pagefile is
created on bootup and variations in size caused by the launch of
application will happen anyway even if the pagefile is not deleted on
shutdown. caveat to this being if you set a fixed pagefile size. But
data will still be written to the pagefile even if you fix the size if
an application requires it.

Personally I think the clearing of a page file at shutdown is a waste
of time unless you need to worry about the security aspects which is
why it was implemented in the first place.

My option with plenty of RAM is just turn off the pagefile alltogether
although I understand this does not actually stop the creation of and
use of a pagefile completely.

 

[Guest]

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile whenever my
XP Pro system exited?

I understand this registry key can do it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"

Would it be better to start with a new page file because it would
be smaller file and the pages of a required set of pages might be
more close together if the file was recently created?

On the other hand, would it be better if some pages were already
created so that the initial launch time of applications (etc) is
not slowed down by having to create new pages in the page file?

Please advise.

I am a home use with one standalone PC connected to the Net via
cable.

I used to have my page file set to clear on exit,and my PC took about 2
minutes to shutdown,I have since changed this back (not to clear) and my PC
takes about 10 seconds to shutdown. Granted this really isn't a big problem
but I found it very annoying.Just something for you to consider.

 

[Thomas]

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile
whenever my XP Pro system exited?

I understand this registry key can do it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"

Would it be better to start with a new page file because it
would be smaller file and the pages of a required set of pages
might be more close together if the file was recently created?

On the other hand, would it be better if some pages were
already created so that the initial launch time of
applications (etc) is not slowed down by having to create new
pages in the page file?

Please advise.

I am a home use with one standalone PC connected to the Net
via cable.

Page file clearing can be both a good and bad thing.
Performance good it means the pagefile created on bootup is
not fragmented. Performance Bad Shutdown and startup can be a
lot longer especially if the pagefile is large i.e. >1Gb.
Security good as less temporary information is left on the PC
to be retrieved by somebody else who gains unauthorised access
to the PC.

Ref your mention of application launch. The initial pagefile
is created on bootup and variations in size caused by the
launch of application will happen anyway even if the pagefile
is not deleted on shutdown. caveat to this being if you set a
fixed pagefile size. But data will still be written to the
pagefile even if you fix the size if an application requires
it.

Personally I think the clearing of a page file at shutdown is
a waste of time unless you need to worry about the security
aspects which is why it was implemented in the first place.

My option with plenty of RAM is just turn off the pagefile
alltogether although I understand this does not actually stop
the creation of and use of a pagefile completely.

But what about this info.


"If you do put the file elsewhere, you should leave a small amount
on C: — an initial size of 2MB with a Maximum of 50 is suitable —
so it can be used in emergency. Without this, the system is
inclined to ignore the settings and either have no page file at all
(and complain) or make a very large one indeed on C:"

See http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php for further discussion.

 

[Andy Lee]

But what about this info.


"If you do put the file elsewhere, you should leave a small amount
on C: — an initial size of 2MB with a Maximum of 50 is suitable —
so it can be used in emergency. Without this, the system is
inclined to ignore the settings and either have no page file at all
(and complain) or make a very large one indeed on C:"

See http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php for further discussion.

Never seen that happen to be honest, with NT4 and Win2000 you had to
leave a small pagefile on C: or what ever the boot disk was so that
the dump file could be written in the event of a blue screen. XP does
not appear to require this or at least it does not complain if say you
move the pagefile to another partition or disk

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile
whenever my
XP Pro system exited?

No. It's a waste of time.

 

[root]

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile whenever my
XP Pro system exited?

No. Setting the initial size large and then leaving it alone might help
performance.

I understand this registry key can do it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"

Would it be better to start with a new page file because it would
be smaller file and the pages of a required set of pages might be
more close together if the file was recently created?

Recreating it all the time is likely to INCREASE overall fragmentation in
the long run.

 

[root]

Would I get better performance if I cleared my pagefile whenever my
XP Pro system exited?

I understand this registry key can do it:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"

Would it be better to start with a new page file because it would
be smaller file and the pages of a required set of pages might be
more close together if the file was recently created?

On the other hand, would it be better if some pages were already
created so that the initial launch time of applications (etc) is
not slowed down by having to create new pages in the page file?

Please advise.

I am a home use with one standalone PC connected to the Net via
cable.

Page file clearing can be both a good and bad thing. Performance good
it means the pagefile created on bootup is not fragmented.

No, that makes it MORE likely to be fragmented. Creation when exactly did
you have in mind would be worse and why?

Performance
Bad Shutdown and startup can be a lot longer especially if the
pagefile is large i.e. >1Gb. Security good as less temporary
information is left on the PC to be retrieved by somebody else who
gains unauthorised access to the PC.

Ref your mention of application launch. The initial pagefile is
created on bootup and variations in size caused by the launch of
application will happen anyway even if the pagefile is not deleted on
shutdown. caveat to this being if you set a fixed pagefile size.

That's optimal for the fragmentation issue.

 

[Andy Lee]

No, that makes it MORE likely to be fragmented. Creation when exactly did
you have in mind would be worse and why?

Ah sorry I was under the impression that when the page file was
created on boot it would be created as a single contigous file in the
space available and would become fragmented if and when it needed to
grow and there was no space to allow it to expand the existing file in
a linear manner. If this is not the case then to the OP please ignore
my BAD advice however I stand by my other comments about time taken to
delete and security issues.

 

[Eric Gisin]

Ah sorry I was under the impression that when the page file was
created on boot it would be created as a single contigous file in the
space available and would become fragmented if and when it needed to
grow and there was no space to allow it to expand the existing file in
a linear manner. If this is not the case then to the OP please ignore
my BAD advice however I stand by my other comments about time taken to
delete and security issues.

You are correct about fragmentation being an issue if the pagefile grows.

However, this "clear pagefile on exit" flag does NOT delete the pagefile. It
writes zeros to it for those who need extra security (there may be passwords).

 

[Alex Nichol]

You are correct about fragmentation being an issue if the pagefile grows.

However, this "clear pagefile on exit" flag does NOT delete the pagefile. It
writes zeros to it for those who need extra security (there may be passwords).

Two points about page file fragmentation. One it matters a lot less
than is made out; access is mostly random to small groups of pages at
most, and in any case with a modern size RAM, traffic is small anyway.
Second is to start with a small initial size and see how big it grows to
in normal use. Then start it over clean on a freshly defragged
partition and set the initial size a bit bigger than that (but max way
up). That will not then fragment in your normal usage. See discussion
at my page www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

 

[Andy Lee]

You are correct about fragmentation being an issue if the pagefile grows.

However, this "clear pagefile on exit" flag does NOT delete the pagefile. It
writes zeros to it for those who need extra security (there may be passwords).

Cheers Eric nice to learn something new. Can't be a wasted day after
all.


Regards

Andy Lee