Virtual memory settings

[Guest]

I have tried repeatedly to change my paging file size using the custom size
option in the Virtual Memory dialogue box. However, the "currently allocated"
field in the "Total paging file size for all drives" box always displays the
file size recommended by Windows, (which is also happens to be the file size
when the system is set to let Windows manage the paging file automatically).
So, upon reboot, when viewing the Virtual Memory settings, the Custom size
settings appear just as I set them (1000/1000-min/max), but the currently
allocated field still displays 383MB. Any ideas on how to resolve this?

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Please try the following article:

"Virtual Memory in Windows XP"
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php

--


Will Denny
MS MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Guest]

why would you set min/max the same?

either way windows is only going to use what it needs.
no matter what your min value is.

 

[Manny Borges]

Incorrect.

Windows will create a swap file of at least the size of the minimum amount
specified.

As to why set them the same, there are several reasons. I set my swap file
to a ludicrous size (6GB)for the minimum and only a few megs larger for the
max size. I can rest assured knowing I will never have a performance drop
why the page file is grown and that it is all placed in contiguose clusters.

A common mistake, that may be happening here, is neglecting to hit set after
typing in the sizes. In other words, just typing in the size and hitting OK
tends not to work.

--
Manny Borges
MCSE NT4-2003 (+ Security)
MCT, Certified Cheese Master

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who do understand binary
and those who don't.

 

[Guest]

I think this pewrson responded 1000 min/max!!

So what does "Allocated" mean??

Qoute: settings appear just as I set them (1000/1000-min/max), but the
currently allocated field still displays 383MB.

 

[Mak]

I'm afraid what you wrote is incorrect too.

First semantics. WinNT doesn't swap like Win9x where the whole v.a.s.
occupied by the process has to be swapped back and forward from swap file.
WinNT actively pages. WinNT is demand page OS, hence the file that is used
as a backup for virtual private address space is called naturally page file
(perhaps paging file would be a more correct term). Pages are normally 4KB
in size, but, where it affects paging file, windows will cluster I/Os into
64KB blocks, hence your concern about contiguous space occupied by paging
file is well, false.
But doesn't really matter what you call paging file, as long as you are
understood.

Semantics out of the way (if one were to take what you wrote literally, it
sounds you are running some strange Win9x-64bit edition on non FAT file
system), the max size of page file in WinNT-32bit is 4GB (4095MB), (in
64bit, for x86 and x64 the size is 16TB and for IA-64 the size is 32TB)
granted, you can have up to 16 paging files with combined size of 64GB, but
still, single paging file max size is 4GB, not 6GB.

Performance doesn't drop when dynamic page file has to extend, the cost of
creating extend is minimal, same as for any other file, the event of
creating extend comes, however, with infamous information message telling
you that your paging file has been increased. If there were a way to drop
the message, you won't even notice you are running with extend.

 

[Guest]

I'll ask you then since Manny didn't!!

what does it mean then by "allocated"?

 

[Mak]

in context

(initial is 1536 MB and maximum is 3072 MB in this example)
Total paging file size for all drives
Minimum allowed: 2 MB
Recommended: 1534 MB
Currently _allocated_: 1536 MB
it simply means that total size of paging file(s) right now occupy 1536 MB
of disk space.
How much is stored in paging file - unknown.

What do you think it means?

 

[Guest]

Because the OP said:
the Custom size settings appear just as I set them (1000/1000-min/max), but
the currently allocated field still displays 383MB. Any ideas?

why is it only allocated as 383 mb?

 

[Mak]

Well, OP is not replying and I don't feel like guesing, will wait.

 

[Guest]

Yeah. That stumps me too. Why people ask questions and then abandon their own
thread!!!

Thanks!! Happy New Years!!!

 

[Ron Martell]

Yeah. That stumps me too. Why people ask questions and then abandon their own
thread!!!

Using the web interface, many people are unable to find replies to the
messages they post. Microsoft appears to think this is a good thing,
judging by their refusal to do anything about it.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

 

[Ron Martell]

I'll ask you then since Manny didn't!!

what does it mean then by "allocated"?

Allocated would mean the amount of page file space that has been
mapped to application programs, device drivers, and/or windows
compoenents.

Most if not all of this is probably related to the unused portions of
memory allocation requests. Windows, by design, must allocate memory
address space to satisfy all of the memory allocation requests that
are issued. And most allocation requests are for more, sometimes
substantially more, memory than will actually be used under normal
circumstances. In order to efficiently manage the available RAM,
addresses in RAM are only allocated to those portions of the requests
that are actually used and the unused portions are mapped to locations
in the page file. This mapping of unused memory requests to the page
file does not require any actual disk activity - all that is necessary
is to make the appropriate entries in the memory mapping tables
maintained by the CPU.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

 

[Guest]

I use web interface, and like it but that's all I've ever used.
what's so hard about typing there Username in the "search" field and
pressing enter. As long as they remember what newsgroup. they can also search
that way also.

Happy New Year!! Thanks for your response!!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I use web interface, and like it but that's all I've ever used.

If you like it and it works for you, that's fine. But if I were in your
shoes, and so many of us suggested that there was a better alternative, I
would at least want to try it to see if they were right.

Do yourself a favor and try a newsreader, such as Outlook Express, which
comes with Windows. See
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Ron Martell]

I use web interface, and like it but that's all I've ever used.
what's so hard about typing there Username in the "search" field and
pressing enter. As long as they remember what newsgroup. they can also search
that way also.

Happy New Year!! Thanks for your response!!

I have done a couple of studies of newsgroup responses, using
instances where I have asked the original poster to provide some
additional information about the problem.

I split these items into two categories, based on whether the original
poster had used the web interface or a newsreader program.

The percentage of responses from those who used newsreader programs
was about 3 times as high as it was for those who used the web
interface.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada