Disappearing pagefile.sys

[Beemer]

I have been trying to set a very small pagefile in my XP system drive and
using a larger pagefile in a separate hard drive. I set min and max sizes
for both pagefiles so neither is "system managed".

If I set the system pagefile.sys too small e.g. 2min - 20Max, it disappears.
Is there a minimum values of "minimum" and minimum value of "maximum" to
keep the "system pagefile" alive?

The other page file in my other hard drive is 100MB min - 500MB max and is
always visible.

I have 2 GB memory.

Beemer

 

[Wesley Vogel]

pagefile.sys has the Hidden and System attributes.

<quote>
Should the file be left on Drive C:?
The slowest aspect of getting at a file on a hard disk is in head movement
('seeking'). If you have only one physical drive then the file is best left
where the heads are most likely to be, so where most activity is going on -
on drive C:. If you have a second physical drive, it is in principle better
to put the file there, because it is then less likely that the heads will
have moved away from it. If, though, you have a modern large size of RAM,
actual traffic on the file is likely to be low, even if programs are rolled
out to it, inactive, so the point becomes an academic one. 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:

In relocating the page file, it must be on a 'basic' drive. Windows XP
appears not to be willing to accept page files on 'dynamic' drives.

NOTE: If you are debugging crashes and wish the error reporting to make a
kernel or full dump, then you will need an initial size set on C: of either
200 MB (for a kernel dump) or the size of RAM (for a full memory dump). If
you are not doing so, it is best to make the setting to no more than a
'Small Dump', at Control Panel | System | Advanced, click Settings in the
'Startup and Recovery' section, and select in the 'Write Debug information
to' panel
<quote>
from...
Virtual Memory in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Beemer]

| pagefile.sys has the Hidden and System attributes.
|
| <quote>
| Should the file be left on Drive C:?
| The slowest aspect of getting at a file on a hard disk is in head movement
| ('seeking'). If you have only one physical drive then the file is best
left
| where the heads are most likely to be, so where most activity is going
on -
| on drive C:. If you have a second physical drive, it is in principle
better
| to put the file there, because it is then less likely that the heads will
| have moved away from it. If, though, you have a modern large size of RAM,
| actual traffic on the file is likely to be low, even if programs are
rolled
| out to it, inactive, so the point becomes an academic one. 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:
|
| In relocating the page file, it must be on a 'basic' drive. Windows XP
| appears not to be willing to accept page files on 'dynamic' drives.
|
| NOTE: If you are debugging crashes and wish the error reporting to make a
| kernel or full dump, then you will need an initial size set on C: of
either
| 200 MB (for a kernel dump) or the size of RAM (for a full memory dump). If
| you are not doing so, it is best to make the setting to no more than a
| 'Small Dump', at Control Panel | System | Advanced, click Settings in the
| 'Startup and Recovery' section, and select in the 'Write Debug information
| to' panel
| <quote>
| from...
| Virtual Memory in Windows XP
| http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm
|
| --
| Hope this helps. Let us know.
|
| Wes
| MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
|
| In | Beemer <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| > I have been trying to set a very small pagefile in my XP system drive
and
| > using a larger pagefile in a separate hard drive. I set min and max
sizes
| > for both pagefiles so neither is "system managed".
| >
| > If I set the system pagefile.sys too small e.g. 2min - 20Max, it
| > disappears. Is there a minimum values of "minimum" and minimum value of
| > "maximum" to keep the "system pagefile" alive?
| >
| > The other page file in my other hard drive is 100MB min - 500MB max and
is
| > always visible.
| >
| > I have 2 GB memory.
| >
| > Beemer
|
Wes,

I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I already
know about pagefile management. Thanks for replying but your post did not
answer my question.

Beemer

 

[JS]

You have a good question and searching the web shows no clear cut answer,
but you might want to read this post and the replies.
The post also references an MS KB article about the minimum page size.
See: http://www.webmasterworld.com/microsoft_windows_os/3279026.htm

JS

 

[Ron Martell]

I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I already
know about pagefile management. Thanks for replying but your post did not
answer my question.

Beemer

What setting do you have for the "system failure memory dump" in
Control Panel - System - Advanced - Startup and Recovery Settings? The
pagefile on the boot drive must be at least large enough to hold this
memory dump, as Windows uses this file to receive the dump and then
renames it.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Beemer]

|
|
| >
| >I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I already
| >know about pagefile management. Thanks for replying but your post did
not
| >answer my question.
| >
| >Beemer
| >
|
| What setting do you have for the "system failure memory dump" in
| Control Panel - System - Advanced - Startup and Recovery Settings? The
| pagefile on the boot drive must be at least large enough to hold this
| memory dump, as Windows uses this file to receive the dump and then
| renames it.
|
| Good luck
|
| Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
| --
| Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
| On-Line Help Computer Service
| http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
| Syberfix Remote Computer Repair
|
| "Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
| has never been in bed with a mosquito."

Ron,

I have no need for any memory dump so I assumed that I could set the min/max
below 200 but as I said the pagefile disappears.

Beemer

 

[Beemer]

| You have a good question and searching the web shows no clear cut answer,
| but you might want to read this post and the replies.
| The post also references an MS KB article about the minimum page size.
| See: http://www.webmasterworld.com/microsoft_windows_os/3279026.htm
|
| JS
|
| | >I have been trying to set a very small pagefile in my XP system drive and
| > using a larger pagefile in a separate hard drive. I set min and max
sizes
| > for both pagefiles so neither is "system managed".
| >
| > If I set the system pagefile.sys too small e.g. 2min - 20Max, it
| > disappears.
| > Is there a minimum values of "minimum" and minimum value of "maximum"
to
| > keep the "system pagefile" alive?
| >
| > The other page file in my other hard drive is 100MB min - 500MB max and
is
| > always visible.
| >
| > I have 2 GB memory.
| >
| > Beemer
| >
| >
|
|
Js,

Thnaks for the link but that guy has not read up enough as he is mentioning
up to a 6GB pagefile whilst have 2GB ram. Much too much!

The other guy said that he had been using 2MB min and 50MB max on his system
drive. This is what I tried and although its visible in My Computer
performance etc it does not exist as a file in C: and perhaps also not in
his.

Beemer


Beemer

 

[John John]

| You have a good question and searching the web shows no clear cut answer,
| but you might want to read this post and the replies.
| The post also references an MS KB article about the minimum page size.
| See: http://www.webmasterworld.com/microsoft_windows_os/3279026.htm
|
| JS
|
| | >I have been trying to set a very small pagefile in my XP system drive and
| > using a larger pagefile in a separate hard drive. I set min and max
sizes
| > for both pagefiles so neither is "system managed".
| >
| > If I set the system pagefile.sys too small e.g. 2min - 20Max, it
| > disappears.
| > Is there a minimum values of "minimum" and minimum value of "maximum"
to
| > keep the "system pagefile" alive?
| >
| > The other page file in my other hard drive is 100MB min - 500MB max and
is
| > always visible.
| >
| > I have 2 GB memory.
| >
| > Beemer
| >
| >
|
|
Js,

Thnaks for the link but that guy has not read up enough as he is mentioning
up to a 6GB pagefile whilst have 2GB ram. Much too much!

Not to mention that the maximum pagefile size on a partition is 4096MB.

John

 

[Ron Martell]

Ron,

I have no need for any memory dump so I assumed that I could set the min/max
below 200 but as I said the pagefile disappears.

Beemer

Try configuring the memory dump selection accordingly then. Use
Control Panel - System - Advanced - Startup and Recovery Settings and
choose either "(none)" or "small memory dump (64KB)" and see if that
makes any difference to your pagefile behavior on drive C:

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I already

know about pagefile management.

Obviously, you do not.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Uncheck everything under System failure and set Write debugging information
to NONE.

With None, no dump files even get created.

Small Memory Dump
[[Small Memory Dump records the smallest amount of information that will
help identify the problem. This option requires a paging file of at least 2
MB on the boot volume of your computer and specifies that Windows will
create a new file each time the system stops unexpectedly. A history of
these files is stored in the directory listed under Small Dump Directory.]]
%SystemRoot%\Minidump

Kernel Memory Dump
[[Kernel Memory Dump records only kernel memory, which speeds up the
process of recording information in a log when the system stops
unexpectedly. Depending on the amount of RAM in your computer, you must have
50 MB to 800 MB available for the paging file on the boot volume. The file
is stored in the directory listed under Dump File.]]
%SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP

Complete Memory Dump
[[Complete Memory Dump records the entire contents of system memory when
the system stops unexpectedly. If you choose this option you must have a
paging file on the boot volume large enough to hold all of the physical RAM
plus one megabyte (MB). The file is stored in the directory listed under
Dump File.]]
%SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Beemer]

|
|
| >Ron,
| >
| >I have no need for any memory dump so I assumed that I could set the
min/max
| >below 200 but as I said the pagefile disappears.
| >
| >Beemer
| >
|
| Try configuring the memory dump selection accordingly then. Use
| Control Panel - System - Advanced - Startup and Recovery Settings and
| choose either "(none)" or "small memory dump (64KB)" and see if that
| makes any difference to your pagefile behavior on drive C:
|
| Good luck
|
| Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
| --
| Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
| On-Line Help Computer Service
| http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
| Syberfix Remote Computer Repair
|
| "Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
| has never been in bed with a mosquito."

Ron,

Its already set to small memory dump (64kB)

regards,

Beemer
|

 

[Beemer]

|> I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I already
| > know about pagefile management.
|
| Obviously, you do not.
|
| --
| Hope this helps. Let us know.
|
| Wes
| MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
|
| In | Beemer <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| > | >> pagefile.sys has the Hidden and System attributes.
| >>
| >> <quote>
| >> Should the file be left on Drive C:?
| >> The slowest aspect of getting at a file on a hard disk is in head
| >> movement ('seeking'). If you have only one physical drive then the file
| >> is best left where the heads are most likely to be, so where most
| >> activity is going
| > on -
| >> on drive C:. If you have a second physical drive, it is in principle
| >> better to put the file there, because it is then less likely that the
| >> heads will have moved away from it. If, though, you have a modern large
| >> size of RAM, actual traffic on the file is likely to be low, even if
| >> programs are rolled out to it, inactive, so the point becomes an
| >> academic one. 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:
| >>
| >> In relocating the page file, it must be on a 'basic' drive. Windows XP
| >> appears not to be willing to accept page files on 'dynamic' drives.
| >>
| >> NOTE: If you are debugging crashes and wish the error reporting to make
a
| >> kernel or full dump, then you will need an initial size set on C: of
| >> either 200 MB (for a kernel dump) or the size of RAM (for a full memory
| >> dump). If you are not doing so, it is best to make the setting to no
| >> more than a 'Small Dump', at Control Panel | System | Advanced, click
| >> Settings in the 'Startup and Recovery' section, and select in the
'Write
| >> Debug information to' panel
| >> <quote>
| >> from...
| >> Virtual Memory in Windows XP
| >> http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm
| >>
| >> --
| >> Hope this helps. Let us know.
| >>
| >> Wes
| >> MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
| >>
| >> In | >> Beemer <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| >>> I have been trying to set a very small pagefile in my XP system drive
| >>> and using a larger pagefile in a separate hard drive. I set min and
| >>> max sizes for both pagefiles so neither is "system managed".
| >>>
| >>> If I set the system pagefile.sys too small e.g. 2min - 20Max, it
| >>> disappears. Is there a minimum values of "minimum" and minimum value
of
| >>> "maximum" to keep the "system pagefile" alive?
| >>>
| >>> The other page file in my other hard drive is 100MB min - 500MB max
and
| >>> is always visible.
| >>>
| >>> I have 2 GB memory.
| >>>
| >>> Beemer
| >>
| > Wes,
| >
| > I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I
already
| > know about pagefile management. Thanks for replying but your post did
not
| > answer my question.
| >
| > Beemer
|
|

and just what would the following dmp tell me about this missing pagefile
even although it is set to 2MB-50MB?

•The Stop message and its parameters and other data
•A list of loaded drivers
•The processor context (PRCB) for the processor that stopped
•The process information and kernel context (EPROCESS) for the process that
stopped
•The process information and kernel context (ETHREAD) for the thread that
stopped
•The Kernel-mode call stack for the thread that stopped

Beemer

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Memory dumps, in my opinion, are a waste of space and a complete waste of
time unless you are going to send them to Microsoft or somone for analysis.

<quote>
Memory "Dumps"
You can configure Windows to save STOP message information to a "dump" file.
If you need to contact Microsoft Product Support, having a dump file helps
you give the Support Professional the specific information needed to
identify the problem.
<quote>
Preparation Before You Contact Microsoft After Receiving a STOP Message on a
Blue Screen
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314103

Microsoft Online Crash Analysis - welcome
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/welcome.aspx

<quote>
With regard to memory dumps...if it happens regularly or
happens when you run a particular program then you should contact either
Microsoft or the program's support group to tell them there is a problem and
try to work with them to determine what it is. Support may need the file or
details from it.
<quote>
from...
http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=DMP

<quote>
What Is a Minidump?
A minidump is a file containing the most important parts of a crashed
application. It is written on the user’s machine and then the customer can
submit it to the developer. The developer can load the dump to help
determine the cause of the crash and develop a fix.
<quote>
Post-Mortem Debugging Your Application with Minidumps and Visual Studio
..NET - The Code Project - Debug tips
http://www.codeproject.com/debug/postmortemdebug_standalone1.asp

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Beemer]

| Memory dumps, in my opinion, are a waste of space and a complete waste of
| time unless you are going to send them to Microsoft or somone for
analysis.
|
| <quote>
| Memory "Dumps"
| You can configure Windows to save STOP message information to a "dump"
file.
| If you need to contact Microsoft Product Support, having a dump file helps
| you give the Support Professional the specific information needed to
| identify the problem.
| <quote>
| Preparation Before You Contact Microsoft After Receiving a STOP Message on
a
| Blue Screen
| http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314103
|
| Microsoft Online Crash Analysis - welcome
| http://oca.microsoft.com/en/welcome.aspx
|
| <quote>
| With regard to memory dumps...if it happens regularly or
| happens when you run a particular program then you should contact either
| Microsoft or the program's support group to tell them there is a problem
and
| try to work with them to determine what it is. Support may need the file
or
| details from it.
| <quote>
| from...
| http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=DMP
|
| <quote>
| What Is a Minidump?
| A minidump is a file containing the most important parts of a crashed
| application. It is written on the user’s machine and then the customer can
| submit it to the developer. The developer can load the dump to help
| determine the cause of the crash and develop a fix.
| <quote>
| Post-Mortem Debugging Your Application with Minidumps and Visual Studio
| .NET - The Code Project - Debug tips
| http://www.codeproject.com/debug/postmortemdebug_standalone1.asp
|
| --
| Hope this helps. Let us know.
|
| Wes
| MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
|
| In | Beemer <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| > | >>> I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I
| >>> already know about pagefile management.
| >>
| >> Obviously, you do not.
| >>
| >> --
| >> Hope this helps. Let us know.
| >>
| >> Wes
| >> MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
| >>
| >> In | >> Beemer <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| >>> | >>>> pagefile.sys has the Hidden and System attributes.
| >>>>
| >>>> <quote>
| >>>> Should the file be left on Drive C:?
| >>>> The slowest aspect of getting at a file on a hard disk is in head
| >>>> movement ('seeking'). If you have only one physical drive then the
file
| >>>> is best left where the heads are most likely to be, so where most
| >>>> activity is going
| >>> on -
| >>>> on drive C:. If you have a second physical drive, it is in principle
| >>>> better to put the file there, because it is then less likely that the
| >>>> heads will have moved away from it. If, though, you have a modern
large
| >>>> size of RAM, actual traffic on the file is likely to be low, even if
| >>>> programs are rolled out to it, inactive, so the point becomes an
| >>>> academic one. 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:
| >>>>
| >>>> In relocating the page file, it must be on a 'basic' drive. Windows
XP
| >>>> appears not to be willing to accept page files on 'dynamic' drives.
| >>>>
| >>>> NOTE: If you are debugging crashes and wish the error reporting to
| >>>> make a kernel or full dump, then you will need an initial size set on
| >>>> C: of either 200 MB (for a kernel dump) or the size of RAM (for a
full
| >>>> memory dump). If you are not doing so, it is best to make the setting
| >>>> to no more than a 'Small Dump', at Control Panel | System | Advanced,
| >>>> click Settings in the 'Startup and Recovery' section, and select in
| >>>> the 'Write Debug information to' panel
| >>>> <quote>
| >>>> from...
| >>>> Virtual Memory in Windows XP
| >>>> http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm
| >>>>
| >>>> --
| >>>> Hope this helps. Let us know.
| >>>>
| >>>> Wes
| >>>> MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
| >>>>
| >>>> In | >>>> Beemer <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| >>>>> I have been trying to set a very small pagefile in my XP system
drive
| >>>>> and using a larger pagefile in a separate hard drive. I set min and
| >>>>> max sizes for both pagefiles so neither is "system managed".
| >>>>>
| >>>>> If I set the system pagefile.sys too small e.g. 2min - 20Max, it
| >>>>> disappears. Is there a minimum values of "minimum" and minimum value
| >>>>> of "maximum" to keep the "system pagefile" alive?
| >>>>>
| >>>>> The other page file in my other hard drive is 100MB min - 500MB max
| >>>>> and is always visible.
| >>>>>
| >>>>> I have 2 GB memory.
| >>>>>
| >>>>> Beemer
| >>>>
| >>> Wes,
| >>>
| >>> I thought that the content of my post would have indicated that I
| >>> already know about pagefile management. Thanks for replying but your
| >>> post did not answer my question.
| >>>
| >>> Beemer
| >>
| >>
| >
| > and just what would the following dmp tell me about this missing
pagefile
| > even although it is set to 2MB-50MB?
| >
| > •The Stop message and its parameters and other data
| > •A list of loaded drivers
| > •The processor context (PRCB) for the processor that stopped
| > •The process information and kernel context (EPROCESS) for the process
| > that stopped
| > •The process information and kernel context (ETHREAD) for the thread
that
| > stopped
| > •The Kernel-mode call stack for the thread that stopped
| >
| > Beemer
|
Wes,

Problem solved. Although the 2-50Mb C: drive pagefile was shown in My
computer properties/ etc this must have been a remnent entry. I deleted
all pagefile from C: leaving just the one in the other drive and rebooted.
I then made a 2-50Mb in C: and I now see both in explorer.

thanks,

Beemer