pagefile.sys getting very large

[Guest]

The pagefile.sys file on our windows 2000 server has grown over 1.5GB in
size, what options I have to deal with this, ideally I would like to delete
the file but am not sure if this would have a detrimental effect. The server
is a file and print server on the local LAN and is used constantly during the
working day, the file size is impacting on the space available on the root
drive hence my desire to delete the file. Any advice would be greatly
appreciated, thanks you.

KDE

 

[Dan Seur]

pagefile.sys is a very important system file and must never be deleted.
If you don't know what it is or why it exists, find out at once - google
for that filename.

pagefile.sys should normally be about 1.5 times the size of RAM on the
machine. It can be made larger.

pagefile.sys can be placed on any partition. More than one pagefile can
be placed, each on a different partition, and the sum of their sizes
should be as above.

Start/Help on your system will tell you how to control pagefile(s)
size(s) and location(s). It is a simple process under Control Panel.

If need be, you can install an additional hard drive on your server and
place the pagefile on that.

 

[Rob Stow]

The pagefile.sys file on our windows 2000 server has grown over 1.5GB in
size, what options I have to deal with this,

The page file starts off at the minimum allocated size every time
the server is booted. It then grows AS NEEDED until it reaches
the maximum size set. If still more is needed, you will start to
see error messages about insufficient virtual memory.

Your options can be summarized thusly:
1.) Move the page file to a different partition - preferrably
one on a different physical drive.
2.) Increase the size of the current partition.
3.) Find out why your system needs a 1.5 GB page file, and, if
possible, take steps to reduce that.

ideally I would like to delete
the file but am not sure if this would have a detrimental effect.

That last comment suggests you don't know have the slightest clue
as to what a page file is. Time for you to bring in a pro to
help manage your server?

You also say nothing about how much RAM you have, so no one can
comment on whether 1.5 GB might be an appropriate size for your
server. As a rock bottom minimum your page file should be RAM +
12 MB. The generally recommendation is RAM x 1.5 or RAM x 2.

 

[Guest]

Rob thanks for your info, i didn't articulate my concerns correctly and have
made myself sound inexperienced, the win server has 3GB of memory and exists
on the root drive which is 10GB in size, the server is set up with raid 5
spanning three hdd’s. I know that the pagefile acts as a swap area for data
to interact with the physical memory, but would it be safe to move the file
in a raid 5 configuration, off the root drive to another partition, I have a
10GB partition on the server sitting empty, would there be any kudos in
moving the pagefile.sys file to this partition. There are no problems/issues

 

[Rob Stow]

Rob thanks for your info, i didn't articulate my concerns correctly and have
made myself sound inexperienced, the win server has 3GB of memory and exists
on the root drive which is 10GB in size, the server is set up with raid 5
spanning three hdd’s. I know that the pagefile acts as a swap area for data
to interact with the physical memory, but would it be safe to move the file
in a raid 5 configuration, off the root drive to another partition, I have a
10GB partition on the server sitting empty, would there be any kudos in
moving the pagefile.sys file to this partition. There are no problems/issues
on the server or with this file, I am just trying to be proactive.

I would be quite conflicted in your shoes because I too like to
be proactive, but at the same time when it comes to servers I
believe in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I tend to be
proactive about maintaining hardware and doing backups, but
conservative about tinkering with the OS and other software.

However, that 10 GB partition present no problems if you want to
move your page file there. If you do so, I would suggest you set
the min and max sizes to 4 GB. The downside is that partition
seems to be on the same RAID 5: you will get some thrashing over
and above what you currently have because the drive heads will
have to bounce back and forth between the page file partition and
whatever other partitions are being used. If you can't move the
page file off of the RAID 5, I would be inclined to leave it
where it is.

As well, RAID 5 tends to have great read performance but poor
write performance - and paging tends to be very evenly split
between reading and writing. When I have a RAID 5, I like to
scrounge up other drives and controllers so that I can put the
page file anywhere but on the RAID 5. Two small drives, whether
IDE, SATA, or SCSI, in a stripe set dedicated to the page file
works very well. Even a single fast drive is usually better
than having it the page file on the RAID 5. The down side, of
course, is that if your dedicated page file drive or RAID 0 goes
down you do not have the same robustness as when the page file is
on the RAID 5. Only you are in a position to know whether your
server's mission allows for a few minutes of down time to replace
a dead page file hard drive - whether it is a single drive or
just one drive in a stripe set.