Pagefile.sys problems

[Guest]

My pagefile has mysteriously moved to the D: partition instead of staying
where it belongs on the C drive. (HP computer came with one physical drive
partitioned with C and D (restore) partitions. When Ichecked, the virtual
memory is set for C (system controlled) and the D drive is set for no virtual
memory -- however the pagefile.sys is on the D drive. I tried setting
everything to 0, shutting down, deleting the pagefile.sys on D and resetting
the virtual memory for C to system managed -- but at restart the pagefile.sys
was back on D again. I looked at the regedit area where (I think) the
setting is for this and it shows C: -- but it still ends up on D. It has
caused me to move all the HP recovery files to an external drive because it
was running out of room. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[JerryM \(ID\)]

Did you click the Set button after you made your changes ?

--

Jerry

If you want the best seat in the house,
You'll have to move the cat.

 

[JerryM \(ID\)]

Ok, something to try:
Go back to the Virtual Memory and highlite C: drive, change from system
managed size to Custom,
with 2 mb minimum and 500 mb maximum.
click Set button.
highlite d: drive and change to No Paging file,
click Set button
Back out and Reboot.


--

Jerry

If you want the best seat in the house,
You'll have to move the cat.

 

[ssnazzy9]

OK - did exactly what you said and nothing changed. D still has the
pagefile.sys on it. I just don't understand how it got this confused.
M

Ok, something to try:
Go back to the Virtual Memory and highlite C: drive, change from system
managed size to Custom,
with 2 mb minimum and 500 mb maximum.
click Set button.
highlite d: drive and change to No Paging file,
click Set button
Back out and Reboot.


--

Jerry

If you want the best seat in the house,
You'll have to move the cat.

 

[ssnazzy9]

I just went back and checked the settings -- and something strange - up
at the top it shows what I set - C drive = 2- 500, but at the bottom it
shows: minimum - 2; recommended - 2302, current allocation 1519. Which
seems strange since I told it 500 was the maximum. It just won't pay
attention to anything I tell it!!!
M

Ok, something to try:
Go back to the Virtual Memory and highlite C: drive, change from system
managed size to Custom,
with 2 mb minimum and 500 mb maximum.
click Set button.
highlite d: drive and change to No Paging file,
click Set button
Back out and Reboot.


--

Jerry

If you want the best seat in the house,
You'll have to move the cat.

 

[Gerry Cornell]

How large is each partition and how much free space. The system can
create a temporary pagefile on another partition where free space
exists if space is limited.

How much RAM memory do you have?


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[ssnazzy9]

I have 1.5 gb RAM, and the C drive is 70GB with 53GB free - last month I
bought an external drive and moved all my photos over to it which freed
up the C drive - it used to have about 25GB free. This problem didn't
happen until about a month after I added the external drive and freed up
all that space on C.

The internal drive is C: 70 total, with 53 free, D: is 5.2 total with
3.7 free. The D drive was totally full and I started getting the
warning messages which is what alerted me to the problem. I moved all
the HP Recovery files off of D and onto the external (G) drive since I
couldn't seem to get the pagefile off of this drive - I was afraid the
system would crash and burn if it totally ran out of room on D. I
checked the event logs and didn't see anything helpful there either.

I guess I can keep operating this way -- except if I ever really need
those HP recovery files I'm not sure that they will understand they are
now on a G drive and operate successfully from there. Otherwise the
system seems to be fine as long as the 5.2 size of the D is enough for
the pagefile. Is it?
M

How large is each partition and how much free space. The system can
create a temporary pagefile on another partition where free space
exists if space is limited.

How much RAM memory do you have?


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[JerryM \(ID\)]

Try deleting the partition on d: drive, since you have it backed up on
another drive.
Be sure you have a good backup first.
Reset the c: drive to system managed size for the paging file.
Then do a reboot.

 

[Gerry Cornell]

M

Something is not right somewhere and I think you need to find out what
it is. If you try to live with it eventually you will get bitten.

The first thing is you need to be certain you really have 53 gb free
space on your C partition. Where are you getting these figures from?
Some sources are unreliable.

If you are using the Norton Protected Recycle Bin or Rollback RX Pro
these can create significant free disk space issues. The programmes
create hidden folders, which can grow to colossal sizes. I would also
be interested to know if you are using Ghost?

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point.

Have you changed the three default settings for System Restore,
Temporary Internet Files and the Recycle Bin? If not then I am even
more suspicious of your 53 gb free space. Otherwise you may benefit
from reducing the space allocations.

The default allocation to System Restore is 12% of your C partition
which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700 mb. Right click your
My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System Restore. Place the
cursor on your C drive select Settings but this time find the slider
and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and exit. When you get
to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and exit.

Another default setting which could be wasteful is that for temporary
internet files, especially if you do not store offline copies on disk.
The default allocation is 3% of drive. Depending on your attitude to
offline copies you could reduce this to 1% or 2%. In Internet Explorer
select Tools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet Files,
Settings to make the change. At the same time look at the number of
days history is held.

The default allocation for the Recycle Bin is 10 % of drive. Change to
5%, which should be sufficient. In Windows Explorer place the cursor
on your Recycle Bin, right click and select Properties, Global and
move the slider from 10% to 5%. However, try to avoid letting it get
too full as if it is full and you delete a file by mistake it will
bypass the Recycle Bin and be gone for ever.

When you have made these changes restart your computer and run Disk
Defragmenter.

Go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options, View, Advanced Settings
and verify that the box before "Show hidden files and folders" is
checked and "Hide protected operating system files " is unchecked. You
may need to scroll down to see the second item. You should also make
certain that the box before "Hide extensions for known file types" is
notchecked. Next in Windows Explorer make sure View, Details is
selected and then select View, Choose Details and check before Name,
Type, Total Size, and Free Space.

Folder Size -a useful tool for use with Windows Explorer when
investigating how disk space is being used.
http://foldersize.sourceforge.net/

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[ssnazzy9]

I think I am too chicken to try this --- all I can see is everything
crashing around my ears and having to start over from scratch -- and I'm
just not ready for that. The system seems to be running fine with the
pagefile on the d partition and since I have the new external drive I
have plenty of room to keep the HP recovery stuff over there -- I will
just leave well enough alone and let it be. I really appreciate the
help from everyone - it is very nice of you to take the time.
M

Try deleting the partition on d: drive, since you have it backed up on
another drive.
Be sure you have a good backup first.
Reset the c: drive to system managed size for the paging file.
Then do a reboot.

 

[ssnazzy9]

Gerry, thank you so much for your complete response -- I went through
all your suggestions and they didn't make a great deal of difference in
the numbers. Remember, a month ago I added an external drive and moved
the majority of my non-system files over to it - so my C drive got a lot
of space back.
I don't use Norton or Rollback or Ghost -- I do use Diskkeeper and
Registry Mechanic. Most of the setting recommendations you made I had
already done. The only item I couldn't seem to accomplish was getting
rid of earlier system restore points -- your directions didn't work for
me.
As I said in a reply to Jerry M's notes, I am not inclined to get rid of
the D partition -- afraid I would be asking for trouble and get myself
into a really big mess. In researching this all over the internet, I've
read about lots of issues in this area -- and not too many good
outcomes -- reinstalling seemed to be the fix in the end. So, I think I
will be very committed to doing my backups and cross my fingers -- maybe
I can hold off the inevitable to a more convenient time for a reinstall.
I do appreciate all your time and effort to help me -- people like you
are Jerry and wonderful to find. Thanks again.
M

M

Something is not right somewhere and I think you need to find out what
it is. If you try to live with it eventually you will get bitten.

The first thing is you need to be certain you really have 53 gb free
space on your C partition. Where are you getting these figures from?
Some sources are unreliable.

If you are using the Norton Protected Recycle Bin or Rollback RX Pro
these can create significant free disk space issues. The programmes
create hidden folders, which can grow to colossal sizes. I would also
be interested to know if you are using Ghost?

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point.

Have you changed the three default settings for System Restore,
Temporary Internet Files and the Recycle Bin? If not then I am even
more suspicious of your 53 gb free space. Otherwise you may benefit
from reducing the space allocations.

The default allocation to System Restore is 12% of your C partition
which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700 mb. Right click your
My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System Restore. Place the
cursor on your C drive select Settings but this time find the slider
and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and exit. When you get
to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and exit.

Another default setting which could be wasteful is that for temporary
internet files, especially if you do not store offline copies on disk.
The default allocation is 3% of drive. Depending on your attitude to
offline copies you could reduce this to 1% or 2%. In Internet Explorer
select Tools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet Files,
Settings to make the change. At the same time look at the number of
days history is held.

The default allocation for the Recycle Bin is 10 % of drive. Change to
5%, which should be sufficient. In Windows Explorer place the cursor
on your Recycle Bin, right click and select Properties, Global and
move the slider from 10% to 5%. However, try to avoid letting it get
too full as if it is full and you delete a file by mistake it will
bypass the Recycle Bin and be gone for ever.

When you have made these changes restart your computer and run Disk
Defragmenter.

Go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options, View, Advanced Settings
and verify that the box before "Show hidden files and folders" is
checked and "Hide protected operating system files " is unchecked. You
may need to scroll down to see the second item. You should also make
certain that the box before "Hide extensions for known file types" is
notchecked. Next in Windows Explorer make sure View, Details is
selected and then select View, Choose Details and check before Name,
Type, Total Size, and Free Space.

Folder Size -a useful tool for use with Windows Explorer when
investigating how disk space is being used.
http://foldersize.sourceforge.net/

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gerry Cornell]

M

I have not suggested you convert from two partition to one and quite
honesty I am not sure what it would achieve.

Using Diskkeeper will cause no problems but Registry Mechanic is a
utility which many MVP's will tell you not to use.

I am surprised you were not able to remove old System Restore points,
hoever, perhaps we can leave that for now.

Let's try another approach. Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager
and click the Performance Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total,
the Limit and the Peak?

You may find it helpful to know exactly how much of your pagefile is
being used. Use page file monitor to observe what is the peak usage.
Start it to run immediately after start-up and look at the log at the
end of the session.The log is Pagefile log.txt. If you right click on
the file in Windows Explorer and select Send to, Desktop (Create
Shortcut). The same applies to XP_PageFileMon.exe.

A small utility to monitor pagefile usage:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm

Note programs using undo features particularly those associated with
graphics and photo editing require large amounts of memory so if you
use this type of programme check these first observing how the page
usage increases when they start and whether the usage decreases when
you close the programme.

Let's try again to set a pagefile on C. Right click on the My Computer
icon on your Desktop and select Properties, Advanced, Performance
Sttings, Advanced, Change. On the advanced tab select the C drive,
check the box before Custom and enter 500 in the min, enter 1,500 in
the max, click on Set, OK and OK again and exit. Restart the computer.
Has the new setting stuck?

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[ssnazzy9]

Hello Gerry,
I checked Task Manager and before making any other changes it was :
Total - 287760, Limit - 2994576, Peak - 356596.
I then downloaded the pagefile monitor from Doug KNox and on first
time use it was 32/42/1535 (and told me that the pagefile.sys was on the
D drive).
I then went in and changed the pagefile (again) to a custom
setting - as you suggested - on the C drive with 500/1500 for min/max.
Restarted the computer and ran the monitor with results of 18/18/1519.
Just for grins I went back in and looked and the pagefile setting looks
correct -- I mean that when you look it says that it is a custom setting
for the C drive with 500/1500 set. However when I run the monitor it
tells me that the pagefile is on the D drive and I cannot find one on
the C drive.
I then opened Photoshop Elements 5 and upon opening my usage was
27/27/1519; opened a picture and did an edit and it was 89/92/1519,
closed the program and checked again and it was 22/119/1519. So it
looks like that program at least does release upon closing.
I just looked at the Task Manager monitor and it read 323940 /
2978192/ 560288.
The only thing I am getting from all this is that it seems as though
the pagefile seems to be working correctly -- but is very stubborn and
has decided to remain on the D partition no matter what I do.
Question - will this cause me problems? Since it is determined to be on
D, should I go back in and set it that way?
M

M

I have not suggested you convert from two partition to one and quite
honesty I am not sure what it would achieve.

Using Diskkeeper will cause no problems but Registry Mechanic is a
utility which many MVP's will tell you not to use.

I am surprised you were not able to remove old System Restore points,
hoever, perhaps we can leave that for now.

Let's try another approach. Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager
and click the Performance Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total,
the Limit and the Peak?

You may find it helpful to know exactly how much of your pagefile is
being used. Use page file monitor to observe what is the peak usage.
Start it to run immediately after start-up and look at the log at the
end of the session.The log is Pagefile log.txt. If you right click on
the file in Windows Explorer and select Send to, Desktop (Create
Shortcut). The same applies to XP_PageFileMon.exe.

A small utility to monitor pagefile usage:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm

Note programs using undo features particularly those associated with
graphics and photo editing require large amounts of memory so if you
use this type of programme check these first observing how the page
usage increases when they start and whether the usage decreases when
you close the programme.

Let's try again to set a pagefile on C. Right click on the My Computer
icon on your Desktop and select Properties, Advanced, Performance
Sttings, Advanced, Change. On the advanced tab select the C drive,
check the box before Custom and enter 500 in the min, enter 1,500 in
the max, click on Set, OK and OK again and exit. Restart the computer.
Has the new setting stuck?

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gerry Cornell]

M

What anti-virus and anti-spyware programmes and firewall are you
using?

When you log on do you have fill Administrator's right to make system
changes?


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[ssnazzy9]

I use Zone Alarm for anti-virus and firewall and anti-spyware, plus have
a couple of other anti-spyware programs - SpywareGuard and Spyware
Blaster and Ad-Aware. Yes I have full administrator rights. Pretty
weird huh?
M

M

What anti-virus and anti-spyware programmes and firewall are you
using?

When you log on do you have fill Administrator's right to make system
changes?


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~