XP/Pro SP2: pagefile.sys won't allocate on external drive

[Dave]

Under XP/Pro, I've always used 2 paging files on non-C devices: One on a
2nd, internal harddrive (O:\pagefile.sys), and the other on an external
HD (Buslink drive) attached via Firewire (Q:\pagefile.sys). Paging
activity has always been fairly heavy on the Q drive judging from the
disk activity light, since that's mainly what it's used for (the rest of
the disk is used for archived files which are rarely touched).

After installing SP2, the pagefile on drive Q was missing - deleted -
but the allocation for it was still present in the advanced settings for
virtual memory. I've tried setting it to zero, rebooting, setting it
back to 2000-2000 (plenty of available space) and rebooting, but it
still won't allocate. In the Device Manager's policies for the Q drive
I've specified "Optimize for performance", ie, use write-caching - just
like the other hard drives, as opposed to "Optimize for quick removal".
The Q drive shows up with the other internal HD's under "Disk drives" in
the Device Manager.

Performance is degraded without this "dedicated" paging file.

Any idea how to force XP to allocate and use a paging file on that
drive? It used to work just fine, and I've been using it for 2 years
before SP2 came along. If not, how do I report a program bug to M$?

Thanks.

Dave M

 

[neil]

Perhaps you will need to remove and re-install the external HD. Does the
manufacturer have any new drivers for the drive.

Just a thought
Neil

 

[Dave]

Somehow, I don't think removing and re-installing the driver for the
external HD will accomplish anything, but I'll keep it in mind. There
are no new drivers available for it (for XP) via Windows Update or the
vendor's site (Buslink). It's XP compatable, as listed by the vendor,
and all other file I/O works fine.

Is there a way to fool XP into thinking that this drive is NOT
removable? I can't find any such option in the Windows Device Manager,
TweakUI, or FreshUI (3rd party freebie). I have a feeling that XP is
denying allocation of the page file due to the drive's removability. Of
course, XP didn't TELL me that it was refusing to allocate the file - it
simply did it with no notification or documentation.

Dave M