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Post by thef0qer on Sept 11, 2006 20:25:04 GMT -5
If you have 2 HDD's windows will let you have 2 page files for 2 hard drives. If you have 3 hdds you can have 3 page files... 1 for each drive, respectfully. To edit pagefile options go to start/my computer (right click properties)/advanced/performance options/advanced/virtual memory/change Do NOT EVER disable the page file !! Chances are most likely you NEED it.
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Mr Burns_TU
A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
Posts: 526
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Post by Mr Burns_TU on Sept 12, 2006 4:32:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip Intel. In fact although it's advisable for you to have your main page file on the same drive as windows you can actually add multiple page files over several partitions/drives. Like I said before this isnt ideal but this can be useful when a machine has been built with too small a partition to safely contain your page file and your windows system directory. .Needless to say this can become confusing when you start having multiboot systems. Hope this helps
Kind regards
Monty
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Post by jackhammer on Sept 12, 2006 6:50:32 GMT -5
Ive been doing some research on this recently and trying to get the best performance, and I have made great gains from doing this. Bearing in mind I have 1gb or ram and 2 hdd's Hd1 (which contains winxp) pagefile size 2 - 50mb best to have a nominal value to avoid errors and to stop windows making its own pagefile. Hd2 pagefile min 1536 and max 1536, set the min and max to 1.5 times your ram having the same value will stop defragmentation. Also having the pagefile on a seperate hd than the windows install is a great way to boost performance. Well hope thats some use to someone
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Mr Burns_TU
A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
Posts: 526
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Post by Mr Burns_TU on Sept 13, 2006 3:28:34 GMT -5
For those that don't know about windows pagefiles and the like here is some supplementary information from an MS engineering course I attended waaaaay back...
The paging file (Pagefile.sys) is a hidden file on your computer's hard disk that Windows XP uses as if it were random access memory (RAM). The paging file and physical memory make up virtual memory. By default, Windows stores the paging file on the boot partition (the partition that contains the operating system and its support files). The default, or recommended, paging file size is equal to 1.5 times the total RAM. This article discusses how to configure the paging file for system optimization and recovery.
To enhance performance, it is good practice to put the paging file on a different partition and on a different physical hard disk drive. That way, Windows can handle multiple I/O requests more quickly. When the paging file is on the boot partition, Windows must perform disk reading and writing requests on both the system folder and the paging file. When the paging file is moved to a different partition, there is less competition between reading and writing requests.
However, if you remove the paging file from the boot partition, Windows cannot create a dump file (Memory.dmp) in which to write debugging information in the event that a kernel mode Stop Error message occurs. This could lead to extended downtime if you must debug to troubleshoot the Stop error message.
The optimal solution is to create one paging file that is stored on the boot partition, and then create one paging file on another partition that is less frequently accessed on a different physical hard disk if a different physical hard disk is available. Additionally, it is optimal to create the second paging file so that it exists on its own partition, with no data or operating-system-specific files. By design, Windows uses the paging file on the less frequently accessed partition over the paging file on the more heavily accessed boot partition. An internal algorithm is used to determine which paging file to use for virtual memory management.
When you put a paging file on its own partition, the paging file does not become fragmented, and this counts as another definite advantage. If a paging file resides on a partition that contains other data, it may experience fragmentation as it expands to satisfy the extra virtual memory that is required. An unfragmented paging file leads to faster virtual memory access and to a greater chance of a dump-file capture that is free of significant errors.
If you follow these recommendations, you meet the following paging file configuration goals for optimization and recovery: • The system is correctly configured to capture a Memory.dmp file if the computer experiences a kernel mode Stop Error. • The paging file on the less frequently accessed partition is used most frequently because it is on a partition that is least busy.
Hope this helps
Monty
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Post by thef0qer on Sept 14, 2006 20:30:21 GMT -5
I didn't feel like creating a whole nother thread cause what I'm about to say isn't very important, but: Ever wonder what happens when a HDD cable slips out of the socket? Here's what happened to me: I opened task manager and it calls all your divices' status. This causes hdds to seek/vibrate (pagefile status)... apparantly I made a user error by not firmly seating the ATA cable on my 2gig HDD. It vibrated out and the pins lost contact with the cable. My PC locked up with the HDD let solid (that's the mobo going wtf happened?) So it woldant boot and when that happens I reseat everything on the mobo except the cpu (that's hard) and make sure everything's happy. I looked and sure enough one end of the ATA cable was off the pins. So there you have it, always double-check to make sure everything's seated properly :/
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Post by thef0qer on Sept 14, 2006 21:08:40 GMT -5
Well the 2gb blew up today. I tried to access it and it went poof. Here's a tip: If you want 2 hdds buy them, don't pull a old shitty 2gig outta your ass. While we're talking about pagefiles however, neat program: download.sysinternals.com/Files/PageDefrag.zipYou only need the exe. I set mine to "defragment every boot", and set the countdown timer to 0. What this does is it defrags critical system processes (looks at pagefile.sys) before they start, optimizeing performance every boot. I forgot to mention that this is not the same as defragmenting your whole hdd, just certian core files of it that are locked when windows boots. This process adds anywhere from 5-10 seconds to MY boot sequence, but that's just me. Try it out. My specs are: Windows XP 120gb ata133 hdd (1531mb pagefile size (1.5x memory size)) P4 Prescott skt 478 533fsb 1mb l2 1gb ddr400 ballistix (ballistix = fast) Intel D85PERL (maybe it's a D86PERL, most likely D86, but I didn't want to remove anything to get a closer look) I also have bios hitting hdd first for boot sequence.
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