PAGE / PAGING FILE - Who the hell needs it ?!?

[larasa]

I am planning on re-installing windows XP Pro on my systems and have been researching partition/ partitioning info online for the past few days... One thing that keeps coming up is PAGE / PAGING FILE

Until last week, I had no idea what a PAGE / PAGING FILE was and what it did, but now I know the basics. What i need to know is:

- Does my system need to work off a PAGE / PAGING FILE? Im running "heavy- ish" programs like dreamwever, MS front page and photoshop on a system currently running 2GB RAM (Looking to upgrade to 3-4GB in the very near future)?

- Should a PAGE / PAGING FILE be kept on a separate hard drive from the system as the first partiton to improve system performance?

- Were is my PAGE / PAGING FILE current location and can it be moved without affecting the system?

- If I run a windows Unattend install, can I point the PAGE / PAGING FILE to another partition than the standard?

- How would I install the PAGE / PAGING FILE through the unattend / unattended install?

Ive got Nlite, Tweak UI and Partition Magic available to help me out. Sorry for the million questions BTW

[cluberti]

"PAGE / PAGING FILE - Who the hell needs it ?!?"

- Does my system need to work off a PAGE / PAGING FILE? Im running "heavy- ish" programs like dreamwever, MS front page and photoshop on a system currently running 2GB RAM (Looking to upgrade to 3-4GB in the very near future)?

Photoshop, for one, requires a paging file. Also, the kernel may need it if the system gets very busy to back kernel paged pool memory and the registry. Also note that, by default, all memory I/O is backed by pages in the paging file as well unless it's I/O on a "memory-mapped" file, so disabling the paging file also increases the (albeit small, but still possible) chances that a power outage or disk failure will corrupt files. Also, you won't be able to page out pages from RAM to disk, so you'll technically not be able to run as many simultaneous applications as well, as otherwise the memory manager can "swap" pages in memory to disk for an idle app and give memory to running apps that need it. 4GB of RAM might seem like a lot, but when working with graphics and multimedia apps, it really isn't.

- Should a PAGE / PAGING FILE be kept on a separate hard drive from the system as the first partiton to improve system performance?

Yes, if you can keep page file writes to a separate physical disk, this can improve performance during disk-intensive operations.

- Were is my PAGE / PAGING FILE current location and can it be moved without affecting the system?

By default, it's stored on the same drive as the OS (usually C:\pagefile.sys), and can be changed under the Advanced tab of System properties, under Performance > Settings button > Advanced tab > Change button.

- If I run a windows Unattend install, can I point the PAGE / PAGING FILE to another partition than the standard?

- How would I install the PAGE / PAGING FILE through the unattend / unattended install?

The paging file is configured in the registry, and changing it there will change the pagefile size/location after a reboot, so that is one way to change it during an unattended install - the values you'll need to modify are under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management, and the value you need to modify is the "PagingFiles" string value here.

[Andromeda43]

Learn how to use "Search" and you'll never need to open a thread to ask such a question.

There's been at least 100,000 words written in this and other forums about the value of the Pagefile.

It's been around as long as windows has.

Ever hear the expression "Virtual memory" ?

It was one of the largest selling features when Windows first came out.

It suggested that you'll have as much "Memory" as you have space left on your HD.

Windows will manage the size of the pagefile as needed, making it larger and smaller as the need arises.

If, you don't turn it off or otherwise muck it up.

Cluberti's explanation is as good as I've ever heard, in a single post. Thank you sir!

Personally, I decided many years ago to just let Windows manage my pagefile and keep my little grubbies off of it.

Windows works best that way.

I do delete it before doing my Ghost backups, but on the next boot, Windows just makes a new one and goes on normally. I also delete all the old restore points and all the garbage files that windows generates.

That saves me about 3 gigs of space in my Ghost backup file.

Good Luck and Happy Computing,

Andromeda43 B)

[cluberti]

Thanks for the compliment, Andromeda43, it is appreciated.

And the KB he refers to with regards to deleting the paging file when imaging is here, because I've already been PM'ed on it .

[larasa]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your support on this one

I found the paging file as described, but there doesnt seem to be an option to move the file to another partiton from the windows menu (Performance > Settings button > Advanced tab > Change button)..I looked up the registry value for the paging system and this is what shows up - C:\pagefile.sys 2046 4092

Im I correct in assuming that to change the location, I simply replace the C: for the partition of my choice, say E:\pagefile.sys 2046 4092? I just want to make sure I dont mess anything up

Also, When I add more RAM to the system will I need to change the paging file size or will the system adjust this automatically for me?

And finally, for photoshop paging file...what is its location? Im assuming I need to have a separate partition for this paging file than the windows paging file (I will be placing both paging files on the second hard disk i think) I plan to place the windows paging file in the first partition and the photoshop paging file on the second partition...is this the way to go?

Thanks again

[cluberti]

I found the paging file as described, but there doesnt seem to be an option to move the file to another partiton from the windows menu (Performance > Settings button > Advanced tab > Change button)..I looked up the registry value for the paging system and this is what shows up - C:\pagefile.sys 2046 4092

Im I correct in assuming that to change the location, I simply replace the C: for the partition of my choice, say E:\pagefile.sys 2046 4092? I just want to make sure I dont mess anything up

That's all you need to do.

Also, When I add more RAM to the system will I need to change the paging file size or will the system adjust this automatically for me?

You will need to change it, as Windows only dynamically assigns it once on the initial build.

And finally, for photoshop paging file...what is its location? Im assuming I need to have a separate partition for this paging file than the windows paging file (I will be placing both paging files on the second hard disk i think) I plan to place the windows paging file in the first partition and the photoshop paging file on the second partition...is this the way to go?

Photoshop uses the Windows paging file, so no worries there - as long as you have one, it uses it (wherever it is).

[Yzöwl]

Moving your paging file to another, faster drive can produce a performance increase, another partition however will actually decrease performance.

The last time I installed Photoshop on a PC, it asked for a location in which to assign additional swap file space for its own purposes during that installation.

[Ponch]

I found the paging file as described, but there doesnt seem to be an option to move the file to another partiton from the windows menu (Performance > Settings button > Advanced tab > Change button)..

Not very intuitive, but yes, there is:

Set option to "No Paging File" when C: is selected, then select the partition you want to move it to and set it to your choice. As stated by Yzöwl, for optimal performance (never did it but I can understand why), move it to the 1st partition of an other physical HDD.

[larasa]

Thanks for the usefull info everyone...im off to re-install windows now