Virtual Memory on USB

[snoopy55]

I very recently went from 32-bit XP (XP) to 64-bit XP (XP64). In XP I set up a 4GB USB dongle as my Virtual Memory (VM) and it worked great! I attempted to do the same with XP64, but the VM does not show the 32Gb dongle as usable. It shows up in Device Manager and in My Computer, and I can store files on it.

Is this a XP64 thing or is there a way to get it to work?

[Kelsenellenelvian]

Some drives do not meet required settings to be used that way.

[allen2]

Using an usb 2 drive for the pagefile would be a big error as it will slow down a lot the computer because the max speed of usb 2.0 drive is a lot slower than any sata drive.

[Jody Thornton]

I have 7 GB of RAM installed so I finally decided to turn off paging. Taking this step does not hugely impact performance, but it does cut down on fragmentation.

[Kelsenellenelvian]

Neither does a a smallish (say 1024 - 1gb) partition set at the same max,min....

Plus IF there is ever a reason for it then it will be there.

[Tripredacus]

I'm not sure you even want to sacrifice your USB device for Virtual Memory. They are made primarily for reads and not so much writes. Using a UFD for Virtual Memory will kill it after some time. Isn't this the same idea as ReadyBoost? I've killed 3 UFDs before I stopped trying to use ReadyBoost. Its a nice idea but doesn't work out well in practice.

[snoopy55]

None of this seems to answer my question, is there a way to set a USB as Virtual Memory in XP x64? I've been using a USB SD card as VM while using XP 32-bit for several years. The same SD card, and it has worked. I do graphics work, and speed is not the thing. Now that you have given opinions on it, can anyone answer the question, can it be done?

USB cards are not primarily for reads. USB cards are the main thing used in cameras these days and they write to them, you copy the pics to your PC and erase the USB, returning it to your camera for more pics.

Now, can we get to an answer as to 'can a USB be used as VM in XP x64'? Please......

Edited November 10, 2012 by snoopy55

[snoopy55]

Now to the replies.......

Kelsenellenelvian, what required setting are you speaking of, and can these settings be changed?

allen2, speed is not my problem. Health issues keep me from getting into the hi-speed games. Graphics are my thing and having a VM has helped.

Tripredacus, as I understand the job of ReadyBoost, it is an interface between your hard drives and your system. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost ) Thus it is used every time your system accesses a hard drive. VM is not accessed that often. It is used by a program much like a blackboard to store data it needs while in operation. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_memory )

So again, we are right back to the question, is there a way to get XP x64 to be able to use a USB as VM?

[jaclaz]

@snoopy55

The ability to put a pagefile on a USB stick is determined by a number of things (ways the OS "sees" the device).

What I find very strange (besides what you want to achieve) is what you report.

A "normal" MS NT based OS won't allow having a pagefile on an "external" disk, let alone a "removable" one.

To allow this normally a filter driver is used, see here for DiskMod:

http://reboot.pro/9461/

http://reboot.pro/9461/#entry86619/

which comes also in a 64 bit version, though tested only on later systems (Vista and 7) AFAICR.

jaclaz

Edited November 10, 2012 by jaclaz

[snoopy55]

I guess I need to make a full report.........

The motherboard: MSI K9AG Neo2-Digital

The USB: Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 USB Device, 4Gb

The OS: Windows XP 32-bit

I got the idea figuring a USB card was the same as a Hard Drive since you could boot from them. When I opened the Virtual Memory window under Performance Options, the USB was there and set up beautifully. I set it to use a bit less than 4096. It worked fine.

I looked over the two sites you listed and there is to much foreign language there for me. (and I used to be able to program in 8 different machine languages...........) I did do a diskmod search for the motherboard I have ( Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ) but while finding it for a number of their other motherboards, I couldn't find one for mine. Sounds like it may be time to bug Gigabyte a bit.

To tell the truth, I never had XP 32-bit on my present system. It may just be something about the motherboard itself seeing that Gigabyte has DiskMods for a number of their other motherboards.

I'll get back to you once they get back to me.

[dencorso]

To allow this normally a filter driver is used, see here for DiskMod:

http://reboot.pro/9461/

http://reboot.pro/9461/#entry86619/

which comes also in a 64 bit version, though tested only on later systems (Vista and 7) AFAICR.

I looked over the two sites you listed and there is to much foreign language there for me. (and I used to be able to program in 8 different machine languages...........)

Foreign language? There's not a single word not in English in the thread jaclaz pointed you to.

I did do a diskmod search for the motherboard I have ( Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ) but while finding it for a number of their other motherboards, I couldn't find one for mine. Sounds like it may be time to bug Gigabyte a bit.

Which would be perfectly useless, because DiskMod is a free program by Karyonix, available exclusively from the thread jaclaz pointed you to.

[snoopy55]

dencorso, am I to take it you are attempting to be funny there?

Just in case you are not.........

"I looked over the two sites you listed and there is to much foreign language there for me." The 'foreign language' reference is older than I am. I used it because of the fact that a foreign language is not something I can understand, and since I cannot understand what was posted on that site, it is like a foreign language to me. B)

As to my searching for one, yes, that one is free, BUT, I am using XP x64, not Vista or Win7 . Also, dropping to the third from the bottom post in the referred thread, it states "Test-signed 64-bit driver is included. If you want to use (test) it in Windows Vista or 7 (64-bit), you must enable TESTSIGNING Boot Configuration Option before you install DiskMod driver. The original was not written for a 64-bit, only 32-bit. And while there is a 64-bit now available, I'd rather wait for someone else to test it on a XP x64 system.

And I did find downloads from Gigabyte that may be what is needed, ( and they are free ) but not for my motherboard.

And just in case you were making a joke......

[Ponch]

Just for info, I just plugged two USB keys and a USB HDD in my fairly old laptop (XP32, SP3), all 4 volumes (2 on the HDD) appear in Virtual Memory settings, but even if the settings are kept after reboot (I set 20Meg on one of the USK keys), there is no new file on that key. Not sure if there would be one created "when needed".

[jaclaz]

I dont want to be grumpier then usual, but I simply represented you the current situation to the best of my knowledge.

The ONLY way to have a pagefile on a non-internal disk in a Windows NT based systems is AFAIK the Diskmod filter driver I pointed you to, which is NOT hardware specific and has been tested and verified to be working on:

• XP 32 bit
  
• Vista BOTH 32 and 64 bit
  
• 7 BOTH 32 and 64 bit
  

there is NO reason why it should not work on XP 64 in theory, but, as said YMMV.

You asked a question, I took some time to answer it, as said to the best of my knowledge, the fact that you don't like the answer or you are uncapable of putting it into practice or simply want to wait someone else to try it, should not prevent you from:

• ask nicely clarifications if there are things that you don't understand
  
• being thankful for the time spent in attempting to help you
  

The fact that you used to program in 8 different machine languages evidently prevented you from learning "foreign languages" and also some common forms of politeness.

A lot of people don't know what a filter driver is on a NT based system, but instead of accusing other people of writing in a foreign language, most probably because they never programmed in 8 different machine languages, they tend to try understanding what is written, instead of skimming through and jumping t (bTW completely absurd) conclusions and come back whining.

I hope you will have fun while putting a pagefile on an external device (or completely failing at it )..

jaclaz

[Joseph_sw]

Silly Question: is there any such thing as USB-RAM-Drive? you know , the volatile type...

I could use that as slower ram-drive for paging, temporary folder & browser cache, etc... without have to sacrifice the real memory for ram-drive.