Windows Forum

Ask something
Discussion Locked

swap file in xp pro

0 helpful
1 reply

by sam_

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
xp pro allows settings on the swap file. I was told, if I move it to another physical drive, performance will improve. I have tried this with no success. xp recreates the file on the drive xp is installed on even when I set the min for 2 on that drive and the remainder on another physical drive. How do I set the min of 2MB on the drive xp is installed on and 768MB on another physical drive, and xp use the settings?

1 reply

by thechas

There is a very good article on Virtual Memory in Windows XP posted at www.aumha.org

To disable the page file on selected drives in XP, you need to first move Virtual Memory to the new drive, then enter Disk Manager and set the no page file option on the remaining drives.

I recommend NEVER setting a maximum size for the page file. If you run out of space for virtual memory, your system will crash.

As a side note, unless the drive where you are moving the page file to has a much faster access time than your primary drive, you won't notice a performance improvement.
What you will see is that performance over time stays more stable.
With the page file on a separate drive, (I use a 4GB or larger drive that is not accessed for any other reason) both the page file and files on the system drive do not get fragmented.

Chas

This discussion is closed to new replies.