John Bartow
john at winhaven.net
Wed Jan 12 11:33:42 CST 2005
Arthur, I set the pagefile size to 1.5 to 3 times the RAM (depends on how much RAM - for instance I don't set a 3GB pagefile on those systems with 1GB RAM but on a system with 128MB of RAM (yikes!) I would set it to 3x128. I also prefer to have the pagefile operating on a separate disk from the OS and applications generally a file storage disk. And as someone else mentioned - defrag the drive before moving it there and set the min/max sizes the same. By doing that you prevent fragmentation. Also there is a possiblity of a security issue by leaving a static pagefile as is when shutting down. I have to think that this is one of the most obscure security issues I have dealt with. There are settings you can make to clear the pagefile while shutting down. It doesn't actually remove the pagefile.sys it clears the contents of it. I recommend that you don't do this unless you're in a high security situation. It takes a long time to shut down when this is set. OTOH A few months ago I read an article by one of the big hitters (those in the class of Russonvich(sp?) and the like) I'm sorry I can't recall where I read it but the author made the case that XP handles virutal memory much better than the older NT versions and that typically we should let it do it for us. I'll try it sometime when I have a big load to process and have some time but until then it's just someone else's opinion and the most I'm taking from it is that I don't have to fret if I forget to manually set it the way I used to have to on NT 3&4. On the hibenate issue. I have seen it work great on system and totally screw up on other systems. IMO you use it if it works and you have the need otherwise fo-getta-bout-it! John B. -----Original Message----- From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur Fuller Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 7:31 AM To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues Subject: [dba-Tech] wXP virtual memory question Actually, three related questions: 1. The interface is quite quite confusing (or alternatively, my senior moments are becoming more frequent). I want to move the Windows pagefile.sys from drive e: to drive f:. It's not readily apparent how to do this. 2. I have heard or read that the pagefile.sys setting should be twice the RAM available. Is this just old-folks' tales or is there sense behind this alleged maxim? 3. I just noticed another file 260MB large called hiberfil.sys. What is this? Can I kill it? Can I move it? TIA, Arthur > > -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.6.10 - Release Date: 1/10/2005 _______________________________________________ dba-Tech mailing list dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com