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Tuesday
18Aug2009

Gimmicks: Page File Manipulation

DateTuesday, August 18, 2009 at 4:17PM

What is it?:  The Windows page file is a file that is created on your hard drive by Windows during the installation process.  It's purpose is to serve as virtual RAM if your computer ever runs out of RAM.  Since access times are much faster for RAM than for a hard drive, virtual RAM is very slow.

Claim 1:  Removing the Page File will speed up Windows.

Claim 2:  Increasing the Page File to some huge size will speed up Windows.

 

The Truth:  1)   Removing the Page File can cause errors.  Some programs act strange if they don't detect a Page File.  2)  Increasing the size of the Page File above the default will do nothing but waste space on your hard drive.

Recommendation:  Most modern computers have adequate RAM so a large PF is not necessary.  Set the PF to 100 or 200MB.  If you have multiple hard drives, put the OS and PF on different drives.  If your computer is constantly accessing virtual memory then it's probably time to buy some more RAM.

AuthorGaslamp Computers | CommentPost a Comment |
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