Is it good practice (or idea) to delete the page file, and then create it again periodically?

[RichUK]

My laptop which is a Dell Core duo, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD etc etc, has recently started to run like crap. Well Ive noticed it deteriorate over time.

So what Ive decided to do is delete about 30GBs worth of crap off of the HDD which was not needed. I then deleted the page file, and am know defragging the drive. This is taking ages BTW.

After the defrag has finished I will then look to recreate the page file with its original size of 1536MBs.

Your thoughts on whether this is a good thing to carry out periodically?

 

[InlineFive]

I rarely do this as constantly deleting it can slow down the computer. But there is an option in the Group Policy settings to delete it every shutdown for security purposes.

 

[greylica]

Originally posted by: RichUK
Well Ive noticed it deteriorate over time.

Any smell ?

hauahuahau.
Normally it won't.
But I really don't understand why Windows force the users to pass by that situation always, after a period of time, the users format their systems to make it lighter.
This is a strange behavior of the Windows world. People suffer with this but do not ask Microsoft what is happening. Ask Them why after a period of time the system turns to be an elephant even if no new software is installed. I will like to know their answer...
Anyone haves pleasure to reformat ?
No.
I'm out, I'm a happy new Unix/Linux User. No strange behaviors like this...

Course, you can take another approach to the problem, make an FAT 32 Partition with 3GB and use to your win386.swp. Use a 2GB file, this way your system will not begin to ask you everyday to clean the hard drive.
Unix and Linux uses a dedicated Partition to never fragment the swap file. fragment a swap file is a bad, bad, bad thing. Windows World... OMG...

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: RichUK
My laptop which is a Dell Core duo, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD etc etc, has recently started to run like crap. Well Ive noticed it deteriorate over time.

So what Ive decided to do is delete about 30GBs worth of crap off of the HDD which was not needed. I then deleted the page file, and am know defragging the drive. This is taking ages BTW.

After the defrag has finished I will then look to recreate the page file with its original size of 1536MBs.

Your thoughts on whether this is a good thing to carry out periodically?

I don't think you will see any improvement from this, page file fragmentation isn't overly important since the file isn't read sequentially.

 

[bsobel]

Microsoft what is happening. Ask Them why after a period of time the system turns to be an elephant even if no new software is installed. I will like to know their answer...
Anyone haves pleasure to reformat ?

BS. Reinstall issues come from adding bad software to the boxes. I have Windows boxes that have been running exactly the same for years (both phyiscal and VM's). There is no 'magic' degrading of them if they aren't being changed.

 

[greylica]

BS. Reinstall issues come from adding bad software to the boxes. I have Windows boxes that have been running exactly the same for years (both phyiscal and VM's). There is no 'magic' degrading of them if they aren't being changed.

So why users like RichUk are doing this ? Why the phrase " Well I've noticed it deteriorate over time . " It's really stranger that He is not the only person that do the same question, I ask too, if there is no reason to degrade performace over time.
Why the users think and act like if degradation really exist ?
Why are they doing formats (And telling us) for turn the system lighter if there is no reason ?

Is it a kind of culture ?

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: greylica

BS. Reinstall issues come from adding bad software to the boxes. I have Windows boxes that have been running exactly the same for years (both phyiscal and VM's). There is no 'magic' degrading of them if they aren't being changed.

So why users like RichUk are doing this ? Why the phrase " Well I've noticed it deteriorate over time . " It's really stranger that He is not the only person that do the same question, I ask too, if there is no reason to degrade performace over time.
Why the users think and act like if degradation really exist ?
Why are they doing formats (And telling us) for turn the system lighter if there is no reason ?

Is it a kind of culture ?

Probably because he is constantly adding and deleting programs. Why this causes Windows to slow down is the question we should be asking. I agree with the poster you responded to. Once a Windows box is configured, running, and never touched again they run as good as the last day you configured it.

 

[RichUK]

Ok, I?ve just carried out and completed the defrag. Before the the defrag the HDD had pretty much reached it?s full capacity, and that is when i deleted 30GB's worth of unwanted data.

It does feel more responsive as it did when i first used the laptop as new, but this is probably down to the defrag.

What made me think about deleting and recreating the page file, were some memory errors that I was receiving in the latest battlefield 2142 game while loading up maps. After the defrag and page file recreation, I wasn?t receiving any of the previous errors.

Ohh well, all is good now.


EDIT: The defrag took nearly 2 hours :shocked: I didn't realise it was that fragmented.

 

[greylica]

Probably because he is constantly adding and deleting programs. Why this causes Windows to slow down is the question we should be asking. I agree with the poster you responded to. Once a Windows box is configured, running, and never touched again they run as good as the last day you configured it.

The clear problem is the registry, it seems after a uninstall there is so much trash on there and even if you clean it , it will leave trash.