Question on virtual memory setting in Win98

[iluvdeal]

I am using Windows 98 Second Edition. I've read I should not let Windows manage my virtual memory settings and instead set the min and max to twice the amount of RAM I have(I have 320MB RAM). There is a setting for each partition on my hard drive. I have a 25gb hdd with rougly the following amount of FREE space available:

c: 470MB
d: 3.5 GB
e: 3 GB

First off, is virtual memory only used on the partition where Windows was installed to? Since I installed it to the c:, would changing the virtual mem setting of d: and e: ?be unnecessary? If not, how do I account for the free space I have available and what virtual mem should be specified as since I can't follow that twice the amount of ram rule I mentioned above. Thanks.

 

[CPORonin]

I can't recall if you can set the Swapfile on a seperate HD or not in win9x, as it has been son long since I have used it.
With as much RAM as you have though, there is a nice little tweak you may want to try.

Open sysedit and goto your system.ini
Under the [386enh]section add a line labled:
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
Save and close out sysedit.

Now what this does is reverts swap file usage back to Windows 95 style, and forces the use of the computer's physical memory (faster) first, before the use of the slower hard disk virtual memory (swap file). When I was using win9x I did notice some speed increases overall. It's not a reg hack so if causes probs you can edit it out of that file via DOS.

 

[Techwhore]

By default, windows puts the pagefile on the partition where windows 98 is installed, but you can of course change that to another partition or drive. It is highly effective to have the pagefile on a seperate disk. The memory you specify for virtual memory becomes hidden. This means that if you designate 100 MB to your pagefile, it's automatically deducted from your free space at startup. You may be able to increase the pagefile to 600 megs on c: even though it says there's only 470 now cause your pagefile probably already has a few hundred megs to start out with. Nevertheless, i recommend you put it on a different partition to avoid any potential problems.

Wherever you put the pagefile, remember to defrag that partition before setting the min and max, this will make your pagefile cleaner and more effective.