Running XP w/ pagefile disabled... also USB/Centrino issue and Flash

[lostatlantis]

[*]Been running XP Pro SP1 w/ pagefile disabled on my Gateway M505X w/ 1gig ram. So far the only issue is Photoshop's bitchin' when it first launches, and occasional outta memory error when too many things are open simulataneously.

My question is why doesn't Windows Task Manager change to reflect the lack of pagefile? Does PF Usage now indicate total physical memory in use?


[*]My other question regards use of USB devices on my centrino laptop. I have the applet Speedstep in my system tray, which shows me CPU freq and % utilization. Sometimes, when no USB devices are attached, the CPU freq will go down to practically zero (6 Mhz) under light CPU load according to SpeedStep. This applies under all profiles (dynamic switching, battery optimized, max battery). However, the second I plug in a USB device, say a memory stick or a mouse, the minimum CPU freq jumps up to 600Mhz.

Light CPU load in this case is little mouse movement and no major programs running.

Is this a bug, and if so is there a fix? I don't know if it's psychological, but I can feel the laptop gets a little warmer when min CPU freq is nailed at 600Mhz.


[*]With many if not all flash applets/websites, my CPU utilization jumps to 100% and sends my fan into overdrive. This is very annoying, since when I limit max CPU to 600Mhz via Speedstep (battery optimized profile), the applet or page usually perform the same (still 100% CPU utilization). Why is this? any fix?


By the way, my laptop's config:

1.4Ghz banias
1 gig DDR333 ram
WinXP Pro SP1, all patches except SP2
Radeon 9600 w/64MB ram, latest driver from gateway (not modded)
40g Fujitsu HD
3 USB 2.0 ports

 

[stash]

Why are you disabling the page file?

 

[lostatlantis]

basically curious with what 1 gig of ram can do. My HD is dead quiet fujitsu but only 4200RPM. I thought this would improve performance if I don't use the slow HD at all for pagefile purpose.

I gotta say this fujitsu HD is soooo quiet it's been able to keep its place as my main drive. That's pretty good considering it's a 4200RPM/2MB vs the 5400RPM/8MB competition. I actually tried both Seagate Momentus 5400RPM and Fujitsu's 5400RPM 60gig with 8MB cache, and they added notable vibration and whine (Seagate much more than Fujitsu's 5400RPM). Right now, I have the fujitsu 60g 54k drive in a USB external enclosure.

 

[BigToque]

I don't know for sure, but I believe there isn't a way to completely eliminate the use of the page file. Maybe the programs dont use it, but I believe the OS still does.

 

[lostatlantis]

but the actual pagefile file (pagefile.sys) disappeared after I disabled it, so something's happening.

any ideas on my other questions?