Win2k/352MB RAM - Can I get rid of the paging file?

[jrichrds]

I just dumped a bunch of RAM into my system, and noticed that with 352MB RAM my paging file in Win2k is still pretty big at 288MB. With that much RAM, can I make the paging file a lot smaller or get rid of it completely? I'd rather not have my computer using virtual RAM when there's a bunch of physical ram available. Or is Win2k smart enough not to use the paging file when there's free memory available?

 

[Vegito]

I had 1 GB on my mobo and I disable paging, and it kept crashing and giving me out of memory error even though task manager shows at least 75% free memory... you'll need more than 352 to try to disable paging..

 

[rubberneck]

You could try making a ram disk and putting the page file on it. I don't think 352MB's is all that much for W2k assuming you have part of that used for a paging file though.

 

[Psychoholic]

It doesn't matter how much memory you have some applications will still want a paging file. Just set it to a static size. You'll have to experiment to find the optimum setting for you.

 

[ValkyrieKT7]

The memory subsystem of winNT/2k, is entirely different from 9x/ME. Mainly because they try to run each application in its own address space, and the more ram the bigger your page file

 

[kylef]

Basically, Win2k is smart enough. However, there are a few tweaks that you can do to make sure that some things are never paged OUT of memory. For instance, there is a key somewhere in the registry for turning off Kernel paging so that the entire Kernel is always paged into physical RAM.

But as for the rest of it, Win2k is pretty good at managing physical RAM so there really isn't a need to disable the paging file. The only real disadvantage to it is that it must be initialized when starting the system, and if your hard drive is slow that can take a while. Once the system is up and running, however, Win2k will rarely use the paging file unless necessary.

Some tweaks for large memory installations: Win2k Memory Tweaks