Virtual Memory Optimization Guide! - Page 4

Justarius · 15th Nov 2004, 12:01 AM

Hey Adrian, thanks for the response. After reading your VM guide I went out and bought your BIOS book (your guides make excellent advertisements for your book just by their quality). I have one more quick question for the VM gurus!

I'm still a little confused on what will be optimal page settings based on my setup. I have 2 x 160GB ATA100 drives that are Raid 0 via a promise controller. I also have 2 more large ATA100 drives (250GB and 120GB) on the Primary and Secondary controllers (same speeds but since not RAID, slower than the 2x160s of course). Where to put the Page File vs the OS/Apps?

I would think to put XP and programs on the Raid 0 drives as they are fastest... my HDDs access Windows components and programs more often than paging right? Bottom line is to have Adobe Premiere and Half-Life 2 running the best.

So then where to put the page file...

I can stick it 1/2 on the OS/Apps/Games RAID 0 drives and 1/2 on another. Or all on another. Or split between the 2 others. Or all on the OS/Apps drive. Or if it makes THAT much diff, put the OS/Apps on a different drive and use the RAID drives for Page File plus storage...

Any quick advice? From the guide I understand A) Multiple drives is better. B) RAID 0 is better but what if you have both?

Right now I'm leaning towards OS/Apps on RAID 0 drives. Page file split between drives 3 and 4 (although drive 4 is shared with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive). Pros - OS/Apps on fastest drive. Page file not shared with OS/Apps. Cons - Page file on drives slower than OS/Apps. Page file on drives routinely accessed for storing and moving large data files (and occasionally shared with burner).

Help! I'm drowning in the options...

Justarius

Adrian Wong · 15th Nov 2004, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmint

Using diskeeper as an example, would the top or bottom part of the drive map represent the outer edge of the drive?

My pagefile is currently close to the bottom. I'm a little bit confused since the article said the outer edge was considered the beginning of the drive so I thought it would make sense that the outer edge would be at the top of the drive map.

Hello coolmint,

The top of the drive map always represents the outer tracks of the hard disk.

Adrian Wong · 15th Nov 2004, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justarius

Hey Adrian, thanks for the response. After reading your VM guide I went out and bought your BIOS book (your guides make excellent advertisements for your book just by their quality). I have one more quick question for the VM gurus!

I'm still a little confused on what will be optimal page settings based on my setup. I have 2 x 160GB ATA100 drives that are Raid 0 via a promise controller. I also have 2 more large ATA100 drives (250GB and 120GB) on the Primary and Secondary controllers (same speeds but since not RAID, slower than the 2x160s of course). Where to put the Page File vs the OS/Apps?

I would think to put XP and programs on the Raid 0 drives as they are fastest... my HDDs access Windows components and programs more often than paging right? Bottom line is to have Adobe Premiere and Half-Life 2 running the best.

So then where to put the page file...

I can stick it 1/2 on the OS/Apps/Games RAID 0 drives and 1/2 on another. Or all on another. Or split between the 2 others. Or all on the OS/Apps drive. Or if it makes THAT much diff, put the OS/Apps on a different drive and use the RAID drives for Page File plus storage...

Any quick advice? From the guide I understand A) Multiple drives is better. B) RAID 0 is better but what if you have both?

Right now I'm leaning towards OS/Apps on RAID 0 drives. Page file split between drives 3 and 4 (although drive 4 is shared with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive). Pros - OS/Apps on fastest drive. Page file not shared with OS/Apps. Cons - Page file on drives slower than OS/Apps. Page file on drives routinely accessed for storing and moving large data files (and occasionally shared with burner).

Help! I'm drowning in the options...

Justarius

Oh, wow.. Thanks for your support!

Heh.. When it comes to such complicated setups, the best option is never quite clear-cut.

But I agree with your thinking. It should be better to put your OS and applications on the RAID array. Data, if possible, should be kept on the single drives, to reduce the possibility of catastrophic data loss when anything happens to the RAID array.

The paging file would definitely benefit from the RAID 0 array. And the higher risk of data loss in a RAID 0 array won't matter to the paging file. But splitting the paging files between the two single drives would essentially give you the same effect.

Still, I think you should consider splitting the paging file into three drives. One on each single drive and one on the RAID 0 array.

Windows XP will automatically use the fastest (at that moment) paging file for virtual memory. So, if it's busy using the RAID 0 array, it will skip the paging file on the RAID 0 array for the paging files on the single drives.

Hope that helps you some!

News Writer · 16th Nov 2004, 11:15 PM

The article has just been updated!

Even today, virtual memory is still very important component of the operating system. No matter how much memory you have, there is always a need for virtual memory. Therefore, its performance is of great importance. Optimizing the virtual memory system will greatly improve the performance of the computer.

Today, we will take an in-depth look at moving the paging file to a RAM drive. We will also take a look at how to reduce reliance on the paging file to improve the performance of the system. Come and check out the definitive Virtual Memory Optimization Guide!

Here are the updates:-

Moving the paging file to a RAM drive
Reducing reliance on the paging file

Link : Virtual Memory Optimization Guide Rev. 4.0!

Europa2010AD · 17th Nov 2004, 08:57 AM

I am just wondering, if I put my paging file in the very last partition of my harddrive (only one physical harddrive), does that mean it is located in the outer or inner tracks of the harddisk?

I am aware that you mentioned how it is unnecessary to put the paging file in a separate partition in the article, but I still did it because it would save me a few CDs when I make backup images of my primary partition using programs like Norton Ghost.

Chai · 17th Nov 2004, 01:08 PM

The last partition means it's inside the platter which is of course the slowest.

Adrian Wong · 17th Nov 2004, 01:31 PM

Yeah, as mentioned in the guide, the first partition starts with the outer tracks and subsequent partitions are further in and are therefore slower.

The last partition is always the slowest partition.

Hope that clears it up for you!

brainstormer · 19th Nov 2004, 10:26 AM

Hi.

After reading this article I was wondering something because my Windows XP is running on a partition with NTFS but my paging file is on a drive with FAT32. Is this bad, or do you think that doesn´t matter?

//Klaus
Denmark

Adrian Wong · 19th Nov 2004, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainstormer

Hi.

After reading this article I was wondering something because my Windows XP is running on a partition with NTFS but my paging file is on a drive with FAT32. Is this bad, or do you think that doesn´t matter?

//Klaus
Denmark

Hello brainstormer,

That's certainly food for thought.

FAT32 is faster than NTFS. And the paging file does not need the improved data integrity offered by NTFS. So, yes, putting the paging file on a FAT32 partition would be better.

However, I think this is a minor benefit. Certainly nothing compared to moving it to the outer tracks or defragmenting it.

Protools_Opearator · 23rd Nov 2004, 10:50 PM

Hello again and thank you for the great addition to the guide!

My current setup in the last few months is:

Drive A- WD Raptor 36
Drive B- WD 120GB 8MB cache
both SATA on different channels ofcourse.,

Drive A 200MB page start of the drive NTFS
Drive B 500MB page in the first 1GB partition FAT32

I'm not into "is it good?" kind of questions., I am just looking for some critique and advices., from anyone can help,.
My computer is running in good performance but as everyone I'm looking for the best

needles to say that by my testings I got maximum of 600MB page (by the task manager>performance tab>.

Thank you very much!
-Noam

16th Nov 2004, 11:15 PM	#34 (permalink)
News Writer News Writer Join Date: 7 Sep 2004 Location: ARP Posts: 67 Reputation: 13 Rep Power: 0	The article has just been updated! Even today, virtual memory is still very important component of the operating system. No matter how much memory you have, there is always a need for virtual memory. Therefore, its performance is of great importance. Optimizing the virtual memory system will greatly improve the performance of the computer. Today, we will take an in-depth look at moving the paging file to a RAM drive. We will also take a look at how to reduce reliance on the paging file to improve the performance of the system. Come and check out the definitive Virtual Memory Optimization Guide! Here are the updates:- Moving the paging file to a RAM drive Reducing reliance on the paging file Link : Virtual Memory Optimization Guide Rev. 4.0! __________________ The Hunt For The BOG Book Contest! Over USD 5000 worth of prizes MUST be WON!

17th Nov 2004, 01:08 PM	#36 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 26,661 Reputation: 3984 Rep Power: 72	The last partition means it's inside the platter which is of course the slowest. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

17th Nov 2004, 01:31 PM	#37 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my BenQ Joybook 7000 notebook! Posts: 29,939 Reputation: 2958 Rep Power: 65	Yeah, as mentioned in the guide, the first partition starts with the outer tracks and subsequent partitions are further in and are therefore slower. The last partition is always the slowest partition. Hope that clears it up for you! __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? Keep Tech ARP free! Visit our sponsors! We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

19th Nov 2004, 10:26 AM	#38 (permalink)
brainstormer Newbie Join Date: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	NTFS ans FAT32 Hi. After reading this article I was wondering something because my Windows XP is running on a partition with NTFS but my paging file is on a drive with FAT32. Is this bad, or do you think that doesn´t matter? //Klaus Denmark

15th Nov 2004, 12:01 AM	#31 (permalink)
Justarius Just Started Join Date: 13 Nov 2004 Location: London, Ontario Canada Posts: 30 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	Hey Adrian, thanks for the response. After reading your VM guide I went out and bought your BIOS book (your guides make excellent advertisements for your book just by their quality). I have one more quick question for the VM gurus! I'm still a little confused on what will be optimal page settings based on my setup. I have 2 x 160GB ATA100 drives that are Raid 0 via a promise controller. I also have 2 more large ATA100 drives (250GB and 120GB) on the Primary and Secondary controllers (same speeds but since not RAID, slower than the 2x160s of course). Where to put the Page File vs the OS/Apps? I would think to put XP and programs on the Raid 0 drives as they are fastest... my HDDs access Windows components and programs more often than paging right? Bottom line is to have Adobe Premiere and Half-Life 2 running the best. So then where to put the page file... I can stick it 1/2 on the OS/Apps/Games RAID 0 drives and 1/2 on another. Or all on another. Or split between the 2 others. Or all on the OS/Apps drive. Or if it makes THAT much diff, put the OS/Apps on a different drive and use the RAID drives for Page File plus storage... Any quick advice? From the guide I understand A) Multiple drives is better. B) RAID 0 is better but what if you have both? Right now I'm leaning towards OS/Apps on RAID 0 drives. Page file split between drives 3 and 4 (although drive 4 is shared with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive). Pros - OS/Apps on fastest drive. Page file not shared with OS/Apps. Cons - Page file on drives slower than OS/Apps. Page file on drives routinely accessed for storing and moving large data files (and occasionally shared with burner). Help! I'm drowning in the options... Justarius

17th Nov 2004, 08:57 AM	#35 (permalink)
Europa2010AD Newbie Join Date: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 1 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	I am just wondering, if I put my paging file in the very last partition of my harddrive (only one physical harddrive), does that mean it is located in the outer or inner tracks of the harddisk? I am aware that you mentioned how it is unnecessary to put the paging file in a separate partition in the article, but I still did it because it would save me a few CDs when I make backup images of my primary partition using programs like Norton Ghost.

23rd Nov 2004, 10:50 PM	#40 (permalink)
Protools_Opearator Newbie Join Date: 7 Nov 2004 Posts: 4 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	Hello again and thank you for the great addition to the guide! My current setup in the last few months is: Drive A- WD Raptor 36 Drive B- WD 120GB 8MB cache both SATA on different channels ofcourse., Drive A 200MB page start of the drive NTFS Drive B 500MB page in the first 1GB partition FAT32 I'm not into "is it good?" kind of questions., I am just looking for some critique and advices., from anyone can help,. My computer is running in good performance but as everyone I'm looking for the best needles to say that by my testings I got maximum of 600MB page (by the task manager>performance tab>. Thank you very much! -Noam