Defrag - Page File ?

kof · Feb 24, 2007

The Windows XP Page File
Performance is always an issue when dealing with computers. We tend to think of major items such as processor speed, amount of installed RAM and the graphics card when talking about how fast a computer performs. It's true those components do play a large role in performance, but one item that can substantially impact overall performance that doesn't get nearly the amount of attention as the more well known components is the paging file. The paging file is very closely related to the physical RAM installed in the computer. Its purpose is to extend the amount of physical RAM and make it available to the system. Both services and installed applications can benefit from this 'extra' RAM, even though it is substantially different from the sticks that plug into the motherboard.

Not all that long ago 32 to 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM was considered a huge amount for a personal computer. Today, amounts of 128MB to 256MB are common with many machines sporting 512MB or even 1GB of RAM. It might seem that with such a huge jump in installed RAM that the paging file would be unnecessary. There must be some sort of law or correlation that I don't know about, but operating systems and applications keep finding ways to suck up all that memory so the page file remains with us. There have been a number of schemes for extending the installed amounts of RAM but basically they are all paging files. When the load imposed by applications and services running on the computer nears the amount of installed RAM it calls out for more. Since there isn't any additional RAM to be found, it looks for a substitute; in this case virtual memory which is also known as the page file.

We now have two types of memory; random access memory (RAM) and virtual memory, or the page file. The page file is created during the Windows XP installation and resides on the hard drive. Page files are measured in megabytes. The size of the page file is based on how much RAM is installed in the computer. By default, XP creates a page file which is 1.5 times the amount of installed RAM and places it on the hard drive where XP is installed. Other than plugging the RAM into the motherboard, there is little than can be done to alter its performance characteristics. The page file is a different story. Because it's located on a hard drive, it's subject to a number of factors that can hinder its performance.
Click to expand...

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/PageDefrag.mspx

in general i dont understand what is that page file
should i defrag ?
and with what program you recommend me to do that ? microsoft's PageDefrag or there is better one?

sry for bad english

WSFuser · Feb 24, 2007

the page file is also known as a swap file or virtual memory.

if u should defrag it depends on if the page file is fragmented in the first place. pagedefrag will show u how many fragments its in when u run it.

i recommend u use your defrag utility but if it doesnt have a boot/offline defrag, then go ahead and use PageDefrag.

Log in or Sign up

Defrag - Page File ?

kof Registered Member

WSFuser Registered Member

Log in or Sign up

Defrag - Page File ?

kof Registered Member

WSFuser Registered Member

Useful Searches