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Virtual memory ?

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 1:20 am
by noaht1980
Hello,

i have 256MB memory what should my min and max virtual memory be at?

i have it at 381 min and 381 max but i got a pop up saying my virtual memory was to small

any suggestions


also is there a program i can check and see if my memory is all good or if its starting to go bad?

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 1:36 am
by Lobo

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 1:41 am
by Lobo
I am on XP and mine is set to, whatever you set min too, set max to double min :)

memory

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 1:55 am
by noaht1980
so i should set mine to 384 min and 768 max and i should be ok great thanx


also do you know where i can test my memory to see if its working like it should be or if its going bad?

Re: memory

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 2:01 am
by SICMF
Originally posted by noaht1980
so i should set mine to 384 min and 768 max and i should be ok great thanx


also do you know where i can test my memory to see if its working like it should be or if its going bad?
I do know that its better to have both min and max set to the same. less fragmenting and faster read. With the 256mb i would say 384 min and 384 max. :nod:

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 2:02 am
by Lobo
I believe your min should be 1.5 times the amount of RAM you have and max is double that, use your search engine to find memory tester as I know of none off the top of my head :)

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 2:52 am
by Norm
VM, or Page File, should never be limited IMHO as the possibilty of running low will exist.

Set it for 512min, and NO max (the remaining space on the drive)

The 512 min won't get fragged, and with NO max, it can grow as large as needed, up to the remaining space on the drive, if and when it's ever needed. You'll never get another "out of memory" error. (unless of course you have very little space left on your drive)

Best to set it after a defrag while it's set at the 2 MB smallest size, or disabled.
Also, set the page file to clear itself on shut down if you want a clean slate every boot.

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 3:02 am
by SICMF
Originally posted by Norm
VM, or Page File, should never be limited IMHO as the possibilty of running low will exist.

Set it for 512min, and NO max (the remaining space on the drive)

The 512 min won't get fragged, and with NO max, it can grow as large as needed, up to the remaining space on the drive, if and when it's ever needed. You'll never get another "out of memory" error. (unless of course you have very little space left on your drive)

Best to set it after a defrag while it's set at the 2 MB smallest size, or disabled.
Also, set the page file to clear itself on shut down if you want a clean slate every boot.
Norm, That does make alot of sense, would you suggest that for all machines, with any amount of ram? I have mine set to 1150 min and 1150 max. No problems but just wondering if i should give something like that a shot. ;)

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 3:10 am
by Norm
That's more or less a guide line. If you never get an error, leave it the way you have it. You aren't likely to run out of memory, but the possibility DOES exest if you use memory intensive programs (like scanning a picture at 9600x9600 dpi) for instance. Even then, you better have a huge drive.

The more ram you have, set the min smaller accordingly.

Everyone uses a PC for different things, and everyone will need to set thier VM for what they need.

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 6:39 am
by CaptainSpeleo
Setting the size of the swapfile(virtual memory) has been a hotly-debated topic since back in my Windows 95 days. It's all a matter of personal preference, how much RAM your computer has, and what you use your computer for.

I have 128 MB of RAM in my 98SE computer and 512 MB of RAM in my XP computer. The swapfile in both is set to a fixed size of 100 MB. I've never had a problem with that.


Frank's Windows 95/98 Tips :D