Optimizing The W2K Swap File

This simple procedure, as first shown to me by my good and knowledgeable friend Tee-dub, will show you how to optimize your page file. The default installation of Wiindows puts the page file on the same drive as Windows. This can slow down the works, as both Windows and the page file can be trying to access the hard drive at the same time. It also does not help if you have the page file on a separate partition (or logical drive) that is on the same physical hard drive. Moving the page file to another drive only makes sense if it is moved onto a separate hard drive that is also on a separate channel. The best possible arrangement is to have Window 2000 on the Primary Master hard drive and the page file on the Secondary Master hard drive. It will also defeat the purpose if you are using an older, slower hard drive as the Secondary Master. It serves no purpose if the Windows hard drive is spinning at 7,200 rpm but the old Secondary drive is spinning at only 5,4000 rpm.

Also partition your Seconday drive so that there is a partition dedicated to the page file, and use that partition for nothing else. On my good computer I have 768 MB RAM, so I have made a 5 GB F: drive. I have an initial page file size of 2048 MB (2 GB) and a maximum of 4 GB (4094 - 4095 is the maximum that Windows would allow me). Another supposed benefit is that there will be that much less space used on the main drive, and a lot less for the scandisc and defragging procedures to have to deal with. The page file will also not be fragmented as much, if at all. Be generous. Give your page file its own large partition on a separate drive and channel and let it do the job it was intended to do in the most efficient manner possible.

Step 1

Begin by right-clicking My Computer, then Properties . . .

Step 2

. . . Then click the Advanced tab. Click Performance Options, as seen at the top of the dialog box to the right, to proceed.

Step 3

In this dialog box you will see that Windows 2000 has taken my 128 MB RAM and multiplied it by 1.5 to make a page file of 192 MB. This is what we will be changing. Click Change... button to proceed.

Step 4

In this new dialog box you can see that Windows has assigned the page file to D:, the same drive that it is installed upon. You can also see that it is given a size of 1.5 to 3 times the amount of RAM, between 192 and 384 MB. We can alter the minimum and maximum sizes but the important thing here is that we want to move it off the drive that Windows is on. First, we will begin by deleting the current page file in the next step below.

Step 5

Begin by highlighting the drive on which the page is currently placed. You will see the initial and maximum sizes in the small windows. Delete them out, then click the Set button. At this point you should receive the warning shown below. Click Yes.

Step 6

This is the step when you create your new page file. We want it on a different drive. I have prepared my hard drive ahead of time by creating a 486 MB partition F: to be dedicated to the page file. This partition should not be used for anything else! Highlight the target drive, then enter the initial and maximum page file sizes. In my example I have chosen 200 and 400 MB. Use the '1.5 - 3 times' rule of thumb and calculate sizes suitable to your RAM. You can simply reuse the sizes that Windows had initially assigned to the file. Once you have entered the desired amounts, click the Set button.

Step 7

You will then be prompted to restart your computer. Click OK and the process is complete.

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