Cooler Dude said:
XP has set my Page file to 1.5GB.
According to Windows Task Manager, my Page File usage is currently
299MB.
According to WinXP Pagefile Usage Monitor by Bill James, my Page
File usage is currently 42MB and has never been above 51MB.
Which do I believe?
With 1GB RAM and 656+MB "Available", it seems odd that the Page
File would be running at 300MB or am I misunderstanding something?
Actually both figures are correct, but they are based on different
definitions.
Windows Task Manager reports how much memory address space has been
mapped to locations in the page file. This includes the unused
portions of memory allocation requests and as almost everything
(Windows components, application programs, device drivers, etc) asks
for larger allocations than they usually need under normal
circumstances these unused portions can add up to a substantial total.
MVP Bill James' utility reports how much valid memory content has been
relocated from RAM to the page file so as to allow that RAM to be used
for other, currently more important purposes. This is the
measurement that provides an indication of the potential benefit of
adding more RAM to the computer. Generally if this utility reports
more than 50 mb of actual PF usage on a consistent basis then it is
quite likely that the overall performance of the computer would
benefit from having additional RAM installed. Conversely, if this
utility reports less than 50 mb most or all of the time then it is
unlikely that adding additional RAM will provide any noticeable
improvements to performance.
Hope this explains the situation.
Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair
"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."