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  • Swap File

    i have a question about the swap file.....

    normally, if you make a set swap file, it is created fragmented most of the time....

    but what i did is i made a 160meg partition at the end of the hard drive.... and then set a fixed swap file at 160megs... and the performance significantly increased

    i heard that if i make it at the begginning, it will speed it up even more....

    is this true, and if so, how would i do this since i already have an extended partition after the c: drive so it is impossible to put a logical partition before the cd drive, since u cant have more than 2 extended partitions and each logical must be inside an extended?

    and please tell me if you have any other suggestions...

    btw, i have win95 osr2.1

    ------------------
    P5A-B AMD K6-266@300
    Matrox Milleniumm G200 AGP (oh, lets party)
    Creative SB Awe32 (a classic, superb card)
    Realtek 8029A NIC Card
    64meg Ram
    Ali V agp chipset
    ICQ UIN: 24730025
    <font size="1">Gigabyte GA-6VXC7-4X MoBo
    VIA Apollo Pro 133a (694x/686A) chipset (4x agp, UDMA 66)
    Celeron II 733 CPU (coppermine 128)
    128meg (2x64) 133mhz SDRam
    Matrox Milleniumm G200 AGP 16 mb
    Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital model 0100 (MP3+, Gamer)
    Quantum LM 30 gig HD 7200 RPM UDMA 66
    Realtek 8029A NIC Card
    Optiquest V775 17" Monitor
    Actima 36X CD-Rom
    Advansys 510 SCSI Card (ISA, but good enuf for my burner)
    Yamaha 6416 CD-RW
    Windows 2000 (primary)
    Slackware Linux 9.0(secondary/emergency)</font>

  • #2
    putting your swap file at the start of drive is preferable.norton utilities offers you the option to do this as part of its speed optimisation tool.

    Comment


    • #3
      Making an extra partition for your swap file on the same disk as your OS is a waste of speed and space IMAO. But if your were going to do it the best way would be to place it in the Primary Partition of your Primary HD or (This is another good way) to place it on the Primary Partition of a Secondary Controller on the Secondary IDE. If your using SCSI it doesn't matter. Placing the swap on the slave drive would be just as fast as a master.
      C:\DOS
      C:\DOS\RUN
      \RUN\DOS\RUN

      Comment


      • #4
        DosFreak is somewhat right: if the swap file is on the same hdd as Windows is, no matter what partition you use for it, it won't speed up. But for if you use SCSI or if you put it on another hdd on the other controller !!

        Also, the swapfile is best set at 1.5 times the amount of RAM you have, so in your case, 1.5 times 64 = 96Mb should be enough. Win95 doesn't take up more than 32Mb at most times, so the rest is for programs that really need it (like RAM hungry 3D stuff).

        Jord.
        Jordâ„¢

        Comment


        • #5
          I partition my hard disk such as

          C: 1G - OS & base programs
          D: 1G - fixed 256MB swap file, TEMP, and web browser cache
          E: bunch of G - games
          F: 2G - copy of win9x cd, drivers, and all other stuff that I want to survive durning an OS reinstall.

          Whenever I reinstall w9x, I format D: and the first thing I do is create a 256MB fixed swap file that will use the first contiguous 256MB of that partition.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Jorden:

            Also, the swapfile is best set at 1.5 times the amount of RAM you have, so in your case, 1.5 times 64 = 96Mb should be enough. Win95 doesn't take up more than 32Mb at most times, so the rest is for programs that really need it (like RAM hungry 3D stuff).

            Jord.
            This is an grand old myth that still appears even among experienced computer users. There isn't any kind of truth behind that using a certain number times the RAM amount makes the optimal setting. The truth is that the more RAM you have the less swap you need. To get optimum settings you should use something closer to
            SwapSize = MaxEverNeededMemory - SizeOfRAM

            Comment


            • #7
              Yep, Running sysmon (9x) and Performance Monitor (I use Task Manager Peak mem) (NTX). It's very easy to track the amount of memory your computer uses. For NT5 I use a 500/500m swap file. In NT5 most games reach a peak usage of around 350m+. The really buggy ones (Messiah, Ultima Ascension) Can go up in excess of 600 and 700m+. Windows 2000 will tell ya it's changing the swap file anyway when it runs out of memory.

              So remember. The BEST way is to monitor the way YOU use your computer. What programs YOU run. No one can tell you what is the right amount to set your swap file to unless they use the same programs/configuration that you use.
              C:\DOS
              C:\DOS\RUN
              \RUN\DOS\RUN

              Comment


              • #8
                unfortunately.... i currently only have one hard drive to work with..... so i will somehow try to put it in first partition.....

                and secondly..... when i set my memory to 128megs... and run NFS 5 porsche.... i get error... not enough memory.... i know that it doesnt require 128 but it doesnt work unless its at 160 for some reason... and the rule that u need 1.5x ur memory is BS... since if u have less physical memory... u would need more swap memory IMHO..

                but if i cant put it in first partition, is it better to put the swap in middle of hard drive or at the end???

                dosfreak: its primary master... and secondary master has cdrom..

                ------------------
                P5A-B AMD K6-266@300
                Matrox Milleniumm G200 AGP (oh, lets party)
                Creative SB Awe32 (a classic, superb card)
                Realtek 8029A NIC Card
                64meg Ram
                Ali V agp chipset
                ICQ UIN: 24730025
                <font size="1">Gigabyte GA-6VXC7-4X MoBo
                VIA Apollo Pro 133a (694x/686A) chipset (4x agp, UDMA 66)
                Celeron II 733 CPU (coppermine 128)
                128meg (2x64) 133mhz SDRam
                Matrox Milleniumm G200 AGP 16 mb
                Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital model 0100 (MP3+, Gamer)
                Quantum LM 30 gig HD 7200 RPM UDMA 66
                Realtek 8029A NIC Card
                Optiquest V775 17" Monitor
                Actima 36X CD-Rom
                Advansys 510 SCSI Card (ISA, but good enuf for my burner)
                Yamaha 6416 CD-RW
                Windows 2000 (primary)
                Slackware Linux 9.0(secondary/emergency)</font>

                Comment


                • #9
                  I don't think the position of the swap file within a HD makes enough difference to worry about. I would delete the swap file and then defrag the HD. After defraging the files are grouped. Then create a fixed swap file and it will be contiguous at the end of the files you previously defragmented. Then leave it alone.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    nehal, you have too many things running that eat basic resources, not your physical or swap file ram.
                    Check if some crap shareware prg is hogging it all
                    abit kt7-raid athlon 1ghz quantum 20.4gb - 7200 + wd 200bb - 7200 rpm UDMA100-
                    g400 max-
                    256MB pc133 sdram - sblive value 3.0 - 4 Boston Acoustics A40's - 3com 3c905b-tx - cable access - winME
                    dx7.?- V3 steering wheel/pedals - MS sidewinder PRO
                    Kensiko (Netpointe) scrolling mouse

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      paul, no... this is what i have in my system tray.....

                      innoculate virus checker
                      windows volume
                      winamp start thingy
                      matrox quickdesk
                      creative volume control

                      nothing else... and nothing in my startup folder..... (except ps/2 rate, but that just executes and then exits)

                      ------------------
                      P5A-B AMD K6-266@300
                      Matrox Milleniumm G200 AGP (oh, lets party)
                      Creative SB Awe32 (a classic, superb card)
                      Realtek 8029A NIC Card
                      64meg Ram
                      Ali V agp chipset
                      ICQ UIN: 24730025
                      <font size="1">Gigabyte GA-6VXC7-4X MoBo
                      VIA Apollo Pro 133a (694x/686A) chipset (4x agp, UDMA 66)
                      Celeron II 733 CPU (coppermine 128)
                      128meg (2x64) 133mhz SDRam
                      Matrox Milleniumm G200 AGP 16 mb
                      Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital model 0100 (MP3+, Gamer)
                      Quantum LM 30 gig HD 7200 RPM UDMA 66
                      Realtek 8029A NIC Card
                      Optiquest V775 17" Monitor
                      Actima 36X CD-Rom
                      Advansys 510 SCSI Card (ISA, but good enuf for my burner)
                      Yamaha 6416 CD-RW
                      Windows 2000 (primary)
                      Slackware Linux 9.0(secondary/emergency)</font>

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        how do I delete a swap file? I tried in windows folder, and got an error message

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Boot up a different OS, say DOS, and Windows won't have it locked. Of course your alternate OS has to support the same FS.
                          <TABLE BGCOLOR=Red><TR><TD><Font-weight="+1"><font COLOR=Black>The world just changed, Sep. 11, 2001</font></Font-weight></TR></TD></TABLE>

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            About the 1.5 times your RAM: Well, excuse me, the rule is minimal 1.5 times your RAM, so I overlooked the minimal

                            Anyone out there with Win2k Pro or Server, with unchanged swap file sizes, check what it is set at from the beginning, check your own RAM and then do your own math...

                            Deleting a swap file: You could either tell Windows NOT to use a swap file at all (they say not recommended, but try it with Win9x and 256Mb or more RAM... It works flawlessly )
                            Or you could try to set the swapfile to another partition or harddrive. The original swapfile will be deleted then.

                            Speeds of a harddrive: Errrm, what's the speediest place on a harddrive? The inside or the outside? If ansered, try to place your swapfile there

                            Jord.

                            [This message has been edited by Jorden (edited 21 September 2000).]
                            Jordâ„¢

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Jorden,

                              your right! i have 1GB of ram and win2k pro wanted 1.6GB for a swap file. i've incrementally(..over a 1 month period and 3 days usage) reduced it to 300 megs(..fixed size on the boot drive). i've moved it to each one of my 4 cheetah drives and didn't really see much of an improvement(..if any) in performance(..another myth??)

                              cc

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