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May 29 2007   8:59 PM GMT
TechSuppt   0 pts.

How to manage Virtual Memory size on Win Xp machines?


Tech support, Microsoft Windows, Software, DataCenter

I am working as a Tecnical supporrt Executive and often get calls complaining that their system is running very slow. I delete temp files and set virtual memory. What should be the standard procedure to set the Virtual memory?
I often disable few programs from start up through msconfig like ms office and few more but I am not sure which other applications I should disable. Can I get some tricks and tips on this issue?

Can we kill some processes from task manager to speed up the performance?

Any help would be highly appreciated.

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Last Answered: May 29 2007  11:01 PM GMT  by jrochet   0 pts.




For managing virtual memory, I'd recommend setting it so that the minimum is 1.5x of the physical memory, and maximum is 2x.

Example: If there is 512MB of RAM installed, the minimum pagefile should be 768MB and the maximum 1GB

For cleaning up startup items, I always bypass MSCONFIG, and go to the key in the registry that MSCONFIG is pulling from:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun

If you delete items from in there, they no longer start with Windows, and you can still have a "Normal" startup as far as the MSCONFIG tool is concerned.

For troubleshooting performance, a good tool to begin using is Sysinternal's Process Explorer (now Microsoft Process Explorer). Just google that and start using it - you'll be suprised how much it has to offer.
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Rg7777   0 pts.  |   Oct 9 2007  5:12PM GMT

The one thing that I found useful is reducing page file fragmentation. On new computers, I set the minimum and maximum page file size to the recommended size, usually 1.5 times the RAM. This eliminates page file fragmentation. On computers that have been running for sometime, remove the page file by specifying none. Reboot the computer and run the Windows XP/2000 Defrag utlility a few times until most fragmentation is gone. recreate the page file to the specified size. Another useful utility to locate and disable or remove unwanted programs is Microsoft’s SysInternals utility called Autoruns. You may disable items in the startup and enable them later if you find that they are essential or casuse other operational issues.
That’s my 2 cents.

 

Wrobinson   5610 pts.  |   Dec 23 2007  12:08AM GMT

For guidance on virtual memory and paging files in Windows XP, consult the following URLS , and .

 

Wrobinson   5610 pts.  |   Dec 23 2007  12:16AM GMT

For guidance on VM and pagefile optimization in Windows XP, consult .