Windows tips: Virtual Memory

The concept of virtual memory is relative to physical memory. When the system's physical memory space is insufficient, the operating system will open up a disk space on the hard disk for memory usage, this part of hard disk space is called virtual memory.
Windows 98 adopts the Win386.swp file format, while Windows 2000/XP manages virtual memory in the form of page file pagefile. sys.

I. Size

1. General situation

In general, we recommend that you enable Windows to automatically allocate and manage virtual memory, which can dynamically adjust the virtual memory size based on the actual memory usage.

2. Minimum values

Windows suggests that the minimum page file size should be 12 MB for the physical memory capacity of the current system. If the physical memory size is smaller than MB, we recommend that you set the minimum page file size to a greater value:

① If you use 1.75 MB or less memory, we recommend that you set times the current physical memory capacity to the minimum value of the page file.

② If the memory size is between 1.5 MB and MB, we recommend that you set times of the current physical memory capacity to the minimum value of the page file.

3. Maximum values

Generally, the larger the maximum value of a page file, the better. We recommend that you set it to 2 to 3 times the minimum value.

4. Extreme cases

If the hard disk space is tight, you only need to ensure that it is not less than 3/4 of the physical memory when setting the page file. If the physical memory is large (greater than 512 MB), you can disable the virtual memory.

5. set according to different task environments

① Environment dominated by 3D games

3D games have high requirements on CPU, video card, and memory. If the physical memory is smaller than 256 MB, we recommend that you increase the virtual memory by default, which is helpful for improving the stability and smoothness of the game.

② An environment dominated by video playback

Video applications have a high appetite for hard disk space, but do not set the virtual memory as large as in a 3D game environment, especially for Windows XP users. Because Windows XP does not automatically release unnecessary space, that is, the Pagefiles. sys file will become larger and larger. If you put the virtual memory and Windows XP in the same partition and play the video stream files such as RM and ASF, the system will often prompt you that the virtual memory is too small or the disk space is insufficient. Check that the page file is 1 GB. Therefore, it is recommended that Windows XP users who frequently enjoy video files set the initial value to a smaller value or transfer the virtual memory to a partition other than the system disk.

Ii. Setting Method

The following describes how to set the virtual memory by transferring the drive letter of the virtual memory in Windows XP: Go to "Open → Control Panel → System", and select the "advanced" tab, click the "Settings" button in the "performance" column, select the "advanced" tab, and click the "change" button in the "virtual memory" column to enter the "virtual memory" window; select the system drive letter in the drive list, select the "non-paging file" option, and then click the "set" button. Then, click other partitions and select the "Custom size" option, set the value in "initial size" and "maximum value", click "set", and click "OK" to exit.