Out of memory errors with a ridiculous page-file usage...

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amnesiaaisenma

amnesiaaisenma

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Feb 15, 2012
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I have been using Windows 7 for quite some while (2 or more weeks) on this new PC. Now...problem is, Task Manager shows a massive page-file usage. 1.40 GB used as soon as my PC starts (without loading any programs). I have 4 GB RAM, out of which, 3305 MB is usable (Microsoft licensing issues keep messing around with 32-bit Windows), and the page-file usage slowly gets to around 3 GB. I have 4 partitions on my 1 TB HDD, and I had 2-4 GB page-file on each. I disabled the page-files on all the partitions, but TM still shows a massive usage of 2.5 GB as I am writing this article. I mean, there's 4 GB RAM, and even without running any programs, it's still around 1.40 GB page-file usage.

I disabled Superfetch and the page-file on all the drives, now Windows is giving me out-of-memory errors. The only things open are Google Chrome, Windows Live Messenger, mIRC, Windows Media Player, Task Manager, Yahoo Messenger and Bit-Torrent, and none eat memory. TM is showing 710 MB RAM available out of 3304 MB, and 70 MB free. IDK what is using the RAM and causing this big a page-file usage. My PC is gone very slow, and it sucks. Any way to reduce this much disk-activity, and actually use the RAM? Nothing in the TM shows active (CPU is always at 0-5 %), so nothing is eating memory. What's causing this much RAM and page-file usage?
 
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Well... ah, try turning back on your paging file and that should get rid of the out of memory errors. A page file is necessary for most people with less than 8-12gb of ram.

Correct me if I'm wrong here guys but doesn't windows also put things in pagefile when they aren't needed right away?

if you have a few tbs of data why do you mind having that low of a pagefile? I set mine to around 4gb.
 
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Some programs require a page file and will crash without one. Why not just set up a page file on one drive and instead of letting windows manage it, set it to a fixed size. You can do this by setting the minimum and maximum size as the same size. 2Gb should be plenty.
 
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4gigs of RAM isn't very much. If you had a 64bit OS, you could add more ram and help eliminate or reduce the pagefile. Why do you have a pagefile on all the partitions? CPU utilization has nothing to do with memory usage.

go to task manager and choose the process tab. Click View and select columns. Choose Memory private working sets and Memory working sets. Make sure they are selected. go back to the processes tab and click sort by private working set and take a screenshot and post it.


here's some tips

http://lifehacker.com/5426041/understanding-the-windows-pagefile-and-why-you-shouldnt-disable-it
 
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Seriously - stop messing about...
Win 7 is very good at managing its page files and if you start saying you know best... you are asking for trouble...esp as you dont really seem to know what youare doing... gone are the days where you helped by setting your page file fixed at 1.5x your memory.

Win 7 gives you good tools to track what mem is being used by which processes... so if you really think you using to much mem... solve the problem (whats using the mem) and dont solve the symptom (large page file).

Cheers
 
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The 32-bit architecture has a memory access limit of 4GB (2^32 bytes). This permits you to use about 2.75-3.5GB of RAM after IO reservations are factored in.

You may want to perform an inventory of what's installed on your current rig and possibly install a 64-bit version. Please note that any 32-bit driver will not work within a 64-bit OS but you can install a 32-bit application within a 64-bit OS. You will also have to format your system drive and then perform a fresh install of the 64-bit OS.

If you ever decide to add more RAM, you will have no choice but to go the 64-bit route.
 
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+1 to that.
 
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OK...first of all, Yoji, I have experience with Windows, so I know what's best and what's not, and I can mess around with my OWN PC...I only ask about things I don't know. And therefore...since I don't know what's using the RAM, I can't eliminate it. If I could look in TM, I wouldn't ask here.

Also, I know that PF is needed, but I have disabled it so I can rectify the problem...as I said, a ridiculous 1.4 GB usage for the PF in Task Manager. Resource Monitor shows 1800 MB of RAM in use, 792 for Hardware Reserved, around 140-150 MB modified, and much less than 1 GB free, out of 3.23 GB...I don't know what's causing such big memory usage, and such big PF usage. I want to reduce PF usage, since it's making the PC slow, but I need to rectify the problem for that. So, can anyone help me with finding out something which eats RAM but shows nothing in TM?
 
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Private and working set are the two to look at.

Private Bytes refer to the amount of memory that the process executable has asked for - not necessarily the amount it is actually using. They are "private" because they (usually) exclude memory-mapped files (i.e. shared DLLs). But - here's the catch - they don't necessarily exclude memory allocated by those files. There is no way to tell whether a change in private bytes was due to the executable itself, or due to a linked library. Private bytes are also not exclusively physical memory; they can be paged to disk or in the standby page list (i.e. no longer in use, but not paged yet either).

Working Set refers to the total physical memory (RAM) used by the process. However, unlike private bytes, this also includes memory-mapped files and various other resources, so it's an even less accurate measurement than the private bytes. This is the same value that gets reported in Task Manager's "Mem Usage" and has been the source of endless amounts of confusion in recent years. Memory in the Working Set is "physical" in the sense that it can be addressed without a page fault; however, the standby page list is also still physically in memory but not reported in the Working Set, and this is why you might see the "Mem Usage" suddenly drop when you minimize an application.

Virtual Bytes are the total virtual address space occupied by the entire process. This is like the working set, in the sense that it includes memory-mapped files (shared DLLs), but it also includes data in the standby list and data that has already been paged out and is sitting in a pagefile on disk somewhere. The total virtual bytes used by every process on a system under heavy load will add up to significantly more memory than the machine actually has.

So the relationships are:

Private Bytes are what your app has actually allocated, but include pagefile usage;
Working Set is the non-paged Private Bytes plus memory-mapped files;
Virtual Bytes are the Working Set plus paged Private Bytes and standby list.
 
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Having a pagefile on each partition of a multi-partition hard drive is stupid, it will really slow your hard drive down when it tries to access/update them. At most you should only have one pagefile on a hard drive, preferably on the first partition on the hard drive so it gives best performance when Windows needs to access it.
 
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OK...so, now, since the relationship between things is established...how do I find out what is using the most RAM? Which exact column to look for? Looking from your post, Private seems accurate, and since I don't have a page-file, it would be the one...IDK, though.

Also, yea, it may be stupid, but I had the same HDD running on an older PC before, and having 4 PFs on 4 partitions wasn't stupid, since my system was fast enough. And the PF wasn't being used back then...it's only on this new PC that the problem has appeared.
 
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Try modifying the msconfig file.
Run > msconfg > System Config > Boot > Advanced Options

Look for the Maximum Memory option and place a tick mark in the box, it should apply the entire system memory and reset.

I did the above on my netbook and freed up over 250MB of RAM (only 3GB installed and 1.99 useable).

Hope this helps...

 
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I thought you knew how to use windows and what was best, and yet you can't figure out how to tell what's using what?
 
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Still waiting for that screenshot of taskmanager processes that are running.

How many HDD's do you have running and what is their cache size? What is the Ram size on your video card? all that takes away for the usable amount of ram that a 32bit OS can use.
 
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I had set up Windows 7 TWICE before this one, exactly as this one, on a much worse PC than this was...and it performed flawlessly. So I don't see how can I be in-correct, since it was set EXACTLY as this PC is.
 
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Simple problem, simple solution. For some mysterious reason you have partitioned a single HDD in 4 parts (which is pointless) and then you've split the page across said four partitions (which is even more pointless and never recommended). Turn off the page file, reboot, then turn it on automatically. Personally I'd reinstall Windows and use a single partition. Then I'd double the RAM. Every single PC/laptop should be using 8GB of RAM in 2012. No excuses.
 
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Really? Too long? you think that might be the problem? I have 58 processes running, if you have more than that something is wrong with your processes you have running in the background. Obviously you have too much stuff starting up with windows. Post two screen shots if that's what it takes.
 
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I agree...except he bought a 32bit version of Windows7, and not a 64bit version. :non:
 
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Pointless for you...but when Windows crashes, all the data is gonna' be lost. The 320 GB Hitachi HDD is a back-up HDD, and the 1 TB is the main HDD. I have made 4 partitions with some point for me...maybe pointless for you, but not for me. As far as using 32-bit goes, well, I use 32-bit for compatibility issues. And if a PC SHOULD need 8 GB of RAM, then I'd say it's a waste. Why do I need 4 GB of RAM? You know how expensive it is here? And didn't I mention so many times, that the older PC performed with the same load and was so much faster than this one is? That had the exact same amount of load, exact same amount of RAM, exact same HDD and exact same OS...so I don't think why would 8 GB of RAM be a NECESSITY in the first place? Maybe YOUR PC can't run without 8 GB, but mine used to run, and even now, it should run.

Old PC vs the new PC:
ASUS P5KPL AM/PS vs ASUS Sabertooth X79
Intel Core2Duo E5200 @ 2.5 GHz vs Intel Core i7 3960X @ 3.3 GHz
ATI Radeon HD 7950
Generic 4 GB DDR2 RAM @ 1333 MHz vs Kingston 4GB DDR-3 RAM @ 1600 MHz

And the old PC was lightning fast. But it's fried now, so I can't use that one. It had the same loads, so why is the newer and better PC running worse?
 
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