Pagefile won't load on Ramdisk

[Rick_53]

I must run Win XP 32-bit due to legacy applications. I have a new mobo with 16 GB of RAM which allows PAE. Boot drive is ssd, also have a Sata III hard drive (d. Using Superspeed, I created a Ramdisk using the unmanaged part of RAM (above the system RAM), it works like a charm. On boot, z: is partitioned, NTFS formatted and \temp is created. Browser cache files are set to z:\temp, no problems. There is zero impact on my system memory. The problem is I can't move the pagefile to the Ramdisk. I set it up, and it says it's on z: (including the registry), but when I look with Windows Explorer, the pagefile is on c: not z:. I can move the pagefile to d: no problem, but not z: Any ideas on how to get it on z:. I also disabled crash dumping as I heard that could be the problem (it wasn't).

 

[PhilFrisbie]

The pagefile cannot be on a RAM drive because it must be initialized before XP can initialize the RAM drive.

 

[Rick_53]

The pagefile cannot be on a RAM drive because it must be initialized before XP can initialize the RAM drive.

The Superspeed website says it provides "system page file support", I wonder what that means. I believe you are correct. If I start with no pagefile, I can create it on the Ramdisk, but as soon as I reboot, it ends up on c: even though the settings still indicate it is on the Ramdisk. I sent an email to their tech support, maybe there's a workaround? Would you know if this is also true for Win7, or is it just XP?

 

[Saga Lout]

Hello and welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums.

As PhilFrisbie says, it can't be done. One workaround would be to dispose of the pagefile altogether but what's wrong with putting it on D: or creating a small Partition just for the swap in the way Linux does?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Would you know if this is also true for Win7, or is it just XP?

If you go with Windows 7 then use the 64-bit version and you can use all your memory without tricks!

Will your legacy apps run on XP in a virtual machine under Windows 7? If so, then that would be my suggestion.

 

[gamerk316]

I must run Win XP 32-bit due to legacy applications. I have a new mobo with 16 GB of RAM which allows PAE

...why? No Win32 application will ever use more then 2GB of RAM at any one time [4GB if both the LAA flag and PAE are enabled], so 16GB is overkill. Unless you are working on multiple RAM heavy applications at teh same time, you have about twice the RAM you will ever need.

Also, why would you WANT the pagefile on the RAMdisk anyway? Whats the point?

 

[Rick_53]

The Superspeed website says it provides "system page file support", I wonder what that means. I believe you are correct. If I start with no pagefile, I can create it on the Ramdisk, but as soon as I reboot, it ends up on c: even though the settings still indicate it is on the Ramdisk. I sent an email to their tech support, maybe there's a workaround? Would you know if this is also true for Win7, or is it just XP?

Tech Support has informed me that it doesn't work if the boot drive is an ssd and that they are looking into the problem. Apparently it works if the boot drive is a hard drive, but I haven't tried that. The reason I wanted the Ramdisk was to save my ssd from all that reading and writing.

 

[Rick_53]

I must run Win XP 32-bit due to legacy applications. I have a new mobo with 16 GB of RAM which allows PAE

...why? No Win32 application will ever use more then 2GB of RAM at any one time [4GB if both the LAA flag and PAE are enabled], so 16GB is overkill. Unless you are working on multiple RAM heavy applications at teh same time, you have about twice the RAM you will ever need.

Also, why would you WANT the pagefile on the RAMdisk anyway? Whats the point?

Actually one of the apps will use more than 2GB (Maya 8), but I think it's only 2.5GB and then 1GB is reserved for the system (making a total of 3.5 GB in use). Yeah, I know 16 GB is overkill but it was only 36 bucks - couldn't resist! 🙂 I could cut it back to 8GB and use the other 8GB in another PC so maybe I'll do that. At this point it's a sunk cost. 🙂 There's no way I could use 12 GB of temp files, right?

I have read that ssd's have a limited life when it comes to read/writes so putting the swap file on the ramdisk would make my ssd live a little longer. Someone else suggested putting the swap file on my hard disk, so I think I'll do that. Although I'd take a little hit in performance., yes? The ssd blows the doors off the hard drive.

 

[Rick_53]

Hello and welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums.

As PhilFrisbie says, it can't be done. One workaround would be to dispose of the pagefile altogether but what's wrong with putting it on D: or creating a small Partition just for the swap in the way Linux does?

I've read I shouldn't delete it altogether, at least not in XP. Not sure exactly why. But yes, I like your suggestion of putting it on my hard drive. Might take a little hit in performance but I'd save on ssd read/writes.

 

[bbaylor]

Huh? Sorry for necroing this thread, but I've run XP 32bit SP3 with my only 5GB pagefile on a 5GB Superspeed ramdisk using unmanaged RAM since 2011 with blazing performance and zero OS crashes. My commit charge runs 2 to 4 GB and no paging delays. The registry has to be set to partition and format the ramdisk for each boot. It all automated with batch files. See neowin forum thread for details.