Windows XP pagefile

[marshal11]

ok so, i just turned off pagefile for my old XP desktop because i have 2GB of ram and i hardly see it get above 1GB. rebooted my PC and i hear a high pitch noise from what i think is the HDD (not entirely sure though) and my CPU fan is making a weird noise. as soon as i hit the desktop my PC shutdown and then made it to the boot screen then shut down again. now i cant get past post. need big help.

 

[Paperdoc]

Turning off the Pagefile should have absolutely NO effect on HDD or CPU fans. On the other hand, if your CPU fan is making a lot of noise, it has a real problem and may not be cooling the CPU well enough. That could cause your machine to throttle back its speed or even to shut down if the CPU started to overheat. In fact, in most systems if the CPU fan stops completely, the mobo will shut it down right away, not even waiting for the CPU to overheat.

Rather than shutting off the Pagefile, maybe you can just adjust its parameters. You can manually set its minimum and maximum size limits. Set them both on the small side - not REALLY small! - and realize that it actually only uses more than the min size if it is needed because your RAM is getting full. The Pagefile is NOT the max size most of the time - it is adjusted dynamically by Windows during operation.

 

[marshal11]

Turning off the Pagefile should have absolutely NO effect on HDD or CPU fans. On the other hand, if your CPU fan is making a lot of noise, it has a real problem and may not be cooling the CPU well enough. That could cause your machine to throttle back its speed or even to shut down if the CPU started to overheat. In fact, in most systems if the CPU fan stops completely, the mobo will shut it down right away, not even waiting for the CPU to overheat.

Rather than shutting off the Pagefile, maybe you can just adjust its parameters. You can manually set its minimum and maximum size limits. Set them both on the small side - not REALLY small! - and realize that it actually only uses more than the min size if it is needed because your RAM is getting full. The Pagefile is NOT the max size most of the time - it is adjusted dynamically by Windows during operation.

well i would if my desktop would turn on long enough for my moniter to turn on! it powers on and after 2 seconds shuts down again. cant do a system restore or anything. this is very frustrating, and im in deep trouble because its my dads computer, and he knows nothing about them. built it for him a few years back, and all he knows is i was the last one to use it and that means i broke it. he still doesnt know yet, but when he does im in trouble.

 

[Paperdoc]

I am assuming that the CPU cooling fan in your machine is plugged into a mobo connector. Start by checking that fan. Does it turn on and spin fast as soon as power it turned on? If it is very slow, and especially if it does not turn, that's the problem. Very slow means the CPU will overheat in a few seconds, causing the system to shut down. This can also happen if the fan is turning, but the area is clogged with dust so cooling is still poor.

If the fan does not turn at all, it is very likely that your mobo is detecting a failed CPU cooling fan and is shutting down immediately to prevent CPU overheating - it does not even wait for the CPU temp to rise.

In either case - slow fan, or fan not turning at all - the best solution is to replace that fan. NOTE I did NOT say to replace the entire CPU cooling system including the heatsink attached to the CPU. ONLY the fan needs to be detached from the heatsink and replaced with a new one. In buying a new one, note the wires from the fan that plug into the mobo connector. It is either 3 wires (and a connector on the end with 3 holes) or 4 wires. Get a fan with the same connection system - 3-pin or 4-pin - and the same fan width. IF you can buy an identical fan, it will make it easier to fasten the new one on. But if not, you may need a little fiddling to attach it to the heatsink securely. Often a few self-tapping screws of the right size is all that is needed. When fan shopping, take the old one with you to make it easier to match it up.

IF the fan actually does spin up fast right away and your machine still shuts down really quickly, just try this once. Disconnect the fan from the mobo connector, then plug it back in. Do this 3 or 4 times. Sometimes this will scrub off a thin oxidation film on the pins of the connector and things will work again. I'm thinking that it is possible that the fan's speed signal is not getting back to the mobo, so the mobo believes it is not turning when it is.

 

[marshal11]

i tried all of those things above, none of them worked, but i noticed that the CPU fan somehow came loose???? i made sure it on properly and booted XP fine. the fan wasnt on the CPU properly. so happy. i just explained what had happend and he was kind of unhappy, but when he gets back from his bike ride hes gonna be happy. ive also noticed that my CPU went from 60c idle to 40c :lol: i thought that was just because i have a pentium D extreme edition power eater. awesome, cooler CPU now. it was worth the day of guilt.

 

[marshal11]

oh sorry, i forgot to mention this was my dads computer

 

[Paperdoc]

Wow, so the whole CPU heatsink was loose from the CPU? That most certainly would allow the CPU to overheat in about 5 seconds, and cause a shut-down. Glad you got it fixed!

 

[marshal11]

Wow, so the whole CPU heatsink was loose from the CPU? That most certainly would allow the CPU to overheat in about 5 seconds, and cause a shut-down. Glad you got it fixed!

i absolutely love how tomshardware sends me an email 2 hours ago and you replied to me what a week ago? anyway, back to what i was going to say.

my CPU is a pentium D extreme edition 840 too (the same has a pentium D but with hyperthreading) :lol: 3.2GHz, 130W and 1.3V yeah, that things overheats in about 0.3 seconds, not 5 LOL :lol:

 

[marshal11]

Best answer selected by marshal11.

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for the B.A.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar