Many users working with Windows-systems of almost all generations, and especially avid gamers, have probably come across a message that the system does not have enough memory (not hard disk space, but RAM). In such situations, Windows begins to use the so-called swap file (pagefile.sys), which is responsible for the use of virtual memory, which seems to be designed to increase the amount of RAM to reduce the load on it. Most immediately begin to deal with the increase in the page file in Windows 7 or in any other systems of this class, completely not thinking about the consequences.
How expedient it is to carry out such actions, and then we'll see. But first of all, let's find out what kind of component it is, why it is needed in the system, and also briefly consider the basic principles of using virtual memory.
What is a swap file?
So, the file itself is a special system component that controls all the parameters related to the configuration and use of virtual memory, which is activated at the moment when the RAM is too overloaded, and its unoccupied by the volume of applications and services becomes insufficient for the normal execution of current tasks.
An object in the form of a file can be found in the root of the system partition in which the operating system is installed, but to display it, you must enable the display of hidden directories and files using the view settings for this. Its size exactly matches the amount allocated to virtual memory.
The basic principles of virtual memory
Memory of this type has nothing to do with RAM, since it is just a space reserved on the hard disk, into which, by analogy with the "RAM", program modules are loaded. It turns out that when virtual memory is used, the operating system refers specifically to the HDD. It is easy to guess that the speed of access to the hard drive is several times lower than that of RAM. Thus, if you are performing a swap file increase in Windows 7 or in other operating systems, you should clearly understand that it can only be done to a certain level. But to what?
Optimal disk space allocation
Regarding the increase in the swap file in Windows 7, there is no consensus among experts. If we talk about ordinary users, at best they rely on the recommendations of the operating system itself and provide it with the right to automatically select the size of the reserved disk space. Unfortunately, setting such parameters is not always advisable, not to mention user settings, which can exceed the parameters set by the system very much.
For some reason, ordinary users think that the larger the size of virtual memory, the better for system performance. Absolute fallacy! When setting too high values, a situation appears when Windows simply starts to ignore RAM, and more and more it turns to the HDD. In turn, this leads to the opposite effect, and the user, instead of improving performance, receives a very significant decrease in productivity.
If you turn to some sources on the Internet and take into account the opinions of experts about setting the optimal paging file size, depending on the amount of RAM, the average values look something like the one shown in the image above.
How to increase the swap file in Windows 7 and similar OS?
Now we proceed directly to changing the required parameters. Using RMB on the computer icon, open the system properties and go to the advanced settings. Then, in the performance block, click the options button, go to the "Advanced" tab and click the button to resize the page file. By default, this option is not available. To activate it, it is necessary for each disk and partition to uncheck the item of automatic selection, and then activate the item to manually set the size.
After that, you can enter your own parameters in special fields, for which ordinary users can start with the recommended settings. At least, you can change the automatically selected maximum value to the recommended one, leaving the recommended minimum size (all three values are indicated in the lower block).
How to configure the paging file on Windows 7 to optimize PC performance?
All this seems to be good, but in practice, a substantial increase in productivity can not be achieved at all. Suppose you made an increase in the Windows 7 paging file for games using the values described above, but in the end the game began to slow down. Why did it happen? As a rule, the system automatically reserves about 30% of RAM for performing user tasks, which is usually enough, as they say, with a head. But even when setting the recommended values, the system still begins to more actively access the reserved space on the hard drive.
Experts recommend correcting such situations by reverse action. It is believed that the best option would be to set the maximum volume, the value of which is half the recommended value! So you will achieve that the RAM will be used to the maximum, and the virtual memory will be connected if the threshold is exceeded.
Is it possible to disable the use of virtual memory?
In general, it is worth saying that the passage of modern games on low-power PCs or laptops without a large amount of RAM and a discrete graphics chip with its own allocated memory looks very doubtful. On gaming PCs in RAM, only the main game modules and device drivers are loaded, and the graphics card is already responsible for processing the graphics.
Thus, virtual memory is not used at all, so if you have 8, 16 GB of "RAM" and more, virtual memory can be completely disabled! That is, you do not need to increase the swap file of Windows 7 or set your own values.
Note: when performing any action with resizing or disabling virtual memory, rebooting the PC is required!
In the case of using office programs on relatively outdated PCs, deactivating the use of virtual memory can also have a positive effect, since access will only be made to RAM, which very often allows you to get rid of malfunctions of the same Word or Excel (when working with by a document, saving it to the hard disk and loading application modules to the redundant partition of the hard drive, it is simultaneously accessed by both the programs and the paging file, which t to the appearance of program freezes or their abnormal termination).