Pagefile setup with two drives on Windows XP how to?

[juanfhj]

Greetings. I have Windows XP with 2048 memory, 4096 pagefile, and two drives. My "Program Files" and "Windows" directories are in C: . The "My Documents" directory is in D: . I'm yet to decide whether to place my pagefile in C or D. I thought the most disk activity will occur in C: , so D would seem the best choice for pagefile, but I'm not really sure about this. Any hints?

Thanks,

Juan Herrera

[Dencandy]

In a Microsoft manual I have called "Insider Power Techniques for MS Windows XP" the following advice is given about optimizing virtual memory:

DO:

- store the page file on the hard disk that has the fastest access time (that's real HD, not partition, & I don't know how to find this information).

- put the page file on a disk/partition with the most free space (& check this periodically).

- split the page file over 2 or more physical drives if you wish (Windows can the extract data from each simultaneously).

DON'T:

- store the page file on a compressed disk/partition.

I've done none of this myself but am simply passing on the advice I've read.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

If C: and D: are simply two partitions on the same hard drive, then you won't get any performance gains placing the page file on D:

However, if you have lots of free space on D: you will still have some advantages placing the page file there

• more free space on C:
  
• less chance of page file getting fragmented
  

P.S. welcome to the Windows Forum, b.t.w.

[y2khardtop]

The general consensus I've seen is to put the pagefile/swapfile on your non-boot drive. In my case, I have Windows on my C drive, and my swap file on my D drive.

The new Maximum PC magazine claims a 5-10% increase in speed (they don't say speed doing what....) by doing this. My drive are identical, but obviously if you have a really slow D drive, it might not be of benefit.