swap file

What is resetting my swap file setting to "allow windows98 to manage
virtual memory" from "allow user to manage virtual memory"?

Every week it seems like when I check my virtual memory settings I find
that it has reverted back to "allow windows to manage virtual memory." I
like to set my own swap file size, and for years 3 or 4 years this
setting stuck.

But I installed (and later unistalled) Media Player 7 about three weeks
ago. Now something (MP7?) keeps changing it back to allow windows to
manage. What is resetting my virtual memory and how do I stop it? I
have not installed any new sowthware recently. Thanks. PS (MP7 screwed
up my computer in more ways than one.)

Control Panel/Add remove programs. Select WMP7 and remove. It reverts back
to previous version of MP.

" wrote:

What is resetting my swap file setting to "allow windows98 to manage
virtual memory" from "allow user to manage virtual memory"?

Every week it seems like when I check my virtual memory settings I find
that it has reverted back to "allow windows to manage virtual memory." I
like to set my own swap file size, and for years 3 or 4 years this
setting stuck.

But I installed (and later unistalled) Media Player 7 about three weeks
ago. Now something (MP7?) keeps changing it back to allow windows to
manage. What is resetting my virtual memory and how do I stop it? I
have not installed any new sowthware recently. Thanks. PS (MP7 screwed
up my computer in more ways than one.)

A very respectable name-- it was Harper, MVP (& not Martell, MVP)--
has said: Under certain circumstances, perhaps rare, there can be a
serious crash, if a maximum is set for the Swap File, and there is no
telling how big it may wish to grow. HE HAS SEEN IT, with his own eyes.
(Now, he is blind.) So, forget about the 2.5x usable RAM rule. (He now
sits at his keyboard, day & night, waiting to pounce, should anyone
suggest using it.) I didn't do it long! I couldn't bear the sight of
nearly a GB worth of Win386.swp, (although it seemed to function well).

Unless turned off, Windows is always managing VM. It manages it based on
what is shown shadowed in min & max at "R-Clk My Computer, Properties,
Performance tab, Virtual Memory button". That is OK at defaults of zero
& "No maximum". The only MVP approved alteration is to set the min
larger, based on careful observation over days. You would set it at 20%
larger than the greatest value you saw for Swap File "SIZE" (not "use"),
using System Monitor. If your observation discovers a constant &
frequent Swap File "USE" figure, THAT is when to consider additional
RAM.

WARNING: Once, I turned off VM for a zero swap file. All seemed to run
well, UNTIL I opened a Windows DOS (in a box) session. It produced an
orderly crash of the DOS box. Later, online, I did it again, just to
report the experience accurately. The crash this time was horrendous- IT
HAD A HEARTBEAT.

There is one other setting I've tried & rejected:
"ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1", in System.ini, [386.Enh] Section. This,
gave me a Win386.swp file generally 10-20 MB in size, sometimes zero.
That's with Windows in control of the size, and min=0, max=No max. It
was beautiful to watch. When the Swap file was in "use" (say, 20 MB),
the "size" went to around 100 MB. However, there was resizing going on,
even when "swap file in use" was zero (Windows tries to anticipate how
big to make it, depending on what you're doing), and, again, my
sluggishness persisted.The Microsoft literature says it's less
efficient, as well. Although I generally loved seeing the small
Win386.swp sizes, I discontinued "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1". (That
"sluggishness" is gone; it was something entirely unrelated to VM. In
fact, I was never able to pin anything on VM at all, except, I believe,
Win386.swp gets in the way of a proper Scandisk/Defrag.) This setting
might be appropriate for one who has so much RAM, as to never have a
"use" figure.

Do you have "System Monitor" in START... System Tools? If not, get it
from "START, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Windows Setup
tab, D-Clk System Tools, check System Monitor, OK, Apply, OK". May as
well take "Resource Meter", too. Now, go through the menus and at least
have it display

(a) Swap file in use.
(b) Swap file size.
(c) Swappable memory.
(d) Unused physical memory.
(e) Allocated memory.
(f) Disk cache size.
(g) Locked memory
(h) Other memory
(i) Kernel Processor Usage
(j) Kernel Threads

I must go. I'm on my way to Saskatchewan & have no time to explain what
each of those are. Just watch that "in use" figure, is all, for now.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

wrote in message ...
| What is resetting my swap file setting to "allow windows98 to manage
| virtual memory" from "allow user to manage virtual memory"?
|
| Every week it seems like when I check my virtual memory settings I
find
| that it has reverted back to "allow windows to manage virtual memory."
I
| like to set my own swap file size, and for years 3 or 4 years this
| setting stuck.
|
| But I installed (and later unistalled) Media Player 7 about three
weeks
| ago. Now something (MP7?) keeps changing it back to allow windows to
| manage. What is resetting my virtual memory and how do I stop it? I
| have not installed any new sowthware recently. Thanks. PS (MP7
screwed
| up my computer in more ways than one.)

This is what I did...
Cleaned all temp files TIF and so on plus and temp logs.
Checked use of C:= 575MB
Did scandisk and defrag.
Checked C:=542MB
Turned off VM, did the restart.
Checked C:=474MB
Did another defrag.
C: still 474MB
Turned VM back on and let Windows manage it. Reboot
C:=546MB
74MB of VM seems aweful small.
But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more data.
And I guess it would really grow if you don't do periodic maintenance
cleaning.
I would at least set it equal to RAM as minimal and 1.5x RAM as Max.
Which in my case would be 256MB.min and 385MB.max.
What you think?

"PCR" wrote:

A very respectable name-- it was Harper, MVP (& not Martell, MVP)--
has said: Under certain circumstances, perhaps rare, there can be a
serious crash, if a maximum is set for the Swap File, and there is no
telling how big it may wish to grow. HE HAS SEEN IT, with his own eyes.
(Now, he is blind.) So, forget about the 2.5x usable RAM rule. (He now
sits at his keyboard, day & night, waiting to pounce, should anyone
suggest using it.) I didn't do it long! I couldn't bear the sight of
nearly a GB worth of Win386.swp, (although it seemed to function well).

Unless turned off, Windows is always managing VM. It manages it based on
what is shown shadowed in min & max at "R-Clk My Computer, Properties,
Performance tab, Virtual Memory button". That is OK at defaults of zero
& "No maximum". The only MVP approved alteration is to set the min
larger, based on careful observation over days. You would set it at 20%
larger than the greatest value you saw for Swap File "SIZE" (not "use"),
using System Monitor. If your observation discovers a constant &
frequent Swap File "USE" figure, THAT is when to consider additional
RAM.

WARNING: Once, I turned off VM for a zero swap file. All seemed to run
well, UNTIL I opened a Windows DOS (in a box) session. It produced an
orderly crash of the DOS box. Later, online, I did it again, just to
report the experience accurately. The crash this time was horrendous- IT
HAD A HEARTBEAT.

There is one other setting I've tried & rejected:
"ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1", in System.ini, [386.Enh] Section. This,
gave me a Win386.swp file generally 10-20 MB in size, sometimes zero.
That's with Windows in control of the size, and min=0, max=No max. It
was beautiful to watch. When the Swap file was in "use" (say, 20 MB),
the "size" went to around 100 MB. However, there was resizing going on,
even when "swap file in use" was zero (Windows tries to anticipate how
big to make it, depending on what you're doing), and, again, my
sluggishness persisted.The Microsoft literature says it's less
efficient, as well. Although I generally loved seeing the small
Win386.swp sizes, I discontinued "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1". (That
"sluggishness" is gone; it was something entirely unrelated to VM. In
fact, I was never able to pin anything on VM at all, except, I believe,
Win386.swp gets in the way of a proper Scandisk/Defrag.) This setting
might be appropriate for one who has so much RAM, as to never have a
"use" figure.

Do you have "System Monitor" in START... System Tools? If not, get it
from "START, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Windows Setup
tab, D-Clk System Tools, check System Monitor, OK, Apply, OK". May as
well take "Resource Meter", too. Now, go through the menus and at least
have it display

(a) Swap file in use.
(b) Swap file size.
(c) Swappable memory.
(d) Unused physical memory.
(e) Allocated memory.
(f) Disk cache size.
(g) Locked memory
(h) Other memory
(i) Kernel Processor Usage
(j) Kernel Threads

I must go. I'm on my way to Saskatchewan & have no time to explain what
each of those are. Just watch that "in use" figure, is all, for now.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

wrote in message ...
| What is resetting my swap file setting to "allow windows98 to manage
| virtual memory" from "allow user to manage virtual memory"?
|
| Every week it seems like when I check my virtual memory settings I
find
| that it has reverted back to "allow windows to manage virtual memory."
I
| like to set my own swap file size, and for years 3 or 4 years this
| setting stuck.
|
| But I installed (and later unistalled) Media Player 7 about three
weeks
| ago. Now something (MP7?) keeps changing it back to allow windows to
| manage. What is resetting my virtual memory and how do I stop it? I
| have not installed any new sowthware recently. Thanks. PS (MP7
screwed
| up my computer in more ways than one.)

I think I can hear Harper stirring, poatt! I HOPE he doesn't recognize
you without that other "p"!

| But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more
data.

Windows will set the size according to what it believes you might need
based on what you are doing. There is some delay in resizing, though,
which may be 5 minutes. When I had a huge minimum of 300 MB, I rarely
saw such activity. Now that I've set the min back down to 200 MB, well I
see it jumped just now from 204 to 208 & back within the space of 10
minutes. That tells me I probably want to go back to 300 MB!


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"poatt" wrote in message
...
| This is what I did...
| Cleaned all temp files TIF and so on plus and temp logs.
| Checked use of C:= 575MB
| Did scandisk and defrag.
| Checked C:=542MB
| Turned off VM, did the restart.
| Checked C:=474MB
| Did another defrag.
| C: still 474MB
| Turned VM back on and let Windows manage it. Reboot
| C:=546MB
| 74MB of VM seems aweful small.
| But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more
data.
| And I guess it would really grow if you don't do periodic maintenance
| cleaning.
| I would at least set it equal to RAM as minimal and 1.5x RAM as Max.
| Which in my case would be 256MB.min and 385MB.max.
| What you think?
|
| "PCR" wrote:
|
| A very respectable name-- it was Harper, MVP (& not Martell, MVP)--
| has said: Under certain circumstances, perhaps rare, there can be a
| serious crash, if a maximum is set for the Swap File, and there is
no
| telling how big it may wish to grow. HE HAS SEEN IT, with his own
eyes.
| (Now, he is blind.) So, forget about the 2.5x usable RAM rule. (He
now
| sits at his keyboard, day & night, waiting to pounce, should anyone
| suggest using it.) I didn't do it long! I couldn't bear the sight of
| nearly a GB worth of Win386.swp, (although it seemed to function
well).
|
| Unless turned off, Windows is always managing VM. It manages it
based on
| what is shown shadowed in min & max at "R-Clk My Computer,
Properties,
| Performance tab, Virtual Memory button". That is OK at defaults of
zero
| & "No maximum". The only MVP approved alteration is to set the min
| larger, based on careful observation over days. You would set it at
20%
| larger than the greatest value you saw for Swap File "SIZE" (not
"use"),
| using System Monitor. If your observation discovers a constant &
| frequent Swap File "USE" figure, THAT is when to consider additional
| RAM.
|
| WARNING: Once, I turned off VM for a zero swap file. All seemed to
run
| well, UNTIL I opened a Windows DOS (in a box) session. It produced
an
| orderly crash of the DOS box. Later, online, I did it again, just to
| report the experience accurately. The crash this time was
horrendous- IT
| HAD A HEARTBEAT.
|
| There is one other setting I've tried & rejected:
| "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1", in System.ini, [386.Enh] Section.
This,
| gave me a Win386.swp file generally 10-20 MB in size, sometimes
zero.
| That's with Windows in control of the size, and min=0, max=No max.
It
| was beautiful to watch. When the Swap file was in "use" (say, 20
MB),
| the "size" went to around 100 MB. However, there was resizing going
on,
| even when "swap file in use" was zero (Windows tries to anticipate
how
| big to make it, depending on what you're doing), and, again, my
| sluggishness persisted.The Microsoft literature says it's less
| efficient, as well. Although I generally loved seeing the small
| Win386.swp sizes, I discontinued "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1".
(That
| "sluggishness" is gone; it was something entirely unrelated to VM.
In
| fact, I was never able to pin anything on VM at all, except, I
believe,
| Win386.swp gets in the way of a proper Scandisk/Defrag.) This
setting
| might be appropriate for one who has so much RAM, as to never have a
| "use" figure.
|
| Do you have "System Monitor" in START... System Tools? If not, get
it
| from "START, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Windows
Setup
| tab, D-Clk System Tools, check System Monitor, OK, Apply, OK". May
as
| well take "Resource Meter", too. Now, go through the menus and at
least
| have it display
|
| (a) Swap file in use.
| (b) Swap file size.
| (c) Swappable memory.
| (d) Unused physical memory.
| (e) Allocated memory.
| (f) Disk cache size.
| (g) Locked memory
| (h) Other memory
| (i) Kernel Processor Usage
| (j) Kernel Threads
|
| I must go. I'm on my way to Saskatchewan & have no time to explain
what
| each of those are. Just watch that "in use" figure, is all, for now.
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|
| wrote in message
...
| | What is resetting my swap file setting to "allow windows98 to
manage
| | virtual memory" from "allow user to manage virtual memory"?
| |
| | Every week it seems like when I check my virtual memory settings I
| find
| | that it has reverted back to "allow windows to manage virtual
memory."
| I
| | like to set my own swap file size, and for years 3 or 4 years this
| | setting stuck.
| |
| | But I installed (and later unistalled) Media Player 7 about three
| weeks
| | ago. Now something (MP7?) keeps changing it back to allow windows
to
| | manage. What is resetting my virtual memory and how do I stop it?
I
| | have not installed any new sowthware recently. Thanks. PS (MP7
| screwed
| | up my computer in more ways than one.)
|
|
|

"poatt" wrote in message
...
This is what I did...
Cleaned all temp files TIF and so on plus and temp logs.
Checked use of C:= 575MB
Did scandisk and defrag.
Checked C:=542MB
Turned off VM, did the restart.
Checked C:=474MB
Did another defrag.
C: still 474MB
Turned VM back on and let Windows manage it. Reboot
C:=546MB
74MB of VM seems aweful small.
But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more data.
And I guess it would really grow if you don't do periodic maintenance
cleaning.
I would at least set it equal to RAM as minimal and 1.5x RAM as Max.
Which in my case would be 256MB.min and 385MB.max.
What you think?

Always have been curious about setting it to 1.5xRam.
Does it make sense to you?
If you only have 64MB of ram, then that figure would be 96MB.
If you have 512MB of ram, then that figure would be 768MB.
In other words, that kinda means that the more physical ram you have, the higher
the min should be.
Make sense to you?? :-)

PS: I think that if you have more ram than you use, you wouldn't need virtual
memory.
And if you did, it really shouldn't be more than if you only had 64MB.

That is the exact argument that proves the "formula" is an idiot idea that
should be avoided at all costs.
--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Buffalo" wrote in message
...

"poatt" wrote in message
...
This is what I did...
Cleaned all temp files TIF and so on plus and temp logs.
Checked use of C:= 575MB
Did scandisk and defrag.
Checked C:=542MB
Turned off VM, did the restart.
Checked C:=474MB
Did another defrag.
C: still 474MB
Turned VM back on and let Windows manage it. Reboot
C:=546MB
74MB of VM seems aweful small.
But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more data.
And I guess it would really grow if you don't do periodic maintenance
cleaning.
I would at least set it equal to RAM as minimal and 1.5x RAM as Max.
Which in my case would be 256MB.min and 385MB.max.
What you think?

Always have been curious about setting it to 1.5xRam.
Does it make sense to you?
If you only have 64MB of ram, then that figure would be 96MB.
If you have 512MB of ram, then that figure would be 768MB.
In other words, that kinda means that the more physical ram you have, the
higher
the min should be.
Make sense to you?? :-)

PS: I think that if you have more ram than you use, you wouldn't need
virtual
memory.
And if you did, it really shouldn't be more than if you only had 64MB.

It's 2.5x usable RAM, not 1.5. Although even the illustrious Brian
Livingston & Davis Straub have suggested it's use in "Window 98
Secrets", pp. 1041-1042...

.......Quote.........
You can reduce this paging and caching by fixing the size of your swap
file space. To do this, first defragment your drive to set up a
contiguous area on your hard disk big enough for your fixed-size swap
space. See the "Defrag, the disk defragmenter" section in this chapter
for instructions on how to do this.

Next, set the swap space at 2.5 times the size of your total RAM.To do
this, set the minimum and maximum size to the same value in step 4
above, choosing a value in megabytes that is 2.5 times the size of your
RAM in megabytes.
.......EOQ...........

...., it isn't an MVP recommended procedure in this NG, owing to a bug in
Windows which I believe caused Harper to crash horribly, when Windows
thought it necessary to exceed his maximum! Well, ANYWAY, instead try...

I used to turn VM off, and I swear it makes for a better Defrag. The
purpose of it was to prevent other files from pussyfooting around the
bits/pieces of the Swap File during the Defrag.

HOWEVER...

(1) It is possible one may not be able to reboot with VM off. That would
be the case, if one has only 32 MB RAM. There was one poster who said he
had 64 MB & could not reboot when he turned off VM. However, "Scanreg
/Restore", choosing the most recent backup, should reset VM to being on.

(2) DO NOT "START, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt", with VM off. I had an
orderly crash doing that. Repeating the experience online to better
report it, my second crash doing it was HORRENDOUS-- it had a heartbeat!
Also, some apps will open a Windows DOS box on their own; so, beware!

Here is what I have now done...

(a) Set swap file MINIMUM size to 300 MB, & reboot back to windows.
Do so at "Control Panel, System, Performance tab, Virtual Memory
button". This will create a 300 MB space for a swap file. It will not be
entirely contiguous. Set the MINIMUM only.
(b) Boot to DOS
(c) SMARTDRV
(to speed up the following considerably)
(d) COPY Win386.swp Win386.jnk
(This fills in gaps between files, so that later Win386.swp will
be contiguous.)
(e) REN Win386.swp Win386.old
(Win386.swp will recreate at boot.)
(f) Boot to Windows
(Now, you have Win386.jnk, Win386.old, plus a new Win386.swp.)
(g) In Explorer, delete Win386.jnk & Win386.old. Hold Shift as clicking
to Delete to prevent it goes into the Recycle Bin!
(h) Do whatever you normally do, to keep the following from constantly
restarting.
(i) Scandisk (Thorough, usually w/o write checking)
(j) Defrag

Now I had my buffer between the swap file & the rest of my files. This
is meant to keep the swap file out of the way of the rest of the system
during a Defrag. There may have been some little bit of the swap file
still among the other files, but the vast bulk of it was one contiguous
block 300 MB away! I saw it, by pausing Defrag before it ended &
scrolling past a sea of white to the sea of red! (By the way, "REN
Win386.swp Win386.old" created a zero byte file, or I am a madman!)

Notes:
1. This need be done but once this way, except should you subsequently
delete Win386.swp. Anyhow, mine has stayed put!
2. The 300 MB swap file has moved to the root folder C:\, because a
minimum size was specified.
3. You still have a "C:\Windows\Win386.swp", but it is zero bytes in
size.
4. It has been promised "C:\Win386.swp" will never move physically on
the hard drive. Those 300 MB will stay put. However, should the swap
file get larger than that, the excess will intermix with other files.
When the swap file shrinks, it will then return to the 300 MB area.
5. The purpose of Win386.jnk was to give the system room for growth,
before it must use disk space on the other side of the swap file. (It
does appear to work that way.)

Is it all worth it? I really think it did make a difference.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"Buffalo" wrote in message
...
|
| "poatt" wrote in message
| ...
| This is what I did...
| Cleaned all temp files TIF and so on plus and temp logs.
| Checked use of C:= 575MB
| Did scandisk and defrag.
| Checked C:=542MB
| Turned off VM, did the restart.
| Checked C:=474MB
| Did another defrag.
| C: still 474MB
| Turned VM back on and let Windows manage it. Reboot
| C:=546MB
| 74MB of VM seems aweful small.
| But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more
data.
| And I guess it would really grow if you don't do periodic
maintenance
| cleaning.
| I would at least set it equal to RAM as minimal and 1.5x RAM as
Max.
| Which in my case would be 256MB.min and 385MB.max.
| What you think?
|
| Always have been curious about setting it to 1.5xRam.
| Does it make sense to you?
| If you only have 64MB of ram, then that figure would be 96MB.
| If you have 512MB of ram, then that figure would be 768MB.
| In other words, that kinda means that the more physical ram you have,
the higher
| the min should be.
| Make sense to you?? :-)
|
| PS: I think that if you have more ram than you use, you wouldn't need
virtual
| memory.
| And if you did, it really shouldn't be more than if you only had 64MB.
|
|

"PCR" wrote in message
...
[snip]
Here is what I have now done...

(a) Set swap file MINIMUM size to 300 MB, & reboot back to windows.
Do so at "Control Panel, System, Performance tab, Virtual Memory
button". This will create a 300 MB space for a swap file. It will not be
entirely contiguous. Set the MINIMUM only.
(b) Boot to DOS
(c) SMARTDRV
(to speed up the following considerably)
(d) COPY Win386.swp Win386.jnk
(This fills in gaps between files, so that later Win386.swp will
be contiguous.)
(e) REN Win386.swp Win386.old
(Win386.swp will recreate at boot.)
(f) Boot to Windows
(Now, you have Win386.jnk, Win386.old, plus a new Win386.swp.)
(g) In Explorer, delete Win386.jnk & Win386.old. Hold Shift as clicking
to Delete to prevent it goes into the Recycle Bin!
[snip]

Curious as to why you just don't delete Win386.swp at the C:\ prompt rather than
doing the copy to Win386.jnk and then renaming Win386.swp to Win386.old.
I don't understand.
Thanks
Buffalo

I think it is a really bad idea. That nonsense has been going around for years now,
and is not even worth another discussion. The falsity of the argument is obvious.
One needs more virtual memory if there is less physical RAM, so why would a one set
a max *higher* for a larger amount of installed RAM?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"poatt" wrote in message
...
This is what I did...
Cleaned all temp files TIF and so on plus and temp logs.
Checked use of C:= 575MB
Did scandisk and defrag.
Checked C:=542MB
Turned off VM, did the restart.
Checked C:=474MB
Did another defrag.
C: still 474MB
Turned VM back on and let Windows manage it. Reboot
C:=546MB
74MB of VM seems aweful small.
But I guess Windows will increase the size as the disk gets more data.
And I guess it would really grow if you don't do periodic maintenance
cleaning.
I would at least set it equal to RAM as minimal and 1.5x RAM as Max.
Which in my case would be 256MB.min and 385MB.max.
What you think?

"PCR" wrote:

A very respectable name-- it was Harper, MVP (& not Martell, MVP)--
has said: Under certain circumstances, perhaps rare, there can be a
serious crash, if a maximum is set for the Swap File, and there is no
telling how big it may wish to grow. HE HAS SEEN IT, with his own eyes.
(Now, he is blind.) So, forget about the 2.5x usable RAM rule. (He now
sits at his keyboard, day & night, waiting to pounce, should anyone
suggest using it.) I didn't do it long! I couldn't bear the sight of
nearly a GB worth of Win386.swp, (although it seemed to function well).

Unless turned off, Windows is always managing VM. It manages it based on
what is shown shadowed in min & max at "R-Clk My Computer, Properties,
Performance tab, Virtual Memory button". That is OK at defaults of zero
& "No maximum". The only MVP approved alteration is to set the min
larger, based on careful observation over days. You would set it at 20%
larger than the greatest value you saw for Swap File "SIZE" (not "use"),
using System Monitor. If your observation discovers a constant &
frequent Swap File "USE" figure, THAT is when to consider additional
RAM.

WARNING: Once, I turned off VM for a zero swap file. All seemed to run
well, UNTIL I opened a Windows DOS (in a box) session. It produced an
orderly crash of the DOS box. Later, online, I did it again, just to
report the experience accurately. The crash this time was horrendous- IT
HAD A HEARTBEAT.

There is one other setting I've tried & rejected:
"ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1", in System.ini, [386.Enh] Section. This,
gave me a Win386.swp file generally 10-20 MB in size, sometimes zero.
That's with Windows in control of the size, and min=0, max=No max. It
was beautiful to watch. When the Swap file was in "use" (say, 20 MB),
the "size" went to around 100 MB. However, there was resizing going on,
even when "swap file in use" was zero (Windows tries to anticipate how
big to make it, depending on what you're doing), and, again, my
sluggishness persisted.The Microsoft literature says it's less
efficient, as well. Although I generally loved seeing the small
Win386.swp sizes, I discontinued "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1". (That
"sluggishness" is gone; it was something entirely unrelated to VM. In
fact, I was never able to pin anything on VM at all, except, I believe,
Win386.swp gets in the way of a proper Scandisk/Defrag.) This setting
might be appropriate for one who has so much RAM, as to never have a
"use" figure.

Do you have "System Monitor" in START... System Tools? If not, get it
from "START, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Windows Setup
tab, D-Clk System Tools, check System Monitor, OK, Apply, OK". May as
well take "Resource Meter", too. Now, go through the menus and at least
have it display

(a) Swap file in use.
(b) Swap file size.
(c) Swappable memory.
(d) Unused physical memory.
(e) Allocated memory.
(f) Disk cache size.
(g) Locked memory
(h) Other memory
(i) Kernel Processor Usage
(j) Kernel Threads

I must go. I'm on my way to Saskatchewan & have no time to explain what
each of those are. Just watch that "in use" figure, is all, for now.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

wrote in message ...
| What is resetting my swap file setting to "allow windows98 to manage
| virtual memory" from "allow user to manage virtual memory"?
|
| Every week it seems like when I check my virtual memory settings I
find
| that it has reverted back to "allow windows to manage virtual memory."
I
| like to set my own swap file size, and for years 3 or 4 years this
| setting stuck.
|
| But I installed (and later unistalled) Media Player 7 about three
weeks
| ago. Now something (MP7?) keeps changing it back to allow windows to
| manage. What is resetting my virtual memory and how do I stop it? I
| have not installed any new sowthware recently. Thanks. PS (MP7
screwed
| up my computer in more ways than one.)