G73JH-A1 Page file recommendation

i have 3 partitions for my 2 drives
1 hard disk
1 partition - 50gb (only OS and programs partition)
2 partition - 450gb (stuff)

2 hard disk - 500gb (stuff)

i have the pagefile set automatically set pagefile but it turns the page file only on the OS partition which i don't like (it uses around 8gb on my OS partition)

so how do you suggest me to change the pagefile preferebly on the other partitions but not on the OS partition (if there won't be any cons ofcourse)

and one more important thing
if i set pagefile on the second drive that means it won't turn off when needed ? it will work constantly ?

 

With the amount of RAM the G73 has, you can either completely remove the pagefile or do like me and shrink it to something like 2GB without problems.

If the page file isn't in use then i guess your HDD won't be spinning, but if it happens to be the case, just set it on the 2nd partition on your OS HDD.

 

umm...what is pagefile?

 

i think it is not recommended to completelly turn off the paging file on the OS but set to minimum 400mb

i found some guide and this is what is says

One hard drive:
If you only have one hard drive or your other drives are significantly slower than your OS drive. Leave it alone.

Two hard drives:
The second drive should be near as fast or faster than the OS drive or there is no reason to do this.
Make 2 page files, one on the OS drive, one on the first partition of the second drive. The page file on the OS drive should be at least 300MB. The second page file should be equal to the amount of RAM (physical memory) or System managed size (preferred).

***Author's note - Based on emails I've received I do not seem to be making myself clear. If you have one hard drive DO NOT MOVE OR MAKE A SECOND PAGE FILE. If you have 2 drives and you make a second page file you should leave at least a small page file on the OS partition. The second page file should be on the FIRST PARTITION of the second drive.

source : TweakHound - Tweaking Windows 7, Page 7

what do you think ?

check the link man it explains a lot

 

The pagefile is mostly there if you run out of RAM so the OS can use the HDD as storage for data that should be stored in the RAM but can't be due to lack of space in the RAM. With 8GB unless you run virtual machines, you won't ever run out of RAM so that main purpose is a bit moot if you have 8GB.

There are a few programs that prefer having a pagefile though, that's why i kept 2GB on my G73. Anyways, is there a reason you want to move the pagefile or mess with it. Unless you are running out of space on your OS partition, i see absolutely no reason to move it somewhere else.

 

well that was the main reason why i wanted to move the pagefile
and that's why i wanted suggestions

so if creating page file on the second drive doesn't allow him to turn off i won't do that
i need to see what's going on ... but i was expecting someone could tell me instead of figuring it out myself

 

If i knew, i would tell you and now i'm wondering myself just because i don't like not knowing. My "guess" is that it won't spin when the pagefile isn't in use as to how often it is used that's something i don't know. You could open the resource monitor, and check how often you get hard faults in the memory tab. A hard fault is when the page file is used if i recall correctly.

 

Assuming your using windows. Set the pagefile on your primary OS to "No pagefile" and set a static size of like 1GB/1024MB on your second HDD. To clarify: You can run with a pagefile on a non-os drive/partition without any problems. Some programs do require a pagefile to exist

The pagefile in windows despite you have tons of ram will be used to cache certain startup items. Also in the event you have a system crash or bluescreen error. The pagefile is required to dump your kernel/memory to

1GB is just personal preference


Windows VMM/Memory management will use the virtual memory/swap as necessary. We have no say over it but generally it wouldn't be touched in any day-to-day operations unless you somehow managed to use your full 8gb ram without virtual machines/cad/raw photo/video etc work

 

Good Q dude, Daverish is spot on! I have mine set to 8 GIG on the secondary HD and rarely if ever have I heard it spin up in 'normal use' ( gaming , web browsing , looking at pics of Naomi Watts) etc.
The secondary HDD only turns on when I access programs or files stored there.

 

aha well things are coming clear now
i don't mind setting 400mb on the OS partition
there won't be a difference if i set it on 1 disk 2 partition or 2 disk right? (talking about 8gb since i want to be on the recommendations and i have plenty of free space there)
but just for curiosity why that guy recommended if you set on the second drive set it on the first partition (quicker access ? )

superfech service on too right
since i don't have an SSD

 

Its not any faster on the primary partition/main hdd unless its a ssd vs. hdd than over 2nd hdd if both are mechanical. So for 2 hdds; it doesn't matter which one. The 2nd hdd might be faster because the 1st hdd will have your partitions with programs and OS that are ran from!

I recommend on a second drive mostly for startup IF 2 HDD's and space.

Off-topic stuff: If it was ssd, do a small 1gb on the ssd. Windows7 keeps the pagefile sequential so performance gains when using the page isn't very staggered over ssd/hdd unless its for many portioned small files (ssd access/read)

The windows recommendation is based on your physical ram. Its the only reason it is telling you 8gb!!!! Take it with a grain of salt, please.

 

a pagefile is like RAM but is not directly accessible by the CPU

so ideally the computer is set up like this:

RAM contains all programs that are being used right now
CPU has direct access to programs in RAM


but if you run more programs and fill up RAM, you have this:

Pagefile contains some currently-running programs that the CPU has "guessed" are not as important
RAM contains current programs that CPU has "guessed" are important
If you do something that makes a pagefile program more important, it will be swapped into RAM and one of the RAM programs will go to pagefile
Pagefile is faster to access by CPU than your HDD, but is not as fast as RAM

It just goes like this:

FASTEST = RAM--->CPU (happens if you have enough RAM to hold all currently-open programs)

FAST = PAGE-->RAM-->CPU (happens if you have an inactive window for a long time, the inactive program goes to pagefile to free RAM)

SLOW = HDD-->RAM-->CPU (happens when you launch a game for first time, loading into RAM)

 

The fastest pagefile setup is to put it on a RAMDISK. Next is to put the pagefile on a HDD that is not your system hdd, and to put it in its own partition. Don't ask me why it works best that way, but it does.

 

i need pagefile only on 1 partition right ?

and you didn't answered my question (except josea - thanks) will the hard disk turn off if i set the pagefile on the second drive ? becouse i don't want my hard drive cycling on and off or running constantly becouse of the page file(becouse i rarelly acess the second drive)

p.s another question that is out of the box
how to handle the big tiff files that photoshop creates in C:\ (talking about couple of gigas when making panoramas)
i should change my system temp folder ? or is there a path that can be changed only for photoshop temp files?

 

you can move the scratch area to your 2nd hdd in Photoshop

 

found it , thanks Chas