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Optimal vVirtual memory settings
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karen2003
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7. August 2004 @ 12:43 |
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I've been browsing on these forums (always learn something new!!) and found info on virtual memory. I'd never checked mine, wasn't even quite sure what it was. On this thread, http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/6/90042#507070 , Doc409 gave instructions on how to find the page file settings and suggested setting 4000 as the minimum and maximum. I just checked mine and they seem really low -- min 384 & max 768. Should I change them and if so, would 4000 min & max be right for my computer set-up too? And if that's the case, could someone please give me a bit more info on what this will do? I have plenty of hard drive space -- ~7gb on c: and usually ~100gb on f: (which is where I normally do all video/DVD processing).
p.s. sorry about the vvirtual in the heading ... I thought I was hitting the back button to erase one "v" and I must've hit "submit" ... weird ... hmmm.
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. August 2004 @ 12:45
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karen2003
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8. August 2004 @ 13:02 |
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P.S. Well, I went ahead & changed my virtual memory settings to 2,000 min. / 2,000 max. on c: (which only has about 8gb free) and 4,000 min. / 4,000 max on f: (which usually has 50-100gb free depending on how much video I have on it). From reading info on virtual memory in other threads, I think this means I have more RAM -- sort of? Or at least hard drive space that my computer will use as RAM if it needs it? I've encoded another DVD since and it had no effect at all. Yeah, I was hoping it would.
I still would like to understand the logic of all this so if anyone has any good sources, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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AfterDawn Addict
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8. August 2004 @ 13:34 |
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karen2003
You are so right; you need more memory, especially with XP Pro. I found even 512 Megs was not enough to get XP to sing but 1 gig and you are rolling. Now to virtual memory!
As you know many applications exceed our PC's physical memory so it has to swap that information back and forth between your hard disk and your physical memory. It used to be with Win98 that if you had 256 megs you'd set your virtual memory's minimum and maximum to 2 or 2 1/2 times your physical memory to force windows to use it more efficiently.
Windows XP as rule has none of the Win95 kernel problems it can efficiently handle all the memory you can throw at it (some applications may not be able to make use of it). but when XP was developed they didn?t consider that people were going to rip 5 to 8 gig files to our hard disks. I don?t think that you need to adjust your minimum settings but you might want to consider increasing your maximum settings.
" Please Read!!! Post your questions only in This Thread or they will go unanswered:
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 01:42 |
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Thanks for the reply, Sophocles, but I'm still trying to understand this stuff conceptually. Now that my page file settings are 6000 total, what does that mean in terms of RAM? I thought that since XP uses the virtual memory as if it were RAM (from what I've read), it would mean that I had, in effect, 6256mb of RAM available (the 256mb of "real" RAM plus the 6000mb of virtual memory) and that would speed up the encoding. But so far it's had zero effect. So does this mean that if I buy more RAM it will still not have much of an effect? If it doesn't mean this, why not? Again, I'm trying to understand the logic of this.
Also, on a related question since you are undoubtedly more computer-savvy than I am, would you have any idea why my Dell recognizes my 250gb hard drive (f drive) as only half that? I'm a college professor and the tech guys at my college installed the drive for me and they couldn't figure it out either. It's definitely a 250gb drive -- they could see that from some setting (can't remember which setting, sorry) but Dell only "reads" it as 125gb so that's all I've been able to use. Since even that was three times the 40gb c: drive that I had, I thought it was a lot for now, but as you know with video processing 125gb isn't all that much.
Thanks for any help/info.
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. August 2004 @ 02:54 |
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karen2003
Your physical memory (256 Megs) is dealing with a file or files that are too large for it then it sends some of the stuff you?re working back to your paging file is a reserved space on your hard disk that pretends to be memory. When your hard disk {swapping) and as it become needed it is returned to physical memory. Paging files are really slow in comparison to physical memory and it is the bottle neck in system performance. More physical memory results in less swapping back and forth between your hard disk and your memory.
I'm going to work now but I'll get back to you later. How old is your Dell?
" Please Read!!! Post your questions only in This Thread or they will go unanswered:
Help with development of BD RB: Donations at: http://www.jdobbs.com/. This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. August 2004 @ 02:55
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 03:23 |
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To do with your Hard Drive Problem:
Either, 1: your bios doesnt detect the drive as a 250G (check when your comptuer first comes up)
You have formatted the Drive as FAT32 not NTFS, which will limit the drive to around that size.
My suggestion would be to check what File System it has (Right Click on the Drive in My Comptuer)
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CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 07:12 |
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Thanks to both of you. Sophocles, if I'm remembering correctly I bought this computer in my last year at U. of M. (that's how I remember ... go blue :-) ) so it would have been around January of 2002. So it's about 2-1/2 years old. RE: RAM, thanks, now I understand better the difference between regular RAM and virtual memory. When the school year starts again I'll have the techies add some more memory for me.
Cozza1987, the drive is formatted NTSF for sure (my original c: drive is FAT32 but I don't use that for video processing). Someone had mentioned on these forums that they thought without XP Service Pack 1, Windows would only recognize 125gb max on a hard drive. Someone else said that wasn't true. In any case, I downloaded & installed Service Pack 1 (and it's definitely there, it says so when I check my system specs) but it didn't make a difference. (I think I was hoping it would suddenly recognize the whole 250gb as soon as SP1 installed. No such luck.)
You also wrote that maybe my "bios doesnt detect the drive as a 250G (check when your comptuer first comes up)." How do I check that?
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 07:17 |
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When you turn your computer on, After it does the Memory test etc It will display the drives you have installed. Then the next screen will display the size it has detected, but u have 2 be quick to read some of them.
Eaisest way would be, go into your BIOS, (Usually hit DEL when its doing memory test, around that time)
Then have a Look at Primary Slave (which should be the 250G if thats where it is)
See what size it says there.
Regards
CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 07:21 |
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Any way to do this check AFTER the computer has already booted up & is running?
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 07:30 |
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To check this, its b4 ur comptuer starts up.
Try
Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Adminstrative Tools -> Computer Management
Select Disk Managemnet from the left hand side.
It should have Disc 0 and Disk 1
What size does it say there ? Can u take a screenshot of that.
Regards
CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 07:42 |
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Ah-ha, very interesting info. I could take a screen shot but I don't know how to load a picture from my hard drive (I tried that in another thread & it didn't work). But here's the info -- which shows (I think) that my computer in some ways DOES recognize the entire hard drive (lists it at 232gb) but somehow it's not "allocated." Here are the specifics:
- Disc 0, basic, 18.64gb, online. Then on the right: 31mb FAT, healthy, 18.61gb FAT32 healthy (system).
- Disc 1, basic, 232.88gb, online. Then on the right: 128.00 GB NTFS, healthy (page file). To the right of that: 104.89 GB (unallocated).
So what exactly does this mean? And how can I fix it? Thanks for the info so far!!
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 07:48 |
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Ahhh.. very interesting.
When the Partition was created, it wasnt created to full size, therefore not giving the full capacity.
You can either create another partiton out of the space u have left, or incorporate it as one big partition.
You might be able to do it in Disk Mangager, not 100% sure, unless u want 2 format it, if u have notthing on there, which would be easier.
If not, you can download a trial of Partition Magic, and Change the Partition size of that Hard Drive, or Create another Partition out of unallociated space.
Regards
CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 07:55 |
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OK, I think I'll play around with Disk Manager and see what I can do. If that fails I'll have to take it back in to the techies (although I'm not sure why they couldn't figure it out to begin with -- they're usually great). It would be nice to have that extra space!!!
Thanks again!
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 08:00 |
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If you dont have anything that you want kept on that drive, or if you do, transfer it across to your other drive.
Then in Disk Mananger you can Right-click the 250G HDD, and select Format.
Follow the prompts, making sure when it says size, just keep clicking the up arrow to make sure its 2 its full size.
Regards
CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 08:05 |
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P.S. OK, I just put in the word "unallocated" in help & it gave me info on (among other things) creating a partition out of unallocated space. In the instructions, it says, "In the New Partition Wizard, click Next, click Primary partition, Extended partition, or Logical drive, and then follow the instructions on your screen." OK, I'm assuming I want to create a primary partition & give it a drive letter, right? (I also looked up the different types of partitions & it sounds like "extended partitions" or "logical drives" are just for the main hard drive c:, right? Or am I misunderstanding some of the logic here?
One other, maybe silly question: creating a new partition out of that unallocated space won't screw up anything on f:, right? I guess I'm paranoid about screwing up my computer ...
This stuff is fun to learn. Thanks for your help.
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 08:08 |
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Sorry, our messages overlapped, I was typing and didn't see yours. I definitely don't want to re-format f: as it's full of stuff I need (and there's not enough room on c: for me to transfer stuff there to "hold"). So it seems like the best way to go is to create a new partition out of the "unallocated" space. I think that's what I'll try as soon as I finish what I'm working on.
Thanks much for helping me to understand this!
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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9. August 2004 @ 08:09 |
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edited.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. August 2004 @ 09:22
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 08:13 |
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What you should be able to do is Right Click the Unallocated Space, and Select Create Partition.
You already have a primary partition on it, so you will need to select Extended Partition.
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CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 08:20 |
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Hmmm ... in "help," the def. for "extended partition" says it's a type of partition that can only be created on master boot record partitions, which my f: drive isn't. So I'm confused? Wait, I just clicked on "properties" for the unallocated space and under "volume" it says "Master Boot Record" as "partition style." So I guess I didn't understand what "master boot record" meant ...
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 08:21 |
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P.S. By clicking on "extended partition," will that make f: bigger, or will it create another drive letter?
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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cozza1987
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9. August 2004 @ 08:29 |
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That will create a new drive letter for that space.
If you right click on the Allocated Parition, you should be about to Resize partition, if you want One Big 250G Partition.
Master boot record is the first sector of a hard drive, which by convention contains a loader program for starting an operating system.
Regards
CoZZa
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 08:32 |
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OK, this makes sense. It would've been good to have one large 250gb (or 233gb) drive, but now I have too much stuff on f: to be able to re-format it with the added space. So I guess I'll just make the unallocated space a whole new drive with a new letter.
Thanks again for all your help. I'll report back later today after I've had time to do this.
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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karen2003
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9. August 2004 @ 08:40 |
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Sorry, one more question. I just right-clicked on the unallocated section and clicked "new partition," which takes me to the wizard. I'm given a choice of making the new partition either primary or extended. Both choices seem to be valid (i.e., Windows is letting me do either one) but the wizard gives me no info on why I would want to choose one or the other type, primary or extended. Is there some logic here that I should know? What would be the difference between making the new partition primary or extended? I know you suggested "extended" but since the wizard is giving me the "primary" option as well, I want to better understand the choice. Thanks.
Karen H.--Dell Optiplex GX240, P4 1.50ghz, 256mb RAM (yeah, I need more), Windows XP Pro w/SP1, 80gb c: drive (replaced the 20gb c: that crashed), 126gb i: drive, 124gb j: drive, 500gb external hard drive partitioned into k: and l: drives, Sony DDU1621/C1 DVD-ROM to rip/encode, Sony DRX-530UL to burn, new Sony DRX-840U to burn DL discs ... need a new computer to go with it!!
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9. August 2004 @ 09:10 |
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Hi karen2003...
Since it looks like cozza1987 may have left, I'll jump in. Choose extended partition. The primary is the initial partition on the drive, and where the boot record resides.
I suspect the reason it gives you both choices is because it is possible to have two different operating systems on one hard drive. So, if you were going to install another OS, you would have to do it on a primary partition.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. August 2004 @ 09:11
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9. August 2004 @ 09:21 |
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Concerning your previous concern about encode speed, launch Task Manager >> Performance. This will show a real-time graph of CPU and RAM usage. Then start an app like Shrink. Your CPU should run at a near constant 100%. Note also the RAM usage. Over 100 MB is dedicated to the OS at idle. Encoding w/Shrink uses an additional 130 to 160 MB on average (this was typical for me, and other people I've asked), so you can see how quickly you can run out of RAM. Systems with 256 MB aren't very forgiving, either, and so it is essential to have an adequate page file, a defragged drive, and to have all background programs turned off including anti-virus S/W - which can also mean disconnecting from the Internet. Once you have adequate RAM and proper VM settings, there isn't much else you can do to increase encode speed other than to get a faster CPU.
Concerning page file settings, the important thing is to have enough for processing files. The reason I suggest setting the min and max to the same is because my experience shows it reduces drive fragmenting - which is a common cause of system freezes and reboots in the middle of encoding. When the Min is set, it establishes a certain "bucket" size that the page files will go into. If this min bucket fills up, Windows then has to "think" about where to put the excess page files outside of the bucket. I believe I've seen excessive fragmenting of my drive with spread values, so I recommend they be the same. The literature out there takes both sides ... Microsoft seems mute on the topic ... and so I've advised what seems to be working for me. It would be interesting to see what others experience with video apps?
I should also mention (according to one source) that when you set VM to a certain value, say 4000 MB, that if Windows runs out of normal HD space for a data file, it will prioritize and encroach upon the VM allocation. This might only become a problem if Windows then runs out of VM space. Also, if your encoding is pointed to your larger Slave drive, you can get by with less on your Master.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. August 2004 @ 09:25
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