DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... rebuilding the pagefile on my pc?

I have a Dell Inspiron 9. It is a netbook with 8 GB of HD and 512k of RAM and XP Pro. I did instructions to delete my pagefile in order to free up space. Very little programs but Windows security updates. I had only 20% of free space.

I disabled the pagefile by going to the control panel and then performance and then I set it to "no paging file enabled". I did the defrag, but when I tried to rebuild the pagefile after I rebooted and defragged it always was set on no paging file enabled.
How do I get my pagefile back?

thanks!

Right click on "My Computer" on your desktop, and select "Properties". Click the "Advanced" tab, and then under "Performance" click the "Settings" button. Then click the "Advanced" tab, and you should be able to change your page file settings there.

that is what I did, so thanks! but it is always set to no paging file...I've been told to return it to System Managed, which I do, but it never takes hold.

If you uncheck the top box, (automatically manage page file) can you then check the System Managed Size box down towards the bottom, then recheck Automatically Manage Page File?

If you do this and then "OK" your way out, does it then give you a page file after you reboot?

Click System Managed and then click the 'Set' button.

i have been...it doesnt hold the setting prpl. i do that, reset the computer and it is still set as no page file.

Reinstall Windows - you hosed something up good, because that is one of those things that just works.
Possibly the default size under System Managed may be trying to set the pagefile to a size greater than the amount of available space?

In any case, I'm certain that it was common to not run a pagefile on the Dell Mini 9's (I believe that it's the OEM default from Dell). If you have enough RAM in there (at least 2GB), especially under XP, you don't need it, and depending upon your beliefs on things, you probably do not want it as the Dell Mini 9's 8GB drive in an 8GB SSD - and all of the little random writes for paging can/will impact the drive's lifespan.... and, technically, it COULD actually make you slower, and it will use up disk space - something that is woefully lacking on an 8GB drive.


There are replacement drives available for the Mini 9 if you're looking to ever increase the space. The systems come with a drive from STEC, and the two most popular replacements are SuperTalent and .. crap, can't recall the other one at the moment. I've put two of the SuperTalent's into a friend's Mini 9, they're decent, but they have interrmittent write lags on the larger capacities.

*Just looked it up, the other brand is Runcore. Just be advised that you cannot just buy any old SSD and slap it in, the machine uses a very proprietary form factor for its drives - mini-PCIe. Check reviews on devices before buying, and don't fully take my word for it on things as it's been over a year since I've worked on one.

thanks prpl.

the defrag dropped it from 2.2 gb free to 1.6 gb.

it came with 8 advertised
7.11 useable.
of that, 5.19 gb was used due to windows security, adobe, etc.

i dont know if its shadow files either. but i have very little on it and no way 8gb is sawllowed up like that. no word, works, office.

Actually, that is completely normal.

8GB is the unformatted capacity.
7.11GB is the formatted capacity... the difference is in the overhead for the filesystem, and in the difference between a marketing departments "GB" and a true, usable "GB".
5.19GB is roughly a normal install size for Win XP with Service Pack 3 and all patches.

Defrag is another utility you do not need to worry about with an SSD - you should never, ever, need to run Defrag on a SSD. In fact, it is another case of you don't want to do it. Aside from that, if running it caused a decrease in available drive space, then you definitely want to avoid ever touching it again, because your drive is probably getting short on life.

The short way of saying it is this: SSD's do not have an infinite number of writes available for each "block". It is actually a very finite lifespan, albeit measured in millions of writes. After that, however, the block cannot be written to any longer, and is then marked as 'bad' by the drive. SSD drives also reserve some of their initial capacity as failover for this, to preserve device life. As a block is marked bad, a block is brought online from the hidden reserve capacity. When the reserve is exhausted and a block goes bad, drive capacity drops.



All I can say is, Back Up Your Data. SSD drives die suddenly and catastrophically. There is no real warning, they just become "unavailable", and everything is gone (technically, it is there, you just cannot get to it at all).

p.s. Check the Usual Suspects on drive space... Temp directory, Temporary Internet Files, etc... make sure they are empty, getting emptied and not reserving too much space.

On that machine, there is no need to cache more than 250MB of items in Internet Options, tell it to empty Temporary Internet Files when you close IE, etc...
If you use a different browser, find the analog to those settings in that browser.

Turn OFF System Restore.
Check the properties of Recycle Bin and reduce the amount of reserved space to the minimum you are comfortable with (1%??).

Java is another thing that is notorious for saving every install file ever installed.

ok.
I have java and adobe acrobat 9 installed.

should I get rid of the SP? I've heard that there are windows security essentials that are less bloat-y and just as effective.

I do not have sys restore enabled.
I will enable the ie 8 feature--do not save x mb in cache as you said.

it was a atom processor I won in 2009 during a raffle. so basically, it could go bad in a few years? it is used just to check email/browse.

Do not get rid of the SP.... never get rid of those. Windows Security Essentials is not a replacement for those, it is an antivirus/antimalware product.

As for whether or not it could go bad - absolutely. Get yourself a little USB thumb drive and keep any important documents/data that you have on it and not on the Mini.


When it comes to hard drives, be they mechanical or solid state, it is not a question of "IF", but "WHEN" will they die. You can have two drives out of the same manufacturing batch - one will die in the first three months, one will outlast the useful life of the machine it is put into.... but they both WILL die.

With solid state drives, however, it is a little more definable. Barring a breakdown in the componentry, their lifespan is tired directly to the amount they are used (but, it is still measured in years). This is why you don't want the pagefile enabled.... system paging causes TONS of disk i/o and that wears the ssd rapidly. You also don't want to defrag for the same reason: because it is a ton of unnecessary disk activity, and on top of that, an SSD is not organized the same way as a mechanical drive - and lastly, a SS is fast enough that file fragmentation has little to no effect on its performance.

Another item to turn off is Drive Indexing. With an SSD, it is pointless.... you can search a SSD in real time without it being indexed, so the indexing is just redundant and wasteful activity.


In terms of available drive space, unless you put a larger drive in it, what you've got is what you've got. Those machines are not intended to be used for much of anything beyond just email and web browsing.

definitely do all the stuff purp and ytown said.

shutting off system restore and lowering the size of the trash bin will save you a ton of space. You could possibly get a very small (not data size...actual size) usb stick and keep it plugged in and use it for temp files. This would minimize writes to the ssd too. Its not going to die immediately, but you want to be smart about writes.

Another thing to look at is something like google drive. You can store tons of stuff on the cloud, and access it from any computer. If i had something like that i would probably throw linux on it and use it to surf, check emails, and maybe an occasional document.

thanks for all your help! i did everything you guys suggested and so far so good!