Configuring page files for optimization and recovery in Windows Server 2003, in Windows 2000, and in Windows NT (197379)

SUMMARY

By default, Windows places the page file on the boot partition where the operating system is installed. To determine the size of the pagefile multiply the amount of physical RAM by 1.5 to a maximum of 4095 MB. However, placing the pagefile on the boot partition does not optimize performance because Windows has to perform disk I/O on both the system directory and the pagefile. Therefore, it is recommended that you place the pagefile on a different partition and different physical hard disk drive so that Windows can handle multiple I/O requests more quickly.

However, completely removing the pagefile from the boot partition does not allow Windows to create a crash dump file (Memory.dmp) should a kernel mode STOP error occur. Not having this crash dump file could lead to extended server downtime should the STOP require a debug to be performed.

The optimal solution, other than the solution of adding more physical memory, is to do the following:

1. Create one pagefile on the boot partition by using the default settings.
2. Create another pagefile on a less frequently used partition on a separate physical disk or RAID volume.

You can create additional pagefiles for each separate physical disk or RAID volume.

Windows will use the pagefile on the less frequently used partition over the pagefile on the heavily used boot partition. Windows uses an internal algorithm to determine which page file to use for virtual memory management. In the above scenario, the following goals of the page file would be served:

• The system will be properly configured to capture a Memory.dmp file should the computer experience a kernel mode STOP error.
• The page file on the less frequently used partition will be used the majority of the time because it is not on a busy partition.