Virtual Memory/Optimizing help needed at DVinfo.net

Peter Manojlovic · March 17th, 2010, 04:05 PM

Okay.......
So i've upgraded my machine with Windows 7 64 bit. I installed CS4 Master collection.

Up until now, I've always ran;

C: system disk (10000RPM)
D: data and projects
E: scratch disk
F: Raid zero capture disk (on board raid)
and
I'm using a Matrox RT.X2 card for HDV editing..

Now, how to optimize..
I know the golden number for Virtual memory is 12MB+RAM for initial and twice my RAM for Maximum.
But do i do this for every drive letter?
My system disk only has 7 gigs left, so am i best leaving it untouched?

And I realize that keeping the drive away from Indexing is important..

Can anybody give me some tips or links for optimizing my system any further?
All links lead to older XP tweaks...
Harm, are you out there??

Thanx....

Harm Millaard · March 17th, 2010, 05:09 PM

Peter,

Here I am.

First a question, how much RAM do you have?

I prefer to have only one page-file on my whole system, not over more disks. Second, I prefer to have it set to a fixed size (min=max) and on my system with 12 GB, I have the size set to 8 GB on my D drive, which is a 2 x 1 TB raid0. But I'm not very much into having multiple applications open at the same time. Sure, I can have PR, EN and AE open, but not much going on in the background, so my needs for virtual memory may differ from yours. Just make sure that after setting up your page-file you do a complete defrag of the disk you have set it on at boot time.

It looks like your raid0 is the fastest drive. I would use that drive for the page-file. Even if your raid0 fails, so what, it is only a page-file...

You obviously have a Raptor or Velociraptor boot disk. How come you only have 7 GB free on your C drive, unless you are talking about a rather old Raptor of 36 GB space. I think I have a pretty loaded system now with around 43 GB in use on my boot disk, but that is including some CS3 programs, the complete CS4 Master Collection, all my utilities and plug-ins and a lot of beta programs, that require significant space. In normal use my space requirements are around 35-37 GB. Only 7 GB free would often lead to serious performance degradation. Can't you free up some space? Consider for instance a Hyberfil file which can take several GB's.

Some people (think of Gary) are very happy with Matrox. I'm not among them and am glad I got rid of my Matrox card. If you have no problems with it, go on using it, it would be a serious waste of money to not use it, if it works. But if you have problems, consider removing it and using the Matrox card as a doorstop, which is what it was designed for.

As for tips, have a look at the third link about optimizing Vista, which in essence also applies to Win7: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/436215 and while you are in the hardware forum, have a look around. There are some very interesting posts there. One I recommend specifically is
http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm

Peter Manojlovic · March 17th, 2010, 07:17 PM

Thanks Harm, you're a gentleman..

I have 8 gigs of RAM.
My system drive is loaded with the full Master collection. OS and CS4 are all updated...I was surprised at how much space was taken up. Except for some small apps, there isn't anything else...I'm thinking of compressing..
But yes it's an 80gig hard drive. I've got an HP wx9300 workstation..

Quote:

I prefer to have only one page-file on my whole system, not over more disks.

I didn't know this was an option. I will check it out.

Quote:

It looks like your raid0 is the fastest drive. I would use that drive for the page-file. Even if your raid0 fails, so what, it is only a page-file.

Will do..

In the meanwhile, i've run the benchmark utility.

Harm Millaard · March 18th, 2010, 06:21 AM

Peter,

With 8 GB memory, I would choose a 12 GB page-file.

If you take the time to go through all Adobe directories and look for readme files and license files, you will find many installed in all kinds of languages, like Armenian, Chinese, Czech, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish etc. If you take the trouble to search for them and delete them it will save you a lot of space. I have filed a feature request at Adobe to leave all languages out that are not installed on the system. What would I do with Armenian, Hungarian or Russian files? It just bloats the system.

Taky Cheung · March 20th, 2010, 02:02 AM

If you have 8GB ram, you can pretty much leave your paging file setting untouched. It's because you are very unlikely to use all 8GB RAM together at the same time. Some people just turn off virtual memory at all since 8GB RAM is quite plenty.

I have 12GB RAM in my Core i7 system. I didn't bother to change the page file setting.

Ervin Farkas · March 21st, 2010, 09:17 PM

Windows 7 64-bit has a setting (the default) that lets Windows manage the paging file. Is that the best option, or is it better to set it manually?

[I have 12GB of DDR3 RAM on this Intel i7/Asus P6T Deluxe V2 mobo... if that matters].

Thanks,

Taky Cheung · March 21st, 2010, 09:42 PM

I will leave it untouched. Let windows manage the page file size. Mostly Windows doesn't need to use virtual manager as you have plenty of RAM.

Harm Millaard · March 22nd, 2010, 03:23 AM

I set the page file to manual as the first step after installing Windows with the same min = max size. Im my case with 12 GB RAM, I use 8 GB page file. I use only one page file and have it a 2 disk raid0. By following this approach you make sure that the page file is located on the fastest part of the disk AND it will not get defragmented.

March 17th, 2010, 04:05 PM	#1
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	Virtual Memory/Optimizing help needed Okay....... So i've upgraded my machine with Windows 7 64 bit. I installed CS4 Master collection. Up until now, I've always ran; C: system disk (10000RPM) D: data and projects E: scratch disk F: Raid zero capture disk (on board raid) and I'm using a Matrox RT.X2 card for HDV editing.. Now, how to optimize.. I know the golden number for Virtual memory is 12MB+RAM for initial and twice my RAM for Maximum. But do i do this for every drive letter? My system disk only has 7 gigs left, so am i best leaving it untouched? And I realize that keeping the drive away from Indexing is important.. Can anybody give me some tips or links for optimizing my system any further? All links lead to older XP tweaks... Harm, are you out there?? Thanx.... Attached Thumbnails

March 17th, 2010, 05:09 PM	#2
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	Peter, Here I am. First a question, how much RAM do you have? I prefer to have only one page-file on my whole system, not over more disks. Second, I prefer to have it set to a fixed size (min=max) and on my system with 12 GB, I have the size set to 8 GB on my D drive, which is a 2 x 1 TB raid0. But I'm not very much into having multiple applications open at the same time. Sure, I can have PR, EN and AE open, but not much going on in the background, so my needs for virtual memory may differ from yours. Just make sure that after setting up your page-file you do a complete defrag of the disk you have set it on at boot time. It looks like your raid0 is the fastest drive. I would use that drive for the page-file. Even if your raid0 fails, so what, it is only a page-file... You obviously have a Raptor or Velociraptor boot disk. How come you only have 7 GB free on your C drive, unless you are talking about a rather old Raptor of 36 GB space. I think I have a pretty loaded system now with around 43 GB in use on my boot disk, but that is including some CS3 programs, the complete CS4 Master Collection, all my utilities and plug-ins and a lot of beta programs, that require significant space. In normal use my space requirements are around 35-37 GB. Only 7 GB free would often lead to serious performance degradation. Can't you free up some space? Consider for instance a Hyberfil file which can take several GB's. Some people (think of Gary) are very happy with Matrox. I'm not among them and am glad I got rid of my Matrox card. If you have no problems with it, go on using it, it would be a serious waste of money to not use it, if it works. But if you have problems, consider removing it and using the Matrox card as a doorstop, which is what it was designed for. As for tips, have a look at the third link about optimizing Vista, which in essence also applies to Win7: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/436215 and while you are in the hardware forum, have a look around. There are some very interesting posts there. One I recommend specifically is http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm Last edited by Harm Millaard; March 17th, 2010 at 06:05 PM.

March 20th, 2010, 02:02 AM	#5
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	If you have 8GB ram, you can pretty much leave your paging file setting untouched. It's because you are very unlikely to use all 8GB RAM together at the same time. Some people just turn off virtual memory at all since 8GB RAM is quite plenty. I have 12GB RAM in my Core i7 system. I didn't bother to change the page file setting. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

March 21st, 2010, 09:17 PM	#6
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Windows 7 64-bit has a setting (the default) that lets Windows manage the paging file. Is that the best option, or is it better to set it manually? [I have 12GB of DDR3 RAM on this Intel i7/Asus P6T Deluxe V2 mobo... if that matters]. Thanks, __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

March 21st, 2010, 09:42 PM	#7
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I will leave it untouched. Let windows manage the page file size. Mostly Windows doesn't need to use virtual manager as you have plenty of RAM. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

March 18th, 2010, 06:21 AM	#4
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	Peter, With 8 GB memory, I would choose a 12 GB page-file. If you take the time to go through all Adobe directories and look for readme files and license files, you will find many installed in all kinds of languages, like Armenian, Chinese, Czech, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish etc. If you take the trouble to search for them and delete them it will save you a lot of space. I have filed a feature request at Adobe to leave all languages out that are not installed on the system. What would I do with Armenian, Hungarian or Russian files? It just bloats the system.

March 22nd, 2010, 03:23 AM	#8
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	I set the page file to manual as the first step after installing Windows with the same min = max size. Im my case with 12 GB RAM, I use 8 GB page file. I use only one page file and have it a 2 disk raid0. By following this approach you make sure that the page file is located on the fastest part of the disk AND it will not get defragmented.