I'm a bit confused about how WinXP Pro manages / allocates memory resources.
My main box has 1GB of PC2100 in 2 matched 512MB DIMMs.
When I first installed the memory I disabled the page file, thinking that I'd have enough RAM to make my all my usual apps very happy. However, Photoshop nagged me about the absense of a page file every time I loaded it up, and CorelDRAW 11 started crashing while processing certain complex effects, citing lack of memory as the cause. I was dumbstruck, of course, that two supposedly cutting-edge apps could be so finicky about the presence of a page file (although, to be fair, Photoshop just nagged - it never died), so to appease them I enabled a 32MB page file on the system partition and both PS and CDR piped down and went back to work. However, with only a 32Meg page file, I started getting those annoying memory shortage popups from the system tray, informing me that Windows is upping the page file size because it feels like it. I upped the page file size to 128MB in hopes that WinXP would shut up and leave me alone, but the messages persist. I started checking the Performance tab in the Task Manager, and sure enough, the "PF Usage" meter indicates a far larger page file than I have set. Right now it's at 203MB over my setting of 128MB.
Of course, I know to set both the minimum and maximum sizes to the same value.
Anyway, this is really annoying. If anyone can tell me what Windows is thinking and how to make it think something else, I'd apprecaite it.
Piyono
My main box has 1GB of PC2100 in 2 matched 512MB DIMMs.
When I first installed the memory I disabled the page file, thinking that I'd have enough RAM to make my all my usual apps very happy. However, Photoshop nagged me about the absense of a page file every time I loaded it up, and CorelDRAW 11 started crashing while processing certain complex effects, citing lack of memory as the cause. I was dumbstruck, of course, that two supposedly cutting-edge apps could be so finicky about the presence of a page file (although, to be fair, Photoshop just nagged - it never died), so to appease them I enabled a 32MB page file on the system partition and both PS and CDR piped down and went back to work. However, with only a 32Meg page file, I started getting those annoying memory shortage popups from the system tray, informing me that Windows is upping the page file size because it feels like it. I upped the page file size to 128MB in hopes that WinXP would shut up and leave me alone, but the messages persist. I started checking the Performance tab in the Task Manager, and sure enough, the "PF Usage" meter indicates a far larger page file than I have set. Right now it's at 203MB over my setting of 128MB.
Of course, I know to set both the minimum and maximum sizes to the same value.
Anyway, this is really annoying. If anyone can tell me what Windows is thinking and how to make it think something else, I'd apprecaite it.
Piyono
