Disabling the Paging File

If you have a large amount of RAM in your box, you have the ability to stop the

operating system from pushing any data out into the paging file. This will cause
faster memory management and memory access than is physically possible for
your RAM. Reading and writing directly to the RAM is always significantly
faster than having to use the paging file. Reading and writing to the paging file
requires multiple steps and that takes time. First the data has to be copied out
of physical RAM to the hard drive, and then the new data must be loaded from
the hard drive into RAM and then executed. The hard drive is a big bottleneck
in this situation.
If you have 4GB of RAM or more in your computer, you can consider dis-
abling the paging file. If you have less than 4GB of RAM, do not even consider
disabling the paging file or you will be running into problems.
What can happen if you disable your paging file? If you have enough RAM,
nothing, but if you do not have enough RAM, applications may refuse to load
or even crash. For example, if you run Photoshop and are working on a large
image, you will run into “out of memory” errors and the application will crash,
causing you to lose all your work. This is a pretty extreme example, but it can
happen to you if you don’t have enough RAM and disable your paging file.
Basically, stick to the 4GB minimum and you will have no problems in most
cases, but be aware that if you ever choose to run some memory-intensive appli-
cations, such as rendering a two-hour movie, or if you just like to run dozens
of programs at once, you can run out of memory easily.
So, now that you know the concerns, you are ready to follow these steps to
disable the paging file:
  1.  Click the Start button, right-click Computer, and select Properties.
  2.  When System has loaded, click Advanced system settings, as shown in
Figure 15-4.
  3.  Under the Performance section, click Settings.
  4.  Click the Advanced tab and then click Change under Virtual Memory.
  5.  This will load the Virtual Memory screen. Uncheck the box that says
Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
  6.  For each drive listed in the box that has a paging file configured on it,
select the No paging file option and press Set

7.  After you have gone through the list and verified that you no longer have
any paging files configured on your drives, click OK to exit.

Your paging file will now be disabled after a reboot. Feel free to delete the
pagefile.sys file from your hard drive after your reboot to gain a chunk of space
back. You will have to disable Hide protected operating system files on the View
tab of Folder Options to see the pagefile.sys file.
If you do not have enough RAM to disable the paging file completely, follow
the directions in the next section to adjust the size of the paging file for best
performance.

Tweaking the Paging File

The Windows paging file, also known as the swap file or virtual memory, is very

important to the operation of Windows. As I mentioned earlier, the operating sys-
tem uses the paging file as a place to store data that was once in physical memory
but was kicked out because Windows needed the space for other purposes.
The method that Windows uses to decide what programs will stay in physi-
cal RAM is very complex and impossible to alter. However, there are several

tweaks that will help you optimize your computer’s use of the paging file. It is
possible to prevent certain system files from being pushed into the paging as
well as completely disabling the paging file to prevent the entire system from
using it.
This next section guides you through the steps of optimizing the paging file
for your computer.

Using a USB Storage Device to Add Memory

Although upgrading the amount of RAM you have in your computer is a good
last resort if you are having performance issues, Windows 7 includes a cool trick
to assist the amount of RAM you currently have. As I mentioned earlier, any
time your computer has to kick applications and data out of RAM —
  because
there is not enough room —   it slows down your computer because it has to store
that data on the slow hard drive. In Windows 7, a new feature called Windows
ReadyBoost allows you to use faster solid state memory devices, such as a USB
memory device, to store this data instead of your slow hard drive. This provides
an instant boost to system performance without even opening your case.

How does it work? The concept is simple. Solid state flash USB 2.0–based
storage devices have a faster read and write speed than most hard drives on
the market. Windows ReadyBoost, with the assistance of Windows SuperFetch
(another caching technology), works with a memory management system to
redirect cached data to the high-speed device. At any time, you can remove
the device if you need to use it for another purpose. To protect the data that is
cached on your removable USB device, Windows encrypts it so that if the device
is removed, your data is safe.
Setting up Windows 7 to use your USB drive to increase performance is very
easy. To get started, you will need a 256MB or larger USB 2.0 flash drive. Then
follow these steps:
  1.  Plug your USB drive into one of your available USB ports.
  2.  After your computer recognizes the new device and it shows up in
Computer, make sure that you have at least 235MB of free space on
the drive. Right-click the drive and select Properties,

3.  When the Properties window is shown, click the ReadyBoost tab.
  4.  Select Use this device and adjust the slider to set the amount of space to
use for ReadyBoost,

5.  Click OK when you are ready and Windows ReadyBoost is now set up
on your computer.
After you set up Windows ReadyBoost on one of your USB devices, it can be
removed at any time. You can disable it by selecting Don’t use this device on
the ReadyBoost tab you worked with earlier. Also, after you set up Windows
ReadyBoost on your USB device, it cannot be used for Windows ReadyBoost on
another Windows 7 computer without first having Windows ReadyBoost disabled
on the computer it was set up with

RAM for Your Hardware

Picking out RAM can be very confusing because there are so many different
types of it. The following are two main points that will take the complexity out
of buying RAM:
Type of RAM your hardware requires:
n You can usually go to the web site
of your computer manufacturer, type in your model number, and find the
exact type of memory that will work with your hardware. Alternatively,
you can visit the manufacturer of your motherboard. I recommend writing
down the type of memory your manufacturer states you need and buying
the memory from a different company. Use a price comparison web site
to find the best deal on the type of RAM you need. Often buying direct
from the major computer manufacturers are more expensive. After you
know what kind you need, you can get it from pretty much anywhere
and usually much cheaper if you buy it online.
Number of open RAM expansion slots:  n To add additional memory to
your computer, you need to consider the number of open RAM expansion
slots you have on your motherboard. Most computers have either two or
four slots and, depending on your manufacturer or whether you built it
yourself, you may be using up all the slots. If your slots are all in use, don’t
worry —   you can still upgrade your RAM given you are not already at
the max your machine supports. Pieces of RAM usually come in combina-
tions of 256MB, 515MB, 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB of memory per stick. Say you
have two RAM slots and they are both currently filled with 256MB RAM
chips; you can still buy two 515MB chips to replace them, which doubles
the amount of RAM you have. Ideally if you have a lot of slots free it is a
good idea to buy DDR memory in pairs so you can take advantage of the
dual channel architecture. You will notice two different colored DIMM
slots on your motherboard if you system supports dual channel.
Installing Your New RAM
After you have ordered or picked up your new RAM, it is really easy to install it
yourself. Keep in mind that opening your case may void your warranty. Having
fun yet? Follow these steps to pop in your new memory:
  1.  Unplug all the cables on the back of your computer, including the
power cable.
  2.  Use a Phillips screwdriver or push the case release button to remove
your case.

3.  When you have access to your motherboard, locate the memory expansion
slots, as shown in Figure 15-1. Attach your anti-static wristband at this
time. Don’t have one? No big deal. Just touch any part of the metal case
frame with your hand to discharge yourself.
 4.  Removing any existing pieces of RAM is very simple. Push the plastic
or metal clips away from the sides of the stick of RAM. This will usually
cause the RAM to pop out.
  5.  Putting a new stick of RAM in is just as easy. While the plastic clips are open
(pushed away from the sides of the slot), align the chip the correct way so
it fits in the slot properly and gently push down. As the stick of RAM goes
down, it will cause the plastic clips on the sides to snap in place.
Put your case back on and hook up your cables and you are now finished. If
you have any errors when your reboot on your BIOS screen or if your computer
does not recognize the new RAM you put in, make sure you got the right kind
of memory and that it is seated properly in the slot.

Windows Loves RAM

Windows Loves RAM
Microsoft made a lot of improvements in Windows 7 to reduce the memory utili-
zation compared to the notorious memory hog Windows Vista. This has helped
significantly, especially on Netbooks, but Windows still performs the best when

the computer has sufficient memory. I already covered trimming the fat from
Windows 7 by disabling components and services that you do not need to use.
This helps, but on some computers it is just not enough.
According to Microsoft the minimum amount of RAM required to run the
basic version of Windows 7 is 1GB. I’m not sure how that is determined exactly,
but I feel sorry for you if you are running Windows 7 on just 1GB. That is plenty
for the core operating system and one or two running applications, but if you
are doing anything more I highly suggest more physical RAM. Before I continue,
let’s cover the basics of RAM.
RAM is the fastest type of memory on your computer outside the CPU cache.
No matter how you use your computer, RAM is always in constant use. Your
computer uses RAM as a high-speed temporary storage location to store data
and applications with which the CPU is currently working. Every time you
launch an application, Windows has to load it from your hard drive into RAM
so that the CPU can execute the code. Depending on the available memory,
Windows may have to kick some other data currently in memory out. That is
called paging, which is covered in greater detail later in this chapter. Paging
is a slow process because it saves current memory back to the slow hard disk.
It is best to avoid paging as much as possible so that as little time as possible
is lost trying to make room so your applications or data can fit in memory.
When you consider all the memory that Windows 7 uses on top of your normal
applications, you will see why it is so important to have the right amount of
high-speed memory available

Adding RAM to Your Computer

Sometimes your only option to add even more speed to your computer is to give
it more of what it likes most —   RAM. If you have a low amount of RAM on your
computer —   say you are right at the bare minimum requirements according to

Microsoft to run Windows 7 and you have already tried all the performance
enhancements in this book —   I recommend upgrading your RAM as a final
move. I have never seen any hardware upgrade increase the speed of a computer
greater than upgrading the RAM. Upgrading the amount of RAM you have on
your computer is an easy and low-cost method to jump-start the speed of your
computer. Unsure whether you have the skills to do it yourself? No problem —
just follow the recommendations that follow for help with buying and installing
your new RAM.