Virtual memory issue

Question

I recently upgraded to 3GB RAM and set virtual memory as "no paging file"
Total paging size for all drives : 0 MB
but still
PF usage(from task manager) : 434 MB (not normal, so high)

"On NO PAGING, paging file is still being used. why?"

Aida32 report says:
--------[ Memory ]---------------------------------------...

Physical Memory:
Total 3063 MB
Used 600 MB
Free 2463 MB
Utilization 20 %

Swap Space:
Total 2907 MB
Used 434 MB
Free 2472 MB
Utilization 15 %

Virtual Memory:
Total 5970 MB
Used 1034 MB
Free 4935 MB
Utilization 17 %
--------------------------------------...

I did tried different paging sizes like 200MB , 300 MB other than no paging file but still PF usage is very high.

1. Why my system allocated 5970 MB (aida report) as virtual memory when it is set to "no paging"?

2. Why virtual memory is in usage at all, as physical memory usage is only 20%?

Any help
Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Windows does a lot of things wrong that need fixing. Just look at security.



But it manages RAM very well. Turn virtual memory back on to the default and let Windows do its job.

Answer 2

This will depend on several factors. First, are you using 32-bit or a 64-bit OS?



If you are using a 32-bit OS, the maximum sized page file you could use would be 1024 MB since you already have 3072 MB of RAM installed and the maximum amount of RAM the OS can "see" is 4096 MB. Allocating 5970 MB of virtual memory in this case would be impossible.



Also, it is possible that you could could be cutting into your swap space, but you'd have to be running a awful lot of applications. Considering Aida development was abandoned in 2004, it is very possible that a bug exists in this freeware.

Answer 3

Virtual memory cannot be fully turned off, its always in use, and switching to no paging file actually wastes alot of ram.



Programs/applications etc ask for an allocation of memory its usually alot higher then is actually needed, some of it will never come into use. Windows decides what is necessary for actual ram and allocates the rest to the paging file, this is true of high powered applications like games, if you had no paging file you would probably only get to play about 1min of it (if that). Alot of the number you are seeing for your pf usage will be 'phantom usage' the unused portions of memory allocation requests