FSX and Paging File

[usb777]

Maybe the wrong place to post but recently I have been getting a low memory warning on my FSX computer and as you can see from my signature here it is pretty strong. So I looked up online and found that changing the paging file size would fix it. Looking into it my setting was 8000 something. So be figuring 1024 per one GB (mine being 8 GG) x 1.5, I changed mine to 12193. Seems to have corrected the issue but wanted to know if anyone knows anything on this topic and it's possible affect on if any running FSX.

[Luke]

You're getting a low memory warning because FSX is nearing 4GB of memory usage, not that the OS itself is running out of virtual memory. Your change won't hurt anything, you've just wasted 10GB of HD space.

Cheers!

Luke

[usb777]

Thanks, How is it wasting 10 GB of ND? I don't see it being lost anywhere.

[loki]

Thanks, How is it wasting 10 GB of ND? I don't see it being lost anywhere.

As the name implies, the page file is an actual file that lives on your hard drive or SSD (the system drive by default; it is also hidden). When you set a fixed size it will allocate and take up that much space on the drive. The easiest way to see the difference is to check the available drive space before and after setting a fixed size. You can also use programs like Windirstat to see what is using up space on your drive, including the page file. However, as Luke mentions, FSX is a 32 bit application and as such is limited to 4GB of memory.

[usb777]

I wonder now why I was getting the error as the existing page filing amount was set at 8192 I gather using x 1 not x 1.5

[pomak249]

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showt...-of-Ram-in-FSX

[jorgen.s.andersen]

Who needs a paging file these days?

Jorgen

PS: I know I may be starting a flame war here....

[loki]

Who needs a paging file these days?

Jorgen

PS: I know I may be starting a flame war here....

Why would you want to needlessly restrict how Windows manages memory? What would be the benefit of disabling it entirely other than saving a bit of hard drive space? If you need the space, then you probably need a larger drive anyways. For those that really want to mess with the page file, the best solution is to actually test and measure how it's used on your system (it isn't necessarily used only when your RAM is full), and set the page file size accordingly, not blindly disable it.

[jorgen.s.andersen]

Respectfully, with 16 GB of RAM, how often would the paging file be accessed? Especially if you keep a good house and actually close applications when you do not use them?

For me it is not a question of disk space. It is a question of reducing the number of CPU cycles spent on other things than running my applications.

With the default page file settings, the page file is opened when the OS decides it is time for it, it is accessed as necessary and then closed. All of this takes CPU cycles.

You can save CPU cycles by opening the page file with one specific size when your computer boots and have it stay open for the whole session. This is done by setting the minimum and maximum page files sizes to the same size.

And then you can skip the page file altogether by setting the minimum and maximum sizes to zero....

Jorgen

[loki]

When you haves applications like MSFS that will happily use 16GB of RAM, and sometimes more, it isn't unheard of to fill up your RAM these days. Having a page file means Windows can move inactive data (including operating system tasks not needed at that point in time) out of RAM to make just that much more room for the sim. And with modern multi core processors and SSDs, I doubt the number of CPU cycles involved in managing the page file is going to make a noticeable difference.

The official performance support article for MSFS also talks about setting the page file to a fixed size, not disabling it.

https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/...he-performance

For those that want to set a fixed size, give the article below a read.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...page-file-size
https://fossbytes.com/windows-page-f...e-pc-lots-ram/

Do you have any evidence to back up the idea you're saving appreciable CPU cycles?