Win 7: Cannot Move Page file off of Boot Partition

[gba]

Annoyingly, Win7 HP x64 is not letting me move the page file to a dedicated partition I created for it at the head of my storage HDD. When I try to set the file to the new location and eliminate the default page file on my SSD's boot partition, I get a Windows error message saying there was a problem creating it and that Windows has created a temporary page file. I have been able to resize the boot partition's page file to 100MB but would rather it be 1024MB on the dedicated partition. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[Binky]

I can't say that I've tried to move mine, but you could always set the boot partition file to 100mb, and the other drive to the desired 1GB.

 

[gba]

I can't say that I've tried to move mine, but you could always set the boot partition file to 100mb, and the other drive to the desired 1GB.

Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that I did try that, too but it did not work either.

 

[Ertaz]

I vaguely remember doing this. I think you need to create the PF you need, reboot. then remove the original one. Have you tried that?

 

[corkyg]

It is really quite easy. It works exactly the same as it did in XP and Vista.

1. As administrator, go to Control Panel, then System, then Advanced System Settings, then the Settings button for Virtual Memory.

2. Again, under the Advanced Tab, click on the Change button for Virtual Memory, and set your Page File to be where ever you want it. Mine is always on the D drive, a separate partition.

3. Reboot. Your active page file will now be where you placed it, and the pagefile.sys on your boot partition can now be deleted since it is inactive.

You actually don't move the page file, you replace it and then delete the old one. To make that happen, a reboot is required.

 

[Nothinman]

Putting your pagefile on a dedicated partition is most definitely worthless and having it be on a mechanical drive will most likely hurt performance if you actually hit the pagefile.

 

[gsellis]

Putting your pagefile on a dedicated partition is most definitely worthless and having it be on a mechanical drive will most likely hurt performance if you actually hit the pagefile.

This.

If it is a big concern, more RAM. AND, the OS really wants the pagefile on the same volume as the OS. It becomes obvious if you ever want a crash dump from a blue screen.

 

[Nothinman]

This.

If it is a big concern, more RAM. AND, the OS really wants the pagefile on the same volume as the OS. It becomes obvious if you ever want a crash dump from a blue screen.

Well you can have multiple pagefiles so having a small one on the system drive for minidumps is a good idea and it won't hurt anything since Windows automatically uses the pagefile on the currently least used volume.

However, the point of "optimizing" pagefile placement (which is rather pointless anyway) is to lower latency when the pagefile is used. However, in the case of an SSD the exact opposite result will be achieved by moving the pagefile off of it.

 

[gba]

Thanks for all of the responses. I realize you move the page file the same way you always have, the interface has been the same at least since Win2k. I also realize that moving the pagefile off of the system drive is pointless when it resides on an SSD. For clarity's sake I should have mentioned that the reason I wanted to move the pagefile was because I wanted to reclaim the space it was taking up on my 40GB SSD. I have been able to set a pagefile on my mechanical drive, but when I try to delete the pagefile on the boot partition, I am unable to. Taking into consideration what I have learned here, I am now leaning towards just keeping a 100MB pagefile on the boot drive and a 1024MB pagefile on the partition I made for it at the head of my mechanical drive. How does that sound?

 

[corkyg]

As long as it works. 40 GB SSD is not much bigger than a thumb drive.

 

[gba]

As long as it works. 40 GB SSD is not much bigger than a thumb drive.

It is big enough for Windows 7 x64 and my programs. I maintain an imaging schedule and have disabled creation of restore points. Even with hibernation enabled, I have enough room.