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- DOCUMENT:Q101220 09-JUL-1993 [W_NT]
- TITLE :INF: Minimum Paging File Size
- PRODUCT :Windows NT
- PROD/VER:3.10
- OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
- KEYWORDS:
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
- The information in this article applies to:
-
- - Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
- - Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- This article answers two questions about minimum paging file sizes:
-
- - Why is there a minimum paging file size?
- - Why not set the minimum paging file to zero by default?
-
- Why Is There a Minimum Paging File Size?
- ----------------------------------------
-
- On machines with 16MB of RAM or less, having a minimum paging file
- size guarantees that Windows NT will be able to boot and load all the
- necessary system files. On computers with more RAM available, having a
- minimum paging file size simplifies the startup process.
-
- Why Not Set the Minimum Paging File to Zero by Default?
- -------------------------------------------------------
-
- There is a chance that the paging file extending process and the file
- system process that is managing the paging file will deadlock. To
- prevent this, a time-out was added to the paging file extending
- process. If the extending process is not able to increase the size of
- the paging file before the time-out occurs, it halts and waits for the
- next paging file extension request before completing the original
- extension. Because of this, it is necessary that there always be a
- minimum paging file size to start with; if it was zero, Windows NT
- might not be able to start. This is also why it is recommended that
- the minimum paging file size be set to the normal size needed to run
- Windows NT.
-
- Additional reference words: 3.10 pertune
-
- =============================================================================
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- Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.