How to put Page file on the RAMDisk

Started by Armin

Armin

How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   31 March 2013, 12:57

Is it possible to put my page file on the RAMDisk?
When I do that, Windows says : "Windows has made a temporary page file due to errors!"
Can we do something that RAM disk gets mounted before Windows startup to prevent this error?
VD

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   01 April 2013, 03:14

Quote

Is it possible to put my page file on the RAMDisk?

Yes, but generally it is not a good idea.

Quote

Can we do something that RAM disk gets mounted before Windows startup to prevent this error?

Use boot-time RAM disk instead of logon-time.

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   14 May 2013, 03:10

Putting your pagefile on a RAMdisk is borderline insanity. If you have enough RAM to consider this, simply disable the pagefile instead.
Jimi J

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   10 January 2016, 10:27

Quote

Use boot-time RAM disk instead of logon-time.

How can I do this?

Thanks
SoftPerfect Support forum - Andrew avatar image

Re: How to put page file on the RAMDisk   10 January 2016, 11:58

To create a new RAM disk, choose Disk - Add or Disk - Add Boot Disk from the main menu.

The former will create a RAM disk available when a user is logged on, the latter will create a RAM disk available immediately on system startup.
doman18

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   15 January 2016, 22:56

My system is Windows 7. I created 4000MB NTFS disk with "I" letter mounted on startup. I set pagefile 3950MB on that disk, but still I'm getting error "Windows has made a temporary page file due to errors". What am I doing wrong?
SoftPerfect Support forum - Andrew avatar image

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   16 January 2016, 10:52

It is hard to tell. It seems to work sometimes, but not on every system, and it is unclear what exactly makes the difference.

Anyway, it's not really a good idea to have the page file on a RAM Disk, see this article: Why it is not recommended to store the page file on a RAM disk.
doman18

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   18 January 2016, 18:44

Well, I've tested IMG disk and Radeon Ramdisk. First one didn't even make partition, but the second worked the same way as Sofsonic - success in making partition but fail to make and assign pagefile to it. But here is a funny part: I was testing all three programs by restarting computer. Finally, when I failed again with Radeon I didn't try further. But today I've turned the computer on and voila! it works! I don't want to mess with it and I don't have time for it, so I won't install Softsonic again, but it seems that problem was in restarts instead of turning computer completely.

As for the bad idea of putting pagefile on RAMdisk I'm absolutely aware of how bad it is, but my case is an exception. I have old Adobe Photoshop 8 which recognises up to 1.7GB of RAM. With larger file it uses pagefile even if I have 8 GB of RAM. So the only way to force it to use more than 1.7GB while having no pagefile on my hard disk, is to put pagefile on a RAMdisk.
Jeff

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   18 February 2016, 10:30

I really don't understand why I keep reading about people saying it is bad to put the pagefile on a RAMdisk. There are many reasons why someone would do something that may not be what you are doing.

1. Win OS pagefile is necessary and should not be disabled. Some programs, such as Adobe, requires the use of a pagefile regardless of how much free RAM you have installed. This is a very well known issue. So you should never disable your pagefile regardless. Best way is to use a tiny pagefile and set it to dynamic. If you have enough RAM, it will never be used, except for when it is necessary.

2. Win XP doesn't operate its pagefile the same way as Win 7+. Win XP will use pagefile more often and unnecessary regardless of whether you have free RAM. I tested this thoroughly. Most people using Win 7 and above just assumes Win XP works the same. There is a registry file in Win XP that would make the paging work more efficiently, but regardless it will still use the pagefile when you have uber free RAM. For anyone who wish to test this, simply create a small dynamic pagefile and watch it grow even though you have tons of free RAM.

3. There are specific reasons why a person may want to put a pagefile on a RAMdisk. This is the reason I use it. I have 16 GB of RAM, I created a RAMdisk of 10 GB for my projects. Now, I may not always use the full 10GB, depends on what I'm doing. Likewise 6 GB of free RAM is more than enough to run Win 7 with any program, in this case the pagefile will never be used. But, there will be times when the RAM usage will exceed 6 GB, when I'm running multiple programs, when I'm running a large program that needs more RAM, etc... In those cases, it will use the pagefile since it exceeds the 6 GB. So I placed a small 16 MB pagefile on the RAMdisk and set it to dynamic. During times when the RAM usage exceeds 6GB, it will use the paging file to compensate. So basically I'm using part of the RAMdisk as both for the RAM and for the DISK. Yeah, the paging file is not as fast or efficient as direct RAM, but it is a compromise. It allows me to keep the large 10 GB RAMdisk for the usage there, yet allows me to use it for RAM when I need more than 6 GB.

There are many other reasons why someone would want to do something with something. It has become such a cliche nowadays when people ask for technical support on a website, especially the Microsoft Tech Support, and they get a lecture of people telling them they shouldn't do this or do that instead of people just helpin them with their issue.
Lars

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   18 February 2016, 11:48

Quote

Jeff

It has become such a cliche nowadays when people ask for technical support on a website, especially the Microsoft Tech Support, and they get a lecture of people telling them they shouldn't do this or do that instead of people just helpin them with their issue.


It also has become an unfortunate cliché when people choose to download software, and then press the developers with their demands, as if something is owed. If the developers have grounds to believe that something is not a good idea, they can't help the user to do that with clear conscience. And if they do, the same user will come back later with blames and anger.

I am not talking about Microsoft here --- their support it atrocious despite the price people pay for their products. Softperfect's support is outstanding, and their patience, helpfulness and politeness are unsurpassed. And I'm very happy with their software.

With compliments,
Lars, Netherlands
TMan

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   04 October 2016, 03:10

I have 65 gig of memory in my PC and window 7 only uses 8 gig of it. So I set up a 20 gig ram disk and mapped my temp files to it and changed my Page File to the Ram Disk and set it up with min 1 gig page file and 10 gig max page file. That leaves 10 gig for the temp files and it never gets close to filling up the drive. Since Windows 7 never used this memory anyway it was just being wasted.

Now once my PC maps all of the cash memory to the ram drive page files and temp files My PC is way faster about 3 to 4 times faster (at least). It takes just as long to download a web page or start a new program, but once it is in a tab, going back and forth between tabs of the web browser is super-fast. And once programs are loaded they work a lot faster too. It works great if you do it right.

P.S. As the other posts have said you do need to build the ram drive to load on boot and not login. That maybe why you were getting errors. It worked great when I did it. Remember to create a restore point before messing with how your PC boots up. Its just always nice to have a restore point...
TMan

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   04 October 2016, 03:22

Here is the RAM Disk I used and it worked great. SoftPerfect RAM Disk. Easy to use and set up.
Carme

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   19 January 2017, 08:59

Quote

TMan

Here is the RAM Disk I used and it worked great. SoftPerfect RAM Disk. Easy to use and set up.


You do realize that this is SoftPerfect forum, don't you? We know SoftPerfect RAM Disk is the best, that's why we are all here. laugh
Peter

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   20 January 2017, 00:06

I have 128 GB RAM and use most of it for
T: temporary boot time RAM disk
P: persistent logon time RAM disk, backed by an image file on SSD

Pagefile.sys on T worked great until a few weeks ago; now I'm getting that "Windows has made a temporary page file ..." message too. Instead of creating the pagefile.sys on T, it creates an incredible large pagefile.sys on C. No messages in event viewer regarding this problem.

I have installed RAM Disk explicitly for having the pagefile.sys on memory disk. It's one of RAM Disk's features, and it worked pretty well until few weeks ago. I hope SoftPerfect finds the reason of this malfunction. I know, it's possible. There is at least one solution on the market (ASRock's) which works, but I don't like it because of its terrible UI. SoftPerfect is much better!

My system: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit SP1 with latest updates; RAM Disk 4.0.0 64-Bit
Can someone please help me?
Lars

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   20 January 2017, 09:44

Peter, it was said a bit earlier here that it's unclear why Windows decides not to use the RAM Disk for page file in some cases. One of those Microsoft mysteries I guess... smile

I personally can't find anywhere where it says explicitly that "having pagefile.sys on memory disk is a feature of this RAM Disk" you mentioned. Funny though that you are asking for this functionality precisely in the thread where developers said it is not a good idea to use the software for that. Seems like buying designer dress shoes and then wanting them to be comfortable for hiking. Software is same: it has its purpose and limitations. If something worked to a point, it doesn't mean it was designed for that.
El

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   09 September 2017, 19:25

Some apps actually require you to have paging file, Adobe apps for example. They will not work otherwise, regardless of how much memory you have. However, if you are certain you are not using any of these [badly made] apps, then by all means, paging file should be disabled.
Farfle

Re: How to put Page file on the RAMDisk   18 June 2021, 05:10

So I know this isn't ideal, but I've found a way around this problem that, in all honesty, is not that difficult to deal with.

You have to do this every time the computer boots up, but you can make a script and you can have that script be run automatically by SoftPerfect's RAM Disk's Tools->Applications menu. Ultimately, the script just pops up the Windows Paging memory GUI, and then you just click on the RAM Drive in the menu and select "System Managed" option, and then the SET button. That will enable the paging file on the RAM drive, on the fly, without having to reboot.

One other caveat to this is you need to have an existing paging file permanently enabled on one drive, for example C:\. You can set it to a very small size, say 1MB, and it still seems to work. Although I've set it to 1024MB (1GB) to avoid Windows giving me a warning about a paging file below 600MB might be a problem if the computer crashes and it can't write a crash dump.

Anyways, the gist of all this is:
  • It's possible to put a page file on a RAM drive after you boot up (and it isn't already on there) by selecting the System Managed option on the RAM drive in the Windows GUI and then hitting the SET button.
  • You need to have a small page file always existing on the C:\ drive (or wherever) to prevent Windows from coming up with the error that the OP mentioned

If you're curious about my script, I've pasted it below. All it does it pop up the Windows GUI to manage the Page File, and then give you instructions on what to do. You can create a .bat file and then have it run after the RAM drive is setup using RAM Disk's Tools->Applications option. The script will run upon first logon. Also, this only applies to a computer bootup; if you Sleep the computer, or Hibernate, you won't need to do this everytime smile

@echo off
cls

start "" SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe

echo ********************** RamDisk Page File Instructions **********************
echo **                                                                        **
echo ** About: For some reason, upon bootup Win10 is no longer activating the  **
echo **        pagefile.sys on RamDisks created by Softperfect RamDisk. By     **
echo **        following the steps below AT EVERY BOOTUP you can fix this.     **
echo ****************************************************************************
echo.

echo 1. In the "Performance Options" Window that popped up alongside this,
echo    click the Advanced tab, and then the Change button under Virtual Memory
echo.
echo 2. Select R: in the list and hit the Set button then Ok. This will force
echo    Windows to activate the pagefile.sys file for the selected drive.

echo.
echo Finished, this will now close.
pause

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