Microsoft KB Archive/171442

Microsoft Knowledge Base

INFO: Checking Virtual Memory Size

Last reviewed: July 30, 1997
Article ID: Q171442

The information in this article applies to:

• Softimage 3D for Windows NT, version 3.7

SUMMARY

To check the virtual memory on Windows NT 4.0, open Control Panel > System, then click the Performance Tab to see the setting for virtual memory. The minimum size is the size that pagefile.sys (your virtual memory file) starts at and will never go below this value. You can also set a Maximum value and as memory requirements grow, memory gets swapped out and memory pages are put in the pagefile.sys. If memory requirements increase significantly, the page file can grow to the Maximum size setting.

You can also have multiple page files. If you have more than one hard drive, you can optimize the amount of swap space, by setting up a page file on each drive letter. But, if you have one hard drive it is not advantageous to split up your swap so that it resides on all three drive letters.

You can set a more accurate value for your machine's initial Virtual Memory Size, do a typical render and when it is complete, set your initial swap space to this size, which appears in the pagefile.sys file. By doing this, Windows NT will not have to allocate space as needed, and the swap space is in one continuous block.

TIP: For SOFTIMAGE 3D the best Pagefile size is at least 200Mb, with an upper limit of 250-300Mb for optimum performance.

REFERENCES

If you have any questions concerning the information contained in this article, contact support@softimage.com by e-mail.

Additional query words: 3.7 si si3d si3dhard Keywords : kbenv kbgraphic Version : 3.7 Platform : NT WINDOWS Issue type : kbinfo THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Last reviewed: July 30, 1997 ©1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.