Move page file to another partition -Should I?

John Phoenix · Apr 30, 2010

I have a new Compaq laptop that came with a recovery partition of 13 gigabytes. I have made default backups on dvd for emergency reinstall and even use a rollback program to protect my files so I was thinking about deleting this 13 gig partition to make better use of the space. (In fact HP/Compaq even gives you a tool to delete this partition should you decide you don't need it)

Then I remembered reading about how you can optimize your speed and performance by either putting your windows page file on another hard drive or a separate partition.

Could I format this 13 gig partition and use it for this purpose?

Should I?

If so.. how do I do it?

I use windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, with 2 gigs or system ram. I am lettings Windows handle the default page file settings.

TIGR · Apr 30, 2010

Moving your page file to a separate drive may help, but moving it to a different partition unfortunately doesn't, as all the work is still being done by the same drive. It may in fact be slower due to making the drive spend more time seeking.

angelkiller · Apr 30, 2010

I don't see how moving the page file to a different partition will help performance. It's still physically on the same disk even if it's on a different partition.

I wouldn't bother.

JATownes · Apr 30, 2010

^^+1 Different drive, yes. Different partition, no.

PVTCaboose1337 · Apr 30, 2010

If you move the page file to a new partition in the center of the drive, performance increases by 2-3%. I have done it, but not really worth it IMO for the casual user.

John Phoenix · Apr 30, 2010

I see.. some of those windows pages I read must be in error. I will just reclaim my 13 gigs. Thanks folks.

brandonwh64 · Apr 30, 2010

Ok dont mean to hijack but would it be best to move it from a 500gbx2 raid 0 to a 1tb black drive?

TIGR · May 1, 2010

brandonwh64 said:
Ok dont mean to hijack but would it be best to move it from a 500gbx2 raid 0 to a 1tb black drive?

If I had to guess, yes: I'd lean toward putting it on the 1TB. Are you going to really notice a difference? Placebo effect aside, probably not.

EastCoasthandle · May 1, 2010

If you want to move your pagefile you want to do so on a faster HD. Not just any HD. As for moving it to another partition, no.

Kreij · May 1, 2010

With the amount of RAM people have on their systems these days, the location of the page file is probably not going to make a whole lot of difference.

EastCoasthandle · May 1, 2010

Actually it does. I'm witness to that.

Kreij · May 1, 2010

How much RAM do you have East, and how much difference did it make?
I'm not doubting your claim, I just like to see numbers. :toast:

EastCoasthandle · May 1, 2010

4Gigs, the difference is noticeable when using a slow vs faster drive.

phanbuey · May 1, 2010

+1 for separate drive... usually a media drive or such... the first few gigs of a 1tb are always the best.

That being said, there are a ton of other tweaks that can be done that make performance faster than where the page file is.

Mussels · May 1, 2010

theres no benefit to putting it on another partition, other than preventing it from fragmenting.

another drive is a good idea, but make sure its the right idea: EG, i have two drives. C: for OS, D: for games.

If i put the page file on C:, windows will be slower... but if i put it on D:, my games will be slower.

best bet is to put the page file on your LEAST used drive.

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Move page file to another partition -Should I?

John Phoenix

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