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Service Hints & Tips

Document ID: MNOK-3T5LTX

Aptiva - How to change virtual memory settings for Windows 3.1

Applicable to: World-Wide

1. In Windows 3.1 open the Control Panel icon.
2. Open the 386 Enhanced icon.

3. Click on the Virtual Memory... button.

4. The initial Virtual Memory window will show the current settings. If you do not wish to make any changes, click on Cancel or on OK. If you have changes you wish to make, continue to the next step.

5. Click on the Change button.

The Virtual Memory window consists of two main sections: Current Settings and New Settings. It is important to understand that anytime you click on OK, all of the values in the New Settings window will be automatically saved as your new choices. If you do not intend to make any changes and want to retain the Current Settings values, click on Cancel. This is an aspect of the Virtual Memory window that is not obvious to the first-time user and can lead to unintentional changes.

This also means that if you want to change only the New Size, for example, and wish to retain the current drive and type settings as they appear in the Current Settings window, you must change the Drive and Type in the New Settings window to match what is in the Current Settings window before you click on OK to save the changes.

Any changes made in the Virtual Memory window, and saved by clicking on OK, will take effect the next time Windows is started.

There are three parameters in Virtual Memory:

Drive: This is the harddrive or partition on which the virtual memory swap file is to be stored

Type: Either a permanent or temporary virtual memory file may be chosen. A virtual memory file, more commonly called a swap file, is where Windows will store information or data for programs in Windows when there is insufficient memory available. A temporary swap file is only present when Windows is running and is deleted when Windows is shut down. A permanent swap file is always present on the harddrive, even after Windows is shut down. A permanent swap file provides a performance advantage in Windows over a temporary swap file although it will take up more harddrive space when Windows is not running.

Note: Do not select Permanent if the selected Drive is compressed. Only a Temporary swap file can be successfully saved and used from a compressed drive.

Size: This is the size of the swap file, whether permanent or temporary, and is expressed in KB. For example, if you want a 1MB swapfile, it would be entered as 1024 KB. The New Size that appears when the Virtual Memory window is first opened is only a suggested size and is based on the amount of memory installed in the system. Be wary of choosing a New Size larger than 16000 when your system has 16MB or more memory installed.

Search Keywords

Hint Category

DOS/Windows 3.x

Date Created

01-04-98

Last Updated

22-01-99

Revision Date

01-06-99

Brand

IBM Aptiva

Product Family

Aptiva

Machine Type

2144, 2168

Model

743; 843; 744; 754; 853; 854; 755; 766; 866; 784; 758; 787; 887; 789; 889; 797; 745; 767; 855; 756; 786; 782; 788; 888; 792; 798; 768; 856; 857; 8K2; S86; S82; T82; 26J; 68J; 27J; 28J; 70J; 71J; S20; 62J; 63J; 64J; 65J; 70J; 71J; 914; 921; 931; 934; 935; 937; 941; 951; 964; 930; 911; 914; 921; 900; 910; 932; 152; LL1; L10; K10; LL3; L30; K30; LL5; L50; K50; N30; N40; N50; N60; K89; K90; 2R5; 2R7; 2R8; M30; M35; M50; 2R6; 4R7; 4R8; M40; M54; M58; M60; M70; 3R0; 3R8; 18P; 19P; 26P; 62P; SW2; H89; L89; H90; L90; 26F; 62F; 14P; 16P; 1R2; 1R3; 1R4; 1R5; 1R6; 1R7; 20P; 22P; 24P; 25P; 27P; 29P; 66P; 67P; 6R3; P30; S15; Y65; Y70; Y78; Y84; Y88; Y79; Y89; Y90; YP1; YP2; X79; X89; X90; X65; X70; X88; XP1; XP2; 22F; 24F; 25F; 27F; LB0; KB0; L11; U11

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