Top Tip – Swap Your Swap File
This tip from Propellerhead is mainly for advanced users and concerns the Windows XP Swap File or ‘virtual memory’. This is a portion of hard disc space that is used as an extension of your PC’s RAM memory. Basically it fools the computer into thinking that it has a lot more memory that it really has and on a well used PC files are being moved in and out of the swap file all of the time. The trouble is this keeps the drive really busy, which has an impact on your machine’s performance, particularly if you have less than 1Gb of memory.
If your PC has a second hard drive then you can lighten the load on your main drive by moving the swap file to the second drive. To do that open System Properties (Winkey + Break or System in Control Panel), select the Advanced tab then under Performance click Settings, in the Performance Options box select the Advanced tab and then under Virtual Memory click the Settings button. Make a note of the Initial Size and Maximum size settings and select the second drive, enter the Initial and Maximum values and click OK.
For maximum benefit the second drive should be on the motherboard’s second IDE channel, so if both drives are connected together by the same ribbon cable you might want to consider reorganising them. For more great tweaks and tips head over to PCTopTips
