Windows XP: Speed up the system using the swap file
If you have a computer with several hard disks, XP can be accelerated by placing the swap file for quick access to the correct disk. That's how it's done.
Where to put the swap file?
The swap file belongs on the disk in the PC that achieves the highest transfer rates. If Windows has to move large graphics, for example, and an older disk struggles with only 10 Mbytes per second, the computer actually comes to a standstill.
How to determine the transfer rates of the individual disks
First, examine the hard drive performance with the freeware tool HD Tune. Install and start the program.
- Select the desired hard disk in the upper window area and activate the "Benchmark" tab below. Click on "Start" and wait for the analysis without using the computer in the meantime. Now write down the "Average" values in the "Transfer Rate" and "Access Time" areas.
- Repeat the process for other internal hard drives.
Move swap file
- For the swap file, select the disk with the highest transfer rate and defragment it.
- Then double-click "System" in the Control Panel. On the "Advanced" tab, click "Settings" in the "System Performance" area. Go to the "Advanced" tab and click on "Change" under "Virtual memory".
- Here you mark the drive you have just determined and activate the "User-defined size" option. Enter the same value in megabytes in the "Initial size" and "Maximum size" fields. It should be about twice the size of the installed RAM. Then click on "Set".
Clean slower drive
Now mark the slower drive on which the swap file was previously saved. To do this, select the "No swap file" option and click "Set" again. Finally, confirm all open dialogs with "OK" and restart the computer.