PC Hacks

Hack #36. Force Windows 98 and Me to Swap Less

Tame Windows use of the swapfile and improve your system's performance in one simple parameter.

Windows 98 and Me can be configured to force the operating system to prefer operating in RAM, conserving swapfile use by not swapping memory to disk as much, and improving system performance. To do this, add a single line in the [386Enh] section of the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI text. This hack is advantageous only if your computer exceeds the minimum RAM requirements for your operating system as listed in Table 4-1 by at least 2-3 times. This should give you more than enough RAM to hold the operating system and your applications.

Warning

If you have only the minimum amount of RAM required up to the recommended amount, you may not have enough room for applications and data and may encounter an "out of memory" error [Hack #34] .

To perform this hack, follow these steps:

1. Using DOS EDIT, Windows Notepad, or another text-only editor, open the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI file.

2. Scroll down until you find the [386Enh]. Move the cursor below that line and insert a new line that reads:

   [386Enh]
   ConservativeSwapFileUsage=1

3. Save and close the SYSTEM.INI file and then restart Windows.

Windows will now keep more of itself, applications, and data in memory and use the virtual memory swapfile less and more efficiently—a sure performance boost.