How to Stop the NTExecutive from Paging to Disk

ID: Q184419

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to prevent pageable drivers and system code in the Windows NT Executive from being paged out to disk. Although this decreases the response time in systems with extremely large amounts of physical memory (RAM), it is critical that there is enough RAM installed, otherwise the server could be rendered unstable.


MORE INFORMATION

User-mode and kernel-mode drivers and kernel-mode system code is usually written to be either pageable or non-pageable. In cases where drivers or system code is pageable, you can use the following registry entry to keep this pageable code in RAM, but this is only advisable on systems with extremely large amounts of RAM.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).


If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe), and go to the following subkey:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
    \Memory Management

    NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.


  2. Change the entry, DisablePagingExecutive, to 1:

    Value Name: DisablePagingExecutive
    Data Type : REG_DWORD
    Data : 0 or 1
    Default : 0

    This entry specifies whether user-mode and kernel-mode drivers and kernel-mode system code can be paged to disk when not in use.

    If the value of this entry is 1, the drivers and kernel must remain in physical memory. If it is set to 0, they can be paged to disk as needed.


For additional information, please see the On-line Windows NT Help, Memory Management Control Entries listing.

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : 
Version           : winnt:3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: May 5, 1999