Minimum Paging File Size

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

This article answers two questions about minimum paging file sizes:

• Why is there a minimum paging file size?
• Why not set the minimum paging file to zero by default?

Why Is There a Minimum Paging File Size?

On machines with 16MB of RAM or less, having a minimum paging file size guarantees that Windows NT will be able to boot and load all the necessary system files. On computers with more RAM available, having a minimum paging file size simplifies the startup process.

Why Not Set the Minimum Paging File to Zero by Default?

There is a chance that the paging file extending process and the file system process that is managing the paging file will deadlock. To prevent this, a time-out was added to the paging file extending process. If the extending process is not able to increase the size of the paging file before the time-out occurs, it halts and waits for the next paging file extension request before completing the original extension. Because of this, it is necessary that there always be a minimum paging file size to start with; if it was zero, Windows NT might not be able to start. This is also why it is recommended that the minimum paging file size be set to the normal size needed to run Windows NT.