There is some really horrible swap file advice going around these days. Many people are suggesting you take your RAM, multiply it by 2, and set that amount to the min and max size of your swap file. Why is this wrong? Well, if my computer has only 32 megs of ram, this theory suggests I should set my swap file to 64 min 64 max. And if my computer has 256 megs of RAM my swap file should be set to 512 min 512 max. That's horribly wrong. In theory a person with 32 megs of RAM needs more swap file than a person with 256 megs of RAM in Win 98.

How To Tweak - Install System Mointor first to find out the average size of your swap file:

1a) For win98 - Control Panel, Add/Remove programs, Windows Setup, System Tools, Add System Monitor
1b) For Win 95 - Control Panel, Add/Remove programs, Windows Setup, Accessories, Add System Monitor

2) Run System Monitor, click Edit, Add item, Memory Manager, Swapfile size, OK.
3) Leave System Monitor open and go about your day as normal
4) Check what the Peak Value for your Swapfile size was (Size is given in bytes, divide by 1024 two times to get megs)
5) Go to Control Panel, System, Performance, Virtual Memory. Click "Let me specify my own settings". Set the min value to your number from step 4
6) Restart

Windows will take over control of your swap file again, but you will notice it uses your Min value. This means it will not need to expand the swap file (for the most part) during usage. But, unlike if you set a max, if you need more virtual memory for some reason it will let the swap file grow.

If you have any questions, comments, or if you want to flame me, you can reach me here

[Webmaster's Comment]
Personally I subscribe to the "Let Windows manage my virtural memory settings" school of thought. Many of our more experienced technical contributors however subscribe to jimb's method. See what works best for you.