On 21 Feb 98 at 8:55, Rick Mann wrote:

> Question:
>
> I've got 64 Megs of RAM on my system and it rarely hits the Hard Drive,
> other than when initially loading programs to RAM, or clearing the
> c:\windows\temp directory after an installation.
>
> Why would I possibly need a 128 MB Swap File?

  You probably wouldn't.

  Swap file requirements are based on simultaneous application load,
and not on installed RAM at all.
  Popular rules of thumb for swap file size assume that you have
enough RAM to get decent performance from your largest apps, but
can't justify adding more RAM to allow two or three of them to run at
the same time.  This may not be true.

  If you don't think a simple rule of thumb provides an acceptible
figure, try firing up System Monitor and have it track "Swap File in
Use".  See where that peaks, and add a "fudge factor", anything from
25-100%.  This gives you a size based on your use, not on your
installed RAM.
  [If the number you come up with is more than 2-3 times your
installed RAM, you should probably add RAM instead of swap file.]

David G