Not sure what to make of this

[Trouble]

I've read and re-read this article and still not sure what to make of it.
You don't need a swap file. You do need a swap file but it's OK for it to be on a drive / partition other than your system drive?
It will be included in future roll-ups or maybe not?
Just thought I would bring it to everyone's attention and get some comments.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2716542/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14019

 

[satrow]

The default, one size fits all approach to swap file sizing might be ok for most users but there are a few % of light and heavy users that can (some already do) benefit from using pretty extreme swap file sizes/locations or none at all.

A few years ago, I needed 8-12 GB of swap file, across 2/3 drives to double my 'work' (time between crashes/reboots/software restarts) compared to the default 3GB (for 2GB RAM). Nowadays my usage and software has changed and I could use my current 4GB RAM machine quite happily without a swap file.

The importance of this Hotfix for us troubleshooters is that it might give us a possible fix to offer users that don't get dumps created after a crash even though their swap file settings are correct. It's also very useful for anyone with a large amount of RAM but a small SSD who wants to minimize disk usage/maximize free space. Nice find!

I somehow doubt that this would be offered as a standard Update, more likely to remain a Hotfix/option, I think.

(Anyone else get 'file currently unavailable'?)

 

[Corrine]

When you clicked the Download link, it should have redirected you to http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=2716542&kbln=en-us which includes under section 1:

This table shows hotfixes for the following platform and language.
[TABLE="class: infoBox"]
[TR]
[TD] Platform: x64

Language: English (United States)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Show hotfixes for all platforms and languages (3) Show additional information

[TABLE="class: hotfixlist normalTable"]
[TR]
[TH="class: trborderleft"] Select[/TH]
[TH] Product[/TH]
[TH] Language[/TH]
[TH] Platform[/TH]
[TH="class: trborderright"] Fix name[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tdCheckbox"][/TD]
[TD="class: ltrCell"]Windows 7/Windows Server2008 R2 SP1[/TD]
[TD="class: ltrCell"]All (Global)[/TD]
[TD]x64[/TD]
[TD]Fix402019[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

followed by the section 3 below that to request the Hotfix via e-mail.

 

[niemiro]

Excellent! Now I can get rid of my forced 16GB pagefile :)

 

[satrow]

Thanks Corrine, I got it after the 3rd attempt yesterday :thumbsup2:

Loaded and running now, the question is, do I fit some known bad RAM or a bad Revodrive 3 I have nearby just to test it out ... :lolg:

 

[usasma]

I posted the same over here: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/sh...agefile-(Win7-Server-08-R2)?p=26046#post26046

I usually avoid dump file generation issues if at all possible.
And the limited number of tools available for fixing these problems make it easy to do.
Luckily, in most cases, we manage to fix the generation issue while messing around trying to fix the crashes. Others are fixed when the OP decides to wipe and reinstall.

This is one more tool to help us fix memory dump file generation issues.

The generation process appears pretty complicated to me and is (IMO) prone to failure
I still don't have a firm grasp of how it's done but I've posted most info that I know at http://www.carrona.org/dumpgen.html (actually updated in May 2012 - not 2011)
I've been scanning procmon logs of the boot process and that's only served to increase my level of confusion!
*********************************
To address your questions from the first post:

It seems that this hotfix is an "LDR" release - which means it's not as widespread a release as a GDR. And, I presume that it hasn't been as thoroughly tested as a GDR release.

Windows will run fine without a pagefile. I did it with both Vista and with 7. The only issues I had were with games demanding that there be a pagefile.

The system requires that you have a pagefile - even if you're not going to use it - in order to write a dump to a dedicated dump file location (which isn't the pagefile).

So, the hotfix removes the code that requires the check for a pagefile - and allows the OS to go ahead and create the dump per the dedicated dump instructions (reg keys listed here AFAIK: http://www.carrona.org/bsodreg.html#DedicatedDump ).
**********************************
Sorry, the Alzheimer's keeps kicking in - and then I wander off at the mouth! :0)

You don't need a swap file.

This is immaterial to the dump file generation process - you can go either way.
If you have a pagefile, no hotfix is needed. If you don't have a pagefile, then hotfix is needed.

You do need a swap file but it's OK for it to be on a drive / partition other than your system drive?

Again, it's immaterial - you can go either way (on the same drive/on a different drive).
No hotfix is needed because you have a pagefile

It will be included in future roll-ups or maybe not?

This is the hard one. As it's an LDR release, it's not as likely to be included in future releases.
It's only applicable to Win7 SP1 - so we have to wonder if it'll ever be applied to Win7 w/o SP1, or even to Vista.
As it's also involved with a change to the kernel, we'll have to suspect that it's not going to work on earlier versions.
But we have to wonder if it's included in Win8.

I'll have to remember to install Win8 w/o a pagefile when I upgrade to the RTM, setup a dedicated dump file on another drive, and then see if I can force a crash with this key: http://www.carrona.org/bsodreg.html#KeyboardCrashes

<sigh> More work to do, and not enough time to do it in!