Swap File

[crussty]

Forgive me if this sounds rediculous, but I am curious as to what a swap file is and how it works. Thanks,


crussty http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[WarHog]

A swap file is an area on your hard disk used as virtual memory. It's called a swap file because virtual memory management software swaps data between it and main memory (RAM).

What do you do when you run out of real random access memory (RAM)? Easy. Pass it off to virtual memory. To do this you need a virtual memory manager (usually a function of the operating system) that maps chunks of data and code to storage areas that aren't RAM. Virtual memory is really a part of your hard disk called a swap file, dedicated as a storage area for bits of data in RAM that aren't being used much. By freeing up RAM, you're virtually increasing the amount of working memory available to you. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[crussty]

Thanks WarHog, that makes toatl sense. Very cool. I looked everywhere in the PCguide site and for some reason(perhaps lack of braincells) I could not find the answer. Once again, thanks,


crussty