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Windows XP - Increase the cache for input/output operations

Updated: April 14, 2022
Published: February 1, 2013
Quick overview:

Your Windows XP reserves a part of the working memory by default for all input/output operations of the user, programs or the operating system itself. This part is specially tailored to the working memory and already offers a decent speed in this respect. Unfortunately, this detection routine, which is performed every time the system is started, does not know how your computer is being used.

For example, video and image editing, games or CAD programs require considerably more input/output operations, which slowly leads to a bottleneck with the Windows XP default setting. It is advisable to significantly increase this part of the RAM. And this is how you proceed:

1. Click on Start > Run and type regedit in the command line that appears. The popular program for changing the Windows registry reveals itself.

2. Now navigate through the keys HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM CurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management and double-click on IoPageLockLimit, which is located in the right-hand pane.

3. If you have 128 megabytes of RAM, enter 16384 in the window that appears. Don't forget to click on Decimal.

You must use the numbers from the table below for your working memory size...

Important note: If you cannot find the value IoPageLockLimit, you must right-click in the right-hand pane and create this value yourself using the New/DWORD value.

In the left part of the table you will find the different memory variants and in the right part the corresponding values, which you enter in IoPageLockLimit.

winxp
Grund für die unstimmigen Werte ab Zeile 4: Ab 256 MB Arbeitsspeicher ist es durchaus empfehlenswert einen 64 MB großen Rahmen für IO-Operationen einzurichten, da hier die Belastung des RAMs keine große Rolle mehr spielt.

After you have now confirmed with OK, closed the Windows registry editor and restarted your computer, Windows will immediately use the new value, which results in a drastic improvement in performance for programs with high input/output operations.

Founded Windows Tweaks as a teenager in 2001, his helpful PC tricks made it Germany's most visited Windows site (at the time Sandro looked like this). He then went on to write for international publications such as PC-Praxis, Computerbild, PCWorld in the USA, IMTEST.de and Hifi.de. Sandro's main job is as Global Product Marketing Lead and Consultant for various global tech companies, including Microsoft, AVG, Avast, Nero, TeamViewer, Swiss IT Security Group and now currently in the fintech sector for Gendigital. But he can't get rid of his passion and shares his tweaks here again. Privately, he enjoys traveling the world and loves Asia, especially Japan, Singapore and Korea, but also natural places like Iceland and the Nordics. You can reach Sandro via e-mail.

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