What is normal page file and CPU Usage for a Computer running Windows XP service Pack 1 with 128 MB of Ram?

Question

Just Curious because i want to install vista later!

Answer 1

If you only have 128mb of RAM do NOT install Vista.

Stick with XP unless you have at least 1gb of RAM. I'm pretty sure 128mb is far below the requirement for Vista. You will not be able to take advantage of any of the features Vista has introduced and your machine will be unstable.

First, you should update to SP3 instead of SP1. That will help your performance in XP. You should also still consider a memory upgrade for XP, as it runs better with 512mb+ of memory.

As for page files, especially when you have such a low level of RAM, the minimum is around twice the amount of memory you have (that's 256mb in your case) but the best thing to do is set it to the "let windows decide" mode, as it may need more or less, and knows better than you do. If you had more RAM, you'd see an increase in performance, as your system would be paging less (less time and less space USED, not unnecessarily less space required or allocated).