How Do I Minimize The Amount Of Page Faults For Programs?

pepanee

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Hello,
I have read up on Page Faults a bit, and can conclude that, in general, the more Page Faults exist for a program, the lower its (and possibly the computer's) Performance will become... until you restart the computer.

Sometimes I have the computer just on for a few days at times, it could go to sleep, yet when it comes back, the Page Faults (which you can view in the Task Manager -> Details tab) continues where it left off.

So for example, "explorer.exe"'s is about to reach 10 million (as you can see in the picture), and you could notice a little bit of a lack of Performance in File Explorer..... of course until I restart the computer, then that number, like all the other programs, resets back to 0, and increases slowly over time.

What is possible to be able to slow down the Page Faults from increasing, not only for explorer.exe, but for all other essential Operating System programs?

(I am aware that if I have a 3rd party program open, for example, I can shut that program down, and open it up once again, and that number resets back from 0.)

Thanks bunch!
 

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My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
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    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
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    ASUS VS247
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A page fault (sometimes called #PF or PF) is a type of interrupt, called trap, raised by the hardware when a running program accesses a memory page that is mapped into the virtual address space, but not loaded in physical memory.

So to reduce page faults, install more memory. It won't eliminate faults but will reduce them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
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Thanks for the reply.

According to the properties of the computer, I have 8.00 GB installed. That's a lot of RAM already, and it functions fast enough to where I don't want to add more RAM to it. Do you have any other suggestions/work-arounds to help with this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
I have read up on Page Faults a bit, and can conclude that, in general, the more Page Faults exist for a program, the lower its (and possibly the computer's) Performance will become... until you restart the computer.

No.

That is just a running count of the number of Page Faults a process has incurred since it started. That specific number has no influence on how process will perform now or in the future. Resetting the number will do nothing more than resetting the odometer in a car.

A large number of page faults occurring in a specific time period may slow a process. A high total may indicate that has happened. But in the real world things are rarely that simple. Many processes will incur a large number during startup and very few after that. The count also makes no distinction between hard and soft page faults. Hard page faults require disk access to resolve and can be expensive in terms of performance. Soft page faults occur entirely in memory and have relatively little influence on performance. Typically the latter will outnumber the former by a wide margin, particularly when the numbers are high.

There is nothing simple about page faults, in either theory or practice. And it doesn't help that many Internet articles get it seriously wrong.

In a general sense the only thing you can do to reduce page faults is add memory. With a 32 bit OS you are limited to 4 GB. There are exceptions but determining that is not simple.

There are many things that can cause performance issues, page faults being only one.

As the screenshot gives no indication of how long the system has been up or what it has been doing the page fault counts have no real meaning.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
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Excellent post, great info, thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
... Okay. I don't want the computer to slow down over a period of days. I want it to perform just as fast as it did once it started up. I close off all the 3rd party applications (and make sure there are no 3rd party running tasks in Task Manager.. except for the ones I have that start up with the computer) and make it look like it just started up. Yet there's a bit of lag in comparison to when it started up. What's the reason of that lag?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
Windows Update, anti-virus update or scan, search indexer ... hard to say. How noticeable is the lag?

How about filling out your System Specs: See here: How to See Your System Specs with "System Info"

Also Please Run the PCPitstop Full Tests, here: PCPitstop Full Tests

You must use Internet Explorer as it needs to install an ActiveX program.

Note: Vista/Windows 7 users with UAC must first Right-click IE - Select "Run as Administrator"

If you haven't already registered, Click - Sign up now! (left hand column in User Login)

Register and create a password
Accept the ActiveX component to allow your machine to run the Full Tests
Registering and accepting the ActiveX are both SAFE and FREE.

The Full Tests take less than 5 minutes for most machines.

To start, click on the Green Scan system now! button.

Once you have your Results, please post the URL (the http:// stuff) back here into this thread for review.

Note: Vista/Windows 7 users, please close your instance of IE "Running as Administrator" after you are finished reviewing your Results.

Caution: During the testing of Video Adapter, a variety of patterns, shapes, colors and text are “flashed” onto the users monitor screen. In the many thousands of daily uses of the PCPitstop Full Tests over several years, two individuals who suffer epilepsy experienced discomfort and temporary dizziness when viewing the flashing patterns.

If you know that you are susceptible to photo driven seizure, please look away from your screen during the Video Adapter testing sequence.

Note: The PCPitstop Full Tests Results is a free service, but is supported by various paid product advertisements for utilities that "could" remedy the OP's problem.

Since this site is a "free-help" forum, we do not recommend or endorse purchase of automated utilities, and will assist you in manually correcting any problems and settings necessary to optimize your machine's performance. Ask your questions here. We'll help you walk through any necessary steps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Thanks for that reply, I appreciate that. I don't really want to install/uninstall programs n such. I'm pretty expert at computer hardware/software except for this issue that I've always pondered about through-out time. I am aware of what's installed and what's not installed on this computer. There is no malware on this computer, and there's a minimum of 3rd party [software/services/tasks from the task scheduler/etc...] that load up with the computer.
I remember back then, this issue existed in Windows XP, yet at a much more intense rate. Suppose you kept XP on for 4-5 days, you would definitely be able to notice the lag.
This lag isn't so bad at all; I'm just doing a certain project that will last a few weeks on the computer, and I prefer not to restart/shut down the computer because of the slight hassle of re-opening the programs and such. Yet after noticing this, I remembered that I've always had this question, and I remember I reached the conclusion that it had something to do with Page Faults. I remember back in XP that I did something that actually helped out so well (not install extra hardware), yet I cannot remember what it was... maybe something that unloaded the Operating System files and kept my 3rd party programs open, then reloaded the Operating System, and it functioned so much quicker.

You remember all that?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
Windows 8 is not XP though. Many similarities but some significant differences, especially in memory management.

If you want to pursue this please fill out your specs and run the PCPitStop test, that will give us a place to start.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
I filled out my system specifications.

I notice that when File Explorer (or Windows Explorer) starts lagging, I could End the "explorer.exe" Task, and re-run it, and the lag is almost all completely gone. This is practically the main reason to why I think it has to do with Page Faults. Why does the lag go away when I re-launch explorer.exe? What's the exact reason why it runs quicker once I restart a new instance of it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
Sorry, but I disagree. I don't believe page faults has anything to do with it. We can agree to disagree and that's okay.

I don't know why it runs quicker when you restart explorer.exe but the number of page faults is not it.

Look at mine for instance:

PageFs.jpg

Seamonkey is over 12 mil and MBAM is over 11 mil.

No lag at all.

Have you tested your hard drive?

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
7 Free Hard Drive Testing Programs
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Try to open Seamonkey and go browse for its options for example, just cruise around in that program, open an option in it or so, then close off that option, do a whole bunch of things in it. And be aware of the amount of seconds/half-seconds it would take to open a certain something in that program. Do it a few times so you get a jist of the speed of it. Then shut that program down completely, then re-open it. Now do the same thing, open the options window and all those similar things you did before you closed it off. You would notice a slight increase in speed. It might be very difficult to notice it, yet keep a keen eye on noticing the difference of the load speed.

Yet you have 16 GB RAM, so I'm guessing it might be more difficult to notice it, but it's there.

I have a solid state drive which is pretty new. I had a hard disk drive before, which did the same exact thing. The same thing with previous installations of operating systems and such since the early 2000's. It's just something I've noticed, so I barely believe that it could be the solid state drive.

By the way, according to your Task Manager's scroll bar, it looks like you would barely have a whole bunch of svchost.exes open. Which services do you have disabled? I want the least amount of svchosts (& operating system programs) running in the background which aren't necessary to be running. Currently, there are 11 svchost.exes running here. Why so many??
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
I have a lot of services and programs starting at boot time, things I use and want there.

I don't know how to help you. Your focused on page faults which I can't do anything about.

Sounds like you have a nice computer, good CPU, memory and SSD, can't do much more than that.

Maybe one of the other folks here can help.

Sorry.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
11 instances of svchost.exe isn't a lot.
The number of instances of system processes and service processes running has very little impact on performance. Except for very unusual situations it would be a serious challenge to measure any difference at all.
The reason is that system processes spend the large majority of their time waiting for something to do. In this state they consume no CPU time. Disable a service that is consuming virtually no CPU time and that is what you save by disabling it.

Disabling system services is risky. The problem is that many services do more than what the documentation states. There is no full documentation anywhere. Many guides have been written about what services can supposedly be disabled with no ill effects. The authors are guessing. Sometimes they guess wrong.

I have had unpleasant experiences with disabling services and have no desire to repeat them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Hmh, it's okay. Thanks for the replies. No worries about the computer lag, since this happens only when the computer's been on for 5 or more days without a restart or a shut down. I rarely have this happen, so I'll just ignore it. But about the services, I am aware that they are essential, and I do a bunch of research and such to see which ones are ones that I definitely do not need. I have a list written already.
This is an excerpt from a text file I have written for whenever I do a clean install of a Windows Operating System:

Set the following Windows Services settings:
1) To Manual:
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• IP Helper
• Program Compatibility Assistant Service


2) To Disabled:
• Block Level Backup Engine Service
• Certificate Propagation
• Creative Audio Engine Licensing Service
• Creative Audio Service
• NVIDIA Display Driver Service
• Remote Desktop Services
• Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector
• Remote Registry
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
• WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service

I have concluded that these are really unnecessary to have them run automatically. Everything works fine here; no security/performance issues from those set like that. Everything works perfectly. But hey Ztucker, how many svchost.exes do you have running, I'm just curious to how little of them you have, you know?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
I've skimmed through this and can offer a few tips on reducing the impact of page faults.

One is you can switch from Program performance scheduling to Background services scheduling in
System Properties->Advanced->Settings->Advanced.

As I understand it, this increases the amount of page pooled memory for services. It used to be tweaked often in Win XP, but is not so necessary anymore, the scheduling is pretty good in Windows 8.

Another is to put the pagefile.sys on a fast partition. I use a very fast drive and partition the whole drive into 2 parts. The first part is a very small partition (about 50 GB or so) named TEMP and the second partition I call something like DATA. I put my stuff there.

But on the TEMP partition I locate the paging file, Internet caches, Temp directory, and stuff like that.

You can also set the MIN and MAX pagefile size so that it doesn't grow or become fragmented. You can also defragment the pagefile with some defraggers.

Even if you have a lot of memory, the paging subsystem puts some stuff in the page memory as it ages and doesn't get used much.

This is a complex and subtle issue. Virtual memory and paging stuff is complex and I don't know exactly how it is implemented by MS.

Normally this is something you don't have to think about, don't want to think about, and shouldn't mess with.

Normally, when a program is loaded, only a portion of the run-time and some of the required libraries get loaded by the prefetcher. When a program access is needed and the stuff isn't in memory, a 'page fault' interrupt forces a context switch and allows the memory to be fetched. You can't alter this behavior as far as I know, and the prefetcher is adaptive, changing things as new loads occur. The system defragger maintains a layout file of the most loaded stuff and makes the defragger put them in the fast parts of the disk (the outer section).

So over time, program loads get smarter and maybe fewer page fault will occur because the stuff gets loaded in the disk reads of previous stuff due to the layout optimization.

If you install and uninstall a lot or get frequent updates, a lot of this mechanism gets subverted.

Theoretically you can even remove the page file if you have a lot of memory, but you will still get page faults because not all of the programs get loaded immediately.

I don't think it is a good idea to remove the page file, I think some things require it (like crash dumps).

I don't know if any of this helps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center (64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.3 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 PRO Rev 3.0
    Memory
    16 GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (4 banks 4GB DIMM DDR3 8-8-8-24 5-32-12-7 1T 1.5V)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 440
    Sound Card
    Firewire Focusrite Saffire Pro 14
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG W2353V
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 of Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS (2TB ea.);
    1 of Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 (2TB);
    1 of Hitachi Deskstar HDS722020ALA330 (2TB);
    2 of Seagate Desktop ST4000DM000-1F2168 (4TB)
    PSU
    Corsair AX850 Gold
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
    Cooling
    ThermalTake Silent 1156
    Keyboard
    Logitech K520
    Mouse
    Logitech M310
    Internet Speed
    7Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
    Other Info
    Event Studio Precision 6 powered audio monitors;
    Boston Acoustics CS Sub 10 Powered Subwoofer;
    NI Kore controller;
    NI Maschine controller;
    M-Audio Axiom 61 keyboard controller; expression pedal; sustain pedal;

    ... and tons of audio software ...

    I also keep two USB 3 thumb drives (A: and B:) attached with boot recovery and security stuff that I can boot into from BIOS in case of emergency
...But about the services, I am aware that they are essential, and I do a bunch of research and such to see which ones are ones that I definitely do not need. ...

Each person's system and requirement are rather unique. Some programs install services, and some of the are unnecessary or just preload stuff into memory (like a page-fault suppressor).

Black Viper has a highly regarded site listing a lot of things to try on your service profile:

Black Viper | www.blackviper.com
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center (64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.3 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 PRO Rev 3.0
    Memory
    16 GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (4 banks 4GB DIMM DDR3 8-8-8-24 5-32-12-7 1T 1.5V)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 440
    Sound Card
    Firewire Focusrite Saffire Pro 14
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG W2353V
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 of Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS (2TB ea.);
    1 of Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 (2TB);
    1 of Hitachi Deskstar HDS722020ALA330 (2TB);
    2 of Seagate Desktop ST4000DM000-1F2168 (4TB)
    PSU
    Corsair AX850 Gold
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
    Cooling
    ThermalTake Silent 1156
    Keyboard
    Logitech K520
    Mouse
    Logitech M310
    Internet Speed
    7Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
    Other Info
    Event Studio Precision 6 powered audio monitors;
    Boston Acoustics CS Sub 10 Powered Subwoofer;
    NI Kore controller;
    NI Maschine controller;
    M-Audio Axiom 61 keyboard controller; expression pedal; sustain pedal;

    ... and tons of audio software ...

    I also keep two USB 3 thumb drives (A: and B:) attached with boot recovery and security stuff that I can boot into from BIOS in case of emergency
I have 10 svchost.exe and 6 conhost.exe running, 71 total processes.

If you look at my specs you'll see that I have a decent system, very responsive, no lag.

The only system service I've disabled is Windows Search since I never use it. If I want to find a file I use Everything Search. I don't search inside files.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
arachnaut: Thanks for your reply. Yea, you understand a lot about Page Faults and are pretty much on my page here. Your post is really helpful. I've encountered the idea of putting a Page File on the main drive. I've done it before and it helped, but then I switched to a solid state drive. I disabled the Page File on the drive, since having a Page File on this drive will decrease its longevity of life on that part of the drive. (The more you write on the same areas on the drive, the more likely that part of the drive will retire and can no longer be used... not the whole drive, but those sections of it). So I've disabled the Page File for the drive; I want it to live long and strong =D
But yes, the Page File should definitely help.. that's probably what I was thinking of earlier.

And about prioritizing the Performance to Background Services instead of Programs, I've came across this a long time ago, but said that I want my programs to perform really good, so I ignored changing that... but hey, what the heck, I set it to Background Services; I'll give it a few days and see how I like it.

And yes, Black Viper was the guide I used to conclude what Operating System Services I should set to Manual & Disabled, like I stated above in post #15.

Trucker: Oh okay, thanks for posting back.. I feel odd about having all these svchosts open, but if its like that for others, then oh well, hope Microsoft could compress them all into one or two svchost, so my Task Manager doesn't look so clunky. And lol, in your picture, I see that you use "Everything.exe"; I've used that before.. it's an alternative to Windows Search.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Pentium GPU G2020 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    P8B75-M - CSM
    Memory
    8.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8400GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VS247
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 720
(The more you write on the same areas on the drive, the more likely that part of the drive will retire and can no longer be used... not the whole drive, but those sections of it).

Wear leveling (a feature in all modern SSDs) is designed to prevent this. Repeated writes to the same logical disk blocks are distributed to different physical blocks. Writes to specific parts of the drive (such as the pagefile) are spread out over the disk, not concentrated in the same blocks. Even flash drives do this but in a simpler and less effective way.

You would really have to work at killing a drive with repeated writes. It is highly unlikely to happen under real world conditions.

The large majority of page faults do not involve disk access at all. Of those that do the majority involve large numbers of other files.
Only a very small percentage of page faults involve the pagefile.

In theory Microsoft could have put all services in one svchost.exe process but that would not have been a good idea. Putting them in multiple instances allows each one to run under different security levels. The principle being to give each service only the privileges it needs and no more. This enhances security. It also contributes to stability. If there is a problem in one instance, some of which may run third party code, the problem is isolated to one instance. If all services were in one instance of svchost.exe and a problem occurred it could bring down the entire system. There are other reasons as well. I think this is more important than dubious appearance issues in Task Manager.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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