Recap
My SN850X 4TB drives do not allow me to allocate the full drive as a pagination file on window 10 and above. It is limited to 1.7TB which is less than my 2TB drives can do.
Detail
I purchased two 4TB SN850x and two 2TB SN850x.
Both 2TB drives allow me to allocate their full capacity (2TB) as Virtual Memory/Paging file.
Both 4TB drives do NOT allow me to allocate their full capacity as Virtual Memory/Paging file but only 1.7TB out of 4TB, so less than what the 2TB drive can do.
I tried this on 2 different computer with two set of disk and same issues.
I contacted microsoft and they said it is a firmware issue on WD as there is no limit on their side, I tried with a 14TB drive (none ssd hard drive) and it worked well, so no limitation on msft side.
I purchased those 4TB drives for this purpose as this is needed for some heavy operation once in a while.
When I tried the performance were good. The issue is not about the size or speed/performance.
The drive work well and his fully allocated (meaning 4TB are accessible) as you can see on the screenshot above. The issue is related to not be able to allocate the full drive 4TB drive as Virtual Memory (pagination file) in windows. Right now I can only allocate 1.7TB out of 4TB.
Note: My 2TB nvme drive can allocate its full 2TB as virtual memory, so there is definitely an issue with the 4TB nvme drive firmware.
Steps to reproduce: On a windows machine:
Install a sn850x of 2TB
Install a sn850x of 4TB
Set both drive maximum capacity as Windows Virtual Memory (pagination file) as in the screenshot above. So it means allow windows to use as needed the full 2TB and the full 4TB from both drive.
Issue: You will see that you can do it for the 2TB but are limited to 1.7TB for the 4TB drive.
Thanks for looking into it and upgrading the firmware
I presume you are using Windows 11. Windows swap file is on C: and the hiberfile.sys matches RAM capacity as that file is used for standby and hibernate,
Use the default and use the 4TB SSD for your primary C: drive and the smaller one can be used for other software as by design programs can be installed on any location on a given machine, NAS etc.
Concerning the last screenshot that I copied again here, I’m currently using a few TB of the 4TB that is why it only says 1.5TB space available but if I format or erase the drive (or us anothe rbrand new one I have), then windows will see 4TB available but I will be able to only allocate 1.7TB maximum (out of the 4TB available) from this Virtual Memory UI. This is issue I’m having.
Yes for Hibernate file on C: (forget about hibernate for now, this is not the issue)
No for swap file only on C:, it can be on any drive, actually even on several drives. You do not need c: I have it like this for years, no issues.
I can use today Pagination on several drives like D: E,F,H:,I: with TB of pagination/swap and that work very well.
The only drive that doesn’t work correctly is the 4TB SN850X (G: drive)
How do we fix this issue? Can you please update the firmware so the WD drive can act as all the other drives
Yes ram is way better but 4TB+ of ram is not in my budget (more than $20K for each 4TB in ddr4 and $40K+ for ddr5). This is for a short operation, once in a while, and it works really well on several 2TB drives I have.
I purchased those 4TB to go a bit further.
Anyway, this is not the issue, the issue is the bug that is not allowing people to allocate more than 1.7TB on a 4TB drive, whereas the 2TB drive can be fully allocated.
I didn’t try but I wouldn’t be surprise to find out that if I buy 3TB RAM and use the 4TB SN850X as a c: drive and set it has hibernate it won’t work. I think there is just an issue with the firmware.
Anyway we found an issue related to this bigger drive, it would be great for WD to fix the firmware.
This is not a SSD issue, it’s a Windows limitation. Windows x64 can allocate more swap space as needed on the system volume but there are some limitations.
like I said I need to use more than 4TB.
C drive is not the issue. Please stop mentioning Hibernation file, this is not the issue (hibernate only use C). Pagination file can be on any and many drives.
I can right now run 2 drives of 2TB on D: and E: and this work well (2x2TB).
Why can’t I do the same with the 4TB drives? Why would the 4TB only allow 1.7TB for each drive whereas the 2TB allow 2TB for each drives…The 4TB should at least allow me 2TB but it doesn’t. Do you see the issue?
My understanding from all your reply is WD doesn’t recognize there is a clear issue.
I need to know if WD will look into it, try to reproduce the issue, and fix it?
If not then this is ok, I will return all the drives and purchase the samsung one
Advertising the 2TB drive as 2TB is ok,
but the 4TB should have warning as this is false advertisment, some operation can’t fully use the 4TB.
This is why I recommend maxing out RAM to minimize the swap file with demanding workloads
When your computer’s random-access memory (RAM) is close to reaching its maximum capacity, the operating system identifies the least used portions of memory and transfers them to the swap file. This process is known as “swapping out.” The freed-up memory can then be used for other tasks or programs that require immediate attention. When data from the swap file is needed again, the operating system swaps it back into the RAM from the file, a process called “swapping in.”
Yes, you can move the swap file to a different drive if you have multiple storage devices connected to your computer. By default, the swap file is usually located on the same drive as your operating system. However, you can change its location to a different drive for various reasons. For example, you might want to move it to a faster drive or a drive with more available space. To change the swap file’s location, you would need to modify the virtual memory settings in your operating system and specify the new drive or path where you want the swap file to reside.
If your system runs out of swap file space and is unable to allocate additional virtual memory, it can lead to crashes or freezing of programs. When the operating system is unable to swap data between the random-access memory (RAM) and swap file, it has no place to store the excess data. As a result, the system may become unresponsive or terminate applications to free up memory. To avoid running out of swap file space, it’s advisable to monitor your system’s memory usage and consider increasing the swap file size if you frequently encounter such issues.
Yes, you can have multiple swap files on your computer. Some operating systems, such as Linux, allow you to create multiple swap partitions or swap files to increase the available virtual memory. By distributing the swap space across multiple drives or partitions, you can potentially improve performance and handle larger memory demands. However, it’s important to note that the total swap space across all swap files or partitions is what matters, so the combined size of all the swaps should be considered when determining the overall virtual memory capacity.
I know all of this, I’m not sure what to say anymore, I feel I have been saying the samething over and over. I’m simply reporting an issue on the 4TB drive that doesn’t exist on the 2TB and you do everything to show me I do not understand swap file and that I’m not using it right. I have been doing it for more than 2 years on several 2TB and it works very well for the intense computation I’m doing. I bought those new 4TB to add to my existing 2TB.
The fact are
I can allocate 2TB on a WD_Black SN850X 2TB drive (on one or several drives)
I can only allocate 1.7TB on WD_Black SN850X 4TB drive (on one or several drives)
In Windows 95 people used larger swap files as most has 1MB or 2MB memory. Today machines with 128GB are common. So a single default is all that is needed. Windows 11 automatically allocates more as needed.
:)) What does this has to do with the bug I reported? you are missing the point.
I’m giving up and I won’t reply anymore.
I know it will be fix at some point, I unfortunatly just need to wait for more people to report the issue so WD take it seriously and decide to fix it.
)