Windows Err Msg: Corrupt Swap File Warning...

• Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a

SUMMARY

The following message may appear when you start Windows 3.0:

                    Corrupt Swap File Warning
   Your swap file is corrupt; see chapter 13, "Optimizing Windows,"
   in the Microsoft Windows User's guide for instructions about
   re-creating the file.
                    Press any key to continue.

The first configuration considered is a non-network machine with a standalone installation of Windows on its own hard disk. The second system configuration presented here concerns one or more networked machines that are using a shared installation of Windows that is run from the network.

NOTE: Following the discussion of the error message in these two situations, this article describes the creation and functionality of both the temporary and permanent swap files for Windows 3.0.

MORE INFORMATION

Non-Network Installation of Windows

If a standalone installation of Windows exists on the hard disk of an individual machine or workstation, then the "Corrupt Swap File Warning" error message may appear for the following reasons:

• The SPART.PAR or 386SPART.PAR file is corrupted on your hard disk. To correct this problem, start Windows in real mode and create the swap file again.
• You have deleted the 386SPART.PAR file from the hard disk. To correct this problem, re-create the permanent swap file by running SWAPFILE.EXE from Windows in real mode. If you WANT to delete the permanent swap file, run SWAPFILE.EXE (in real mode Windows) and choose Delete Permanent Swap File, or delete the file SPART.PAR from the Windows directory.
• You have changed the attribute of the 386SPART.PAR file to read-only. To correct this problem, use File Manager or the MS-DOS ATTRIB command to change the attribute of the 386SPART.PAR file to read/write. You could also re-create the permanent swap file by running SWAPFILE.EXE from Windows in real mode.
• You have renamed or moved the file(s). To correct this problem, rename or move the file(s) back to its original location. You can also re-create the permanent swap file by running SWAPFILE.EXE from Windows in real mode.

Network Installation of Windows

A machine that uses a shared copy of Windows installed on a server may, at the same time, have a local permanent swap file located on the workstation's own hard drive. The "Corrupt Swap File Warning" error message may appear in this system configuration under the following conditions:

• You create a permanent swap file of a certain size on the local hard drive, and Windows 3.0 is installed on a network drive.
• You log onto the network from a second workstation that also has a permanent swap file on its hard disk. The swap file is not the same size as the first one, or the swap file does not have the exact same starting and ending sectors as the one on the original workstation.
• The second workstation does not have a hard disk.

Temporary Swap File

When first installed, Windows defaults to a temporary swap file (WIN386.SWP) that will be created in the same directory as the SYSTEM.INI file.

To have Windows create the temporary swap file on the local hard disk, use the "pagingdrive=" statement (without the quotation marks) in the SYSTEM.INI file after the [386enh] heading. The temporary swap file will be created in the root directory of this drive.

If the "pagingdrive=" statement is set to a drive that does not exist, then Windows will default back to creating the temporary swap file in the same directory as the SYSTEM.INI file. In a network installation, where you log on from different workstations, this is the preferred method for handling the swap file.

Please refer to the readme file SYSINI3.TXT for more information on "pagingdrive=". For more information on temporary swap files, please refer to pages 526 to 529 in the "Microsoft Windows User's Guide" for version 3.0.

Permanent Swap File

To further increase the performance of Windows, you can choose to create a permanent swap file. A permanent swap file gives the following advantages:

• Permanent swap files use contiguous space on the hard disk and can be read off the hard disk faster than files that are noncontiguous (such as temporary swap files).
• Windows can access the permanent swap file directly and bypass MS-DOS, whereas Windows has to go through MS-DOS to use temporary swap files (which is a slower method).

NOTE: Because the permanent swap file 386SPART.PAR is always located in the root directory of the drive, it is recommended that a permanent swap file NEVER be created on a network drive. If two users create permanent swap files on the same drive, they end up trying to use the same swap file, corrupting each others installation.

To confirm that Windows is using a permanent swap file, run Windows Setup from the Main group. If you are using a permanent swap file, Windows Setup will show the location and size of the file in the Network line. A screen from Windows Setup might appear as follows:

   Display:      VGA
   Keyboard:     Enhanced 101 or 102 key US and Non US
   Mouse:        Microsoft, or IBM PS/2
   Network:      Microsoft Network (or 100% compatible)
   --------------------------------------------------------
   Swap file:    Permanent (5184K bytes on Drive E:)

Please refer to pages 526-529 of the "Microsoft Windows User's Guide" version 3.0 for more information on temporary swap files.