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is it safe to disable swap file?

MyRomeo

MyRomeo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 22, 2010
493
86
United Kingdom
Hi all, I have a late 2011 macbook pro with SSD+HDD and 16gb RAM and since upgrading the RAM I think the most swap file I've ever used is in the kb range. Now I have the SSD and a 16gb swap file sitting on the SSD I would like to know if its safe and/or practical to remove this file? It seems kinda pointless it just sitting there
 
L

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,516
19,662
Its certainly not safe. Swap file is a crucial component of memory management. By disabling it you risk kernel panics at most inappropriate moments. And if your swap file is 16GB, then something is seriously wrong with your system in the first place.

P.S. I disable the swap file on Windows to save the SSD space, but I only use Windows for gaming so I don't care if it crashes (plus, most Windows games are still 32bit and thus don't use much RAM).
 
A

Abba1

macrumors regular
Aug 6, 2014
117
0
MyRomeo said:
Hi all, I have a late 2011 macbook pro with SSD+HDD and 16gb RAM and since upgrading the RAM I think the most swap file I've ever used is in the kb range. Now I have the SSD and a 16gb swap file sitting on the SSD I would like to know if its safe and/or practical to remove this file? It seems kinda pointless it just sitting there
Click to expand...

But, it's not just sitting there. It is a basic component of memory management and allows Mac to function far more efficiently. Leave it alone.
 
simonsi

simonsi

Contributor
Jan 3, 2014
4,851
735
Auckland
MyRomeo said:
Hi all, I have a late 2011 macbook pro with SSD+HDD and 16gb RAM and since upgrading the RAM I think the most swap file I've ever used is in the kb range. Now I have the SSD and a 16gb swap file sitting on the SSD I would like to know if its safe and/or practical to remove this file? It seems kinda pointless it just sitting there
Click to expand...

That 16GB file is likely the sleepimage file not a swap file. When your Mac goes to sleep it takes a copy of the RAM so if necessary it can hibernate from sleep if the battery gives out, the file is a RAM image so matches your RAM size.

I'd suggest you don't entertain deleting anything you don't understand.
 
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