Tips: How can I monitor pagefile usage during a scan?

Monitoring this is particularly useful if you suspect the "Memory Trigger System Pagefile" setting is causing your scans to pause.

Here are the three most effective ways to monitor it:

1. Windows Performance Monitor (PerfMon) - Most Accurate

This is the best tool for seeing real-time usage and historical trends during a scan.

1. Press Win + R, type perfmon, and hit Enter.
2. In the left pane, click Performance Monitor.
3. Click the green plus (+) icon to add a counter.
4. In the list, find Paging File.
5. Select % Usage and click Add, then OK.
6. What to look for: If the graph approaches the threshold you set in the Scan Wizard (for example, 90% usage if your trigger is set to 10% remaining), you see the Spirion process (idffed.exe) drop its CPU usage to zero as it enters a paused state.

2. Spirion Agent Logs (IDF/SystemSearch) - Best for Troubleshooting

When the "Memory Trigger" is hit, the Spirion Agent explicitly logs the event. This is the "smoking gun" for why a scan might be hanging.

• Location: %ProgramData%\Identity Finder\Logs\SystemSearch\
• What to look for: Open the latest IDF log and search for keywords like:
• • Paused
  • Low Memory
  • Pagefile
  • Trigger
• Log Entry Example: You might see a line stating: "Search paused due to low system pagefile (Available: 8%, Trigger: 10%)". The Agent then logs periodic checks until the memory is freed.

3. Windows Task Manager - Quick Check

While Task Manager doesn't show the "Pagefile" as a single percentage easily, you can see the "Committed" memory, which is the sum of Physical RAM + Pagefile.

1. Right-click the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
2. Go to the Performance tab and click Memory.
3. Look at the Committed section (e.g., 12.5/16.0 GB).
4. • The second number (16.0 GB) is your total "Commit Limit" (RAM + Pagefile).
   • If the first number (12.5 GB) gets very close to the second number, your pagefile is nearly full.

4. Resource Monitor - Detailed View

1. In Task Manager (Performance > Memory), click Open Resource Monitor at the bottom.
2. Go to the Memory tab.
3. Look at the Hard Faults/sec graph.
4. • Tip: If you see a massive spike in "Hard Faults" while Spirion is scanning a large file, it means the system is heavily relying on the pagefile (swapping). This is usually the moment right before the Memory Trigger trips.

Summary of Actionable Steps

If you find that the pagefile is consistently hitting the trigger:

• Increase the Pagefile: Manually increase the initial and maximum size of the Windows Pagefile in System Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings > Virtual Memory.
• Adjust the Trigger: If the machine is stable but the scan keeps pausing, you can lower the Memory Trigger System Pagefile percentage in the Scan Wizard (for example, move it from 10% down to 5%).
• Check for "Leaky" Files: Look at the Spirion logs to see which specific file was being scanned when the memory spiked. Large compressed files (.zip, .7z) or massive PST files are the usual culprits.