If you are an Ubuntu user, you might have come across the concept of swap. Swap is a type of virtual memory that allows your system to use hard disk space as temporary RAM when your computer’s physical memory (RAM) runs out. While swap is an essential component of Ubuntu’s memory management system, some users prefer to disable it permanently to optimize their system’s performance. In this article, we’ll show you a foolproof guide to disabling Ubuntu swap permanently.
Before we dive into the details, let’s first understand what swap is and why Ubuntu uses it.
What is Swap?
In computing, swap space is a portion of a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD) that is used for virtual memory. When your computer runs out of physical RAM, swap space provides additional memory by temporarily transferring data from RAM to the hard disk. Swap space is an essential component of Ubuntu’s memory management system, and it allows your system to handle more applications and data than it could with just physical memory.
Why Does Ubuntu Use Swap?
Ubuntu uses swap for several reasons, including:
- To provide additional memory when the physical memory is running low.
- To prevent applications from crashing due to lack of memory.
- To allow hibernation, which saves the contents of the RAM to the hard disk and powers off the system. When the system is powered back on, it restores the contents of the RAM from the hard disk.
Now that we have a basic understanding of swap, let’s move on to disabling it permanently.
Disabling Ubuntu Swap Permanently
Step 1: Check if Swap is Enabled
The first step is to check if swap is enabled on your system. To do this, open a terminal window and enter the following command:
sudo swapon --show
This command will show you if swap is enabled and the size of the swap file or partition.
Step 2: Disable Swap
Once you have confirmed that swap is enabled, the next step is to disable it. To do this, you need to edit the /etc/fstab file. This file contains the system’s file system table and lists all the partitions and their mount points. To edit this file, enter the following command in the terminal:
sudo nano /etc/fstab
This command will open the /etc/fstab file in the nano text editor. Scroll down to the line that contains the swap partition or file and add a “#” at the beginning of the line to comment it out. This will disable the swap permanently. Here’s an example:
# /swapfile none swap sw 0 0
Step 3: Remove the Swap File or Partition
Now that you have disabled the swap, you can remove the swap file or partition. To do this, enter the following command in the terminal:
sudo swapoff -a
This command will turn off all swap devices. Next, remove the swap file or partition by using the appropriate command based on whether you used a swap file or partition.
If you used a swap file, enter the following command:
sudo rm /swapfile
If you used a swap partition, enter the following command:
sudo fdisk /dev/sda
This command will open the fdisk partitioning tool. Type “d” to delete the swap partition, then type “w” to save the changes and exit.
Step 4: Reboot
The final step is to reboot your system to ensure that the changes take effect. Enter the following command in the terminal:
sudo reboot
Once your system has rebooted, swap should be disabled permanently