How to change the Windows Pagefile Size

In this article, we shall discuss “How to change the Windows Pagefile Size”. Please see , How to fix Windows Microsoft Store not opening, how to backup Azure VM with VM Settings, and how to Increase Disk Size in Hyper-V. The Windows Pagefile serves as a crucial component for virtual memory operations within the Windows kernel. During the installation process, Windows sets the pagefile size, which usually remains unchanged throughout system usage.

Note: Situations may arise where adjustments are necessary, particularly if you augment your system’s memory post-installation. This adjustment becomes particularly pertinent if you require a kernel memory dump for diagnostic purposes. If the pagefile size is inadequate, it can result in the creation of a memory.dmp file that cannot be read by Debugging Tools for Windows. This poses a challenge not only for personal analysis but also when sharing the dump file with others.

When your system experiences low RAM due to a memory-intensive application like Chrome, Windows automatically relocates the least used “pages” of memory to a hidden file called pagefile.sys in the root directory of one of your drives. This action aims to free up more RAM for the applications you are actively using.

Consequently, if you’ve minimized an application for a while and are heavily using other applications, Windows will transfer some of the memory from the minimized application to the pagefile because it hasn’t been accessed recently. As a result, restoring that application may take a little longer, and you may notice your hard drive working more intensively for a period.

Also, see How much RAM does your Windows PC really need? Here is video on how to increase Disk Size in Hyper-V, and How to enable Siri on Mac devices.

Change Virtual Memory for Windows 11

If you are having issues with virtual memory(BSOD), and your device doesn’t have enough memory, or you’re trying to improve the system performance. You can change the size of the page file (also known as virtual memory) through the System Properties settings.

To do this in Windows 11, open System Properties. There are different ways to get to this dialog window. You can do this via the System Settings, click on System and then “About”.

Alternatively, you could right-click on the Start button and select “System.” Or press Windows key + Pause/Break to open the System Properties window.

In the System window, click on “Advanced system settings” on the left-hand side. This will open the System Properties window.

Navigate to Performance Settings. You will find this menu in the System Properties window, under the “Advanced” tab, click on the “Settings” button within the Performance section to open Virtual Memory Settings.

In the Performance Options window that appears, navigate to the “Advanced” tab. Under the Virtual Memory section, click on the “Change…” button.

Now, adjust Page File Size.

To do this, uncheck the box that says “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” as shown above.

Here we only have one drive. If you have multiple drives, please select the drive where you want to change the page file size (usually the C: drive).

Select either “Custom size” or “System managed size” according to your preference

Pagefile Custom Size

When increasing the page file size. Choose a custom size from the wizard. This will result in more memory available to all running processes. Here we are particular about the memory, not the RAM. When the Computer runs out of RAM and starts swapping memory. The disk performance will be drastically impacted, especially with HDDs

The Custom size specifies the Initial size (MB) and Maximum size (MB) for the page file.

If you chose Custom size, enter the desired initial and maximum size in megabytes (MB). The initial size should be at least equal to the recommended size displayed below or a bit higher. The maximum size should be at least 1.5 times your system’s RAM size. But you can adjust it according to your needs.

Click “Set” and then “OK” to apply the changes. After making the changes, you’ll need to restart your computer for the new page file settings to take effect.

Click Ok and you will be promoted to restart now.

System Managed Size

The system-managed size enables Windows to automatically manage the size of the page file.

Note: If you decide to disable paging file, you will be forcing Windows to keep everything in much faster RAM all the time. Disabling your pagefile presents a significant problem: once your available RAM is exhausted, Windows has no virtual memory to allocate. As a result, your applications will start crashing. In the worst-case scenario, your entire system may crash or become highly unstable. When an application crashes, it goes down hard, offering no opportunity to save your work or take any other action.

After making the changes, you’ll need to restart your computer for the new page file settings to take effect.

Please see Fix unable to login to Trellix ePO with Windows authentication, How to Sync Data in Cloud Drives to Synology NAS, and How to Install and Set Lively Wallpaper on Windows 11.

Change the Pagefile size for Windows 10

The steps are the same above. As such, I will not be showing the steps with screenshots.

Access System Properties and select “System” from the context menu. In the System window, click on “Advanced system settings” on the left side.

In the System Properties window, navigate to the “Advanced” tab. Under the “Performance” section, click on the “Settings” button to adjust Virtual Memory.

Modify Pagefile Settings. To do this, go to the “Advanced” tab under the Performance Options window. Under the “Virtual memory” section, click on the “Change” button.

Now, set the Pagefile Size. Uncheck the box that says “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.” Select the drive where Windows is installed.

• Choose the “Custom size” option.
• Set the initial size (recommended size is usually 1.5 times the amount of installed RAM).
• Set the maximum size (recommended size is usually 3 times the amount of installed RAM or higher).

When done, click on Apply or OK on the fly. You will be required to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Click Restart Now.

Conclusion

Adjusting virtual memory settings can help optimize system performance. By increasing virtual memory, you can provide more space for applications to run smoothly, reducing the likelihood of slowdowns or crashes due to insufficient memory.

Additionally, system administrators managing devices equipped with solid-state disks (SSDs or NVMe drives) may have limited the pagefile size to mitigate disk wear. While this limitation is beneficial for disk longevity, it can impede analysis efforts in the future. You will find some interesting conversions on this topic on Tensforum as well.

In additional, disabling the paging file feature isn’t recommended. Doing so can cause certain applications to malfunction, impair the efficiency of system features, and result in unexpected behaviors. The only advantage of disabling the pagefile is that it speeds up the restoration of minimized applications that haven’t been used recently.

Please note that it is vital to be cautious when modifying page file settings. This is because incorrect configurations can impact system performance and stability. Adjust the page file size according to your system’s requirements and available resources.

I hope you found this article on “How to change the Windows Pagefile Size” very useful. Please feel free to leave a comment below.