Windows uses page files to increase the availability of active applications, rather than letting them idle. If the page file size is low, you will get a message stating “Your system is low on virtual memory”. In this post, we will learn how to change, increase or reduce Pagefile.sys size or Virtual Memory in Windows 11
Read: What is the best Page File size for 64-bit versions of Windows?
How to increase Pagefile sys size on Windows 11
If you get such an error message, you may have to increase the size of your virtual memory or page file or paging file – although for most users, leaving the Page File size at its default value should be good enough.
Read: How to Back up or Move PageFile.sys.
To increase Page File size via System Properties in Windows 11/10, follow these steps:
- Open System Properties.
- In System Properties, click the Advanced tab
- In the Performance section click the Settings button
- Performance Options will open. Click Advanced tab
- Here, under Virtual memory, select Change
- Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives
- Highlight your Windows system drive
- Select Custom size
- Change the Initial size value and the Maximum size value to a higher value
- Click Set
- Finally, Click Apply/OK all the way.
For a computer with 16 GB of RAM, the theoretical maximum pagefile size is 3x your physical RAM, which equals 48 GB. However, you should carefully see what value suits your system the best. Maxing out the pagefile size could result in storage space wastage and potential performance drops.
How to reduce Pagefile sys size in Windows 11
To reduce Page File size via System Properties in Windows 11/10, type sysdm.cpl in Run box and press Enter to open System Properties. Click on the Advanced tab at the top and under the Performance section, click the Settings button. Now in the new Performance Options window, select the Advanced tab. Next, in the Virtual memory section, click the Change button and then uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives. Now select your C system drive and choose the Custom size option.
Enter a smaller value in MB for both the Initial size and Maximum size. Finally, click Set, then click OK, and restart your computer.
For a computer with 16 GB of RAM, the absolute smallest pagefile size you can safely set is 16 MB. However, you should carefully choose the value that best suits your system. If the Pagefile.sys is too small it could lead to system crashes or freezes.
Read: You don’t have enough system and video memory to start the game
Where is Page File located in Windows?
The page file or swap file is also known as Virtual memory, and is situated on your system drive; e.,g. C:\pagefile.sys. In addition to physical memory or RAM, Windows, and its applications use it as and when required.
Read:
What happens if I increase Paging file size?
Increasing the Paging file size can slow down your computer as it adds extra work for the hard drive. It should be used only as a temporary fix when encountering out-of-memory errors. Instead, consider adding more memory (RAM) to your computer for better performance.
Also Read: MemInfo – A Real-time Memory & Page file Usage Monitor.
