How to Adjust the Virtual Memory Paging File Size in Windows

When you run out of physical RAM on your Windows PC because you have too many Chrome tabs or massive applications open, the operating system does not just crash. Instead, it starts using a hidden file on your hard drive (or SSD) called the “paging file” (pagefile.sys) as temporary, overflow memory. This is called “Virtual Memory.” While Windows manages the size of this file automatically by default, power users, gamers, and video editors often need to manually adjust the virtual memory paging file size to optimize system performance or prevent “Out of Memory” errors in demanding applications.

How to Access Virtual Memory Settings

The virtual memory controls are buried deep within the advanced system properties of Windows.

1. Click the Start menu, type Advanced system settings, and press Enter. (This will open a small “System Properties” window).
2. Ensure you are on the Advanced tab.
3. Under the “Performance” section at the top, click the Settings… button.
4. A new “Performance Options” window will appear. Click on its Advanced tab.
5. Under the “Virtual memory” section, click the Change… button.

How to Manually Adjust the Paging File Size

By default, the box at the very top labeled “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” will be checked. This prevents you from making any changes.

1. Uncheck the box for “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.”
2. Select your primary Windows drive (usually C:) from the list.
3. Click the radio button next to Custom size:.
4. You must now enter an Initial size (MB) and a Maximum size (MB).

What Sizes Should You Enter?

The numbers you enter are in Megabytes (MB), where 1024 MB equals 1 Gigabyte (GB).

• Initial size: Look at the very bottom of the window in the “Total paging file size for all drives” section. You will see a value labeled Recommended. It is generally best practice to type that exact recommended number into the Initial size box.
• Maximum size: The classic rule of thumb for Windows is to set the maximum size to 1.5 times the amount of physical RAM you have installed. For example, if your PC has 16 GB of RAM (16 x 1024 = 16,384 MB), you would multiply that by 1.5 to get 24,576 MB. Type 24576 into the Maximum size box.

Once you have entered your numbers, you must click the Set button. Finally, click OK on all three open windows. Windows will prompt you to restart your computer for the new virtual memory allocation to take effect.