How to clear page file usage

Survey after survey tells us that IT professionals and decision-making executives all over the world who work in enterprises of all sizes are most often concerned about security and protecting data. Whether it is enacting draconian access authentication procedures, deploying extraordinary efforts to close security vulnerabilities, or implementing unproven artificial intelligence AI systems, those IT pros say something must be done to protect the huge amount of data generated by modern businesses.

One often overlooked potential security vulnerability, albeit a small one, is the existence of the Microsoft Windows 10 paging file on just about every PC in an enterprise. Typically, the paging file pagefile. Unless you change it, the Windows 10 paging file remains on your hard drive even after shutting down.

This how-to tutorial shows you how to tweak the Windows 10 Registry file to force the deletion of pagefile. With this method, the next time you start your Windows 10 computer, the paging file will be recreated with new data.

Disclaimer: Editing the Windows Registry file is a serious undertaking. A corrupted Windows Registry file could render your computer inoperable, requiring a reinstallation of the Windows 10 operating system and potential loss of data. Back up the Windows 10 Registry file and create a valid restore point before you proceed.

To see what your current paging file settings are, follow these steps: 1. Open File Explorer and right-click Computer. Click the Settings button under the Performance section and then click the Advanced tab. I've tried disabling it completely and re-enabling, setting custom size to 2 GB and then setting it back to auto - it's always changing back to 16 GB when returning to auto. This can be done through the UI. You have to find the "System" or "System Info" control panel.

In Windows 10, this can be found by right-clicking "System Info" neat the bottom of the dialog. From there, click "Advanced system settings" bottom link on the left , then go to the "Advanced" tab and click the "Settings Next click the "Advanced" tab and you should see your pagefile usage listed in the "Virtual Memory" section. Click "Change A reboot is required for most changes.

Hope this helps someone with the same issue - just spent 2 hrs trying to find the solution and this worked Server R2. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.

Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Ask Question. Asked 3 years, 6 months ago. Active 1 year, 11 months ago. Viewed 46k times. Improve this question. Log in as a system administrator. Restart your computer.

Operations that exceed the limited RAM space are automatically sent to the file to be stored if you have the paging file enabled. Your paging file size should be 1. Your minimum paging file size can be calculated by 8 GB x 1. One of these three solutions should resolve your paging file problems:.

You can increase your paging file size in Windows by following the steps under the Troubleshooting section. Download Trial.