Solved Questions about pagefile.sys


Sheikh

Well-known member
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Tehran, IRAN.
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Windows 11 Pro 24H2
Hey guys
On a system with 64GB (2x32) DDR4 ram, do you recommend to deactivate pagefile on SSD to increase its lifetime?!
Is pagefile only a system reserved part or every time we restart pc, windows writes 2~8GB on C drive?
What about a system with 8GB (2x4) ram?
Is it better to delete pagefile before shutdown to decrease chance of windows/apps bugs after a long time of windows installation and let windows recreate it?
Any recommendations about pagefile except those comments with “leave it on default”. I want to understand its exact job and what’s inside of it.
The only thing I know is that pagefile is a virtual ram on ssd. What happens if pagefile is deactivated and ram gets full? Is it going to show us a BSOD? Hangs? What happens?

Thanks
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Any recommendations about pagefile except those comments with “leave it on default”.
Well, I "leave it on default" - but with some understanding of why I do so.

The font of all knowledge about all things 'Windows' is Mark Russinovich, without whom we wouldn't have Sysinternals.


Mark Eugene Russinovich (born December 22, 1966) is a Spanish-born American software engineer and author who serves as CTO of Microsoft Azure. He was a cofounder of software producers Winternals before Microsoft acquired it in 2006.

I want to understand its exact job and what’s inside of it.
You can do no better than read what he has to say about the pagefile.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
Let's get the common hysteria out of the way:

1. Modern Windows runs fine w/o a page file.

2. But some Windows Virtual Memory parameters are scaled based on the page file's size. Not having one can do strange things, because Windows devs wrote Windows expecting to have one. [Mark Russinovich's comments]

3. The page file is where Windows commits crash dumps when a BSOD occurs. If you never want to understand why a BSOD occured, and don't want @zbook asking you to send him a bunch files, then disable the page file. To guarantee saving a crash file, the page file must at least equal the size of physical memory.

4. If you own large amounts of free memory relative to your Windows workload, not a whole lot of the page file gets written to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
3. The page file is where Windows commits crash dumps when a BSOD occurs.
Correct. Specifically, there has to be a pagefile on the C:\ drive for this to work.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
After reading your comments, I have disabled it on my test laptop with 8GB ram to see what happens. Everything’s working fine but I don’t see any performance improvements at all. But still have this question, is pagefile deleted in shutdown process? If not, is force deletion of pagefile during shutdown a good idea or not?

I don’t care about BSOD or security issues as this machine is just a test pc. (e.g. disabled bitlocker to access C drive with linux if anything bad happened) The only advantages I’m searching for are 1. Hardware health 2. Speed and performance of windows core and 3. Stability of os and apps.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Page files are not deleted, or wiped clean. Windows (or your modern OS) keeps a separate memory page table tracking what data is stored in the page file. When it's time to restart Windows, the page file is considered as uninitialized data. The first time a page is committed (written) to the page file, the new contents overwrite what was previously there.

Whatever old data exists from before doesn't matter because those page blocks aren't in active use.

Only the security researchers care about having the page file destroyed or re-initialized because data from the previous Windows session could be leaked. Something in memory could have held confidential data at the time it was written to the page file.

Bottom line: if you have plenty of RAM vs. your headroom, having no page file isn't going to kill Windows. But don't complain either if weird memory or performance issues happen when you start running out of headroom. MS has known for decades people like to remove the page file.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Alright, after using two heavy apps, windows started to crash. Pagefile is necessary for this 8GB laptop. Deleting pagefile on shutdown sometimes leads to never ending shutdown process.
The best option here is to forget the SSD lifetime and let windows handle pagefile.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
MS has known for decades people like to remove the page file.
What is their reason of deactivating pagefile? As we know from this thread, deactivating it has no performance benefits but some instabilities!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
pagefile was introduced long time ago, when computer nominal RAM was 8 GB.

Your PC has 64GB. so you don't need to set pagefile 64GB. 8 GB is enough. but I wouldn't completely disable it.

1748817441326.webp
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP/Lenovo/Asus
    CPU
    Intel i7-11800H
    Motherboard
    Lenovo Legion 5i Pro Gen 6
    Memory
    32GB DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe SSD
Alright, after using two heavy apps, windows started to crash. Pagefile is necessary for this 8GB laptop. Deleting pagefile on shutdown sometimes leads to never ending shutdown process.
The best option here is to forget the SSD lifetime and let windows handle pagefile.

Yeah, off the top of my head and pulled out of thin air... I would think 16gb is about the minimum to run w/o a page file. You can use somewhat north of 8gb with Windows, typical setup, and some apps. I know you stop a lot of services on your system per your other posts, but I'm guessing you're still close to the 8bg that you have when you are actively using multiple apps and files. So you need more to run with no paging.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Ultra 7 155H
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Arc integrated
    Hard Drives
    SSD
What is their reason of deactivating pagefile? As we know from this thread, deactivating it has no performance benefits but some instabilities!
Because. The page file is stealing valuable disk space on their tiny disk drive. And it's MY MACHINE, DON'T TELL ME WHAT I NEED.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Because. The page file is stealing valuable disk space on their tiny disk drive. And it's MY MACHINE, DON'T TELL ME WHAT I NEED.
I think decreasing the size of pagefile is a better option than completely disabling it !
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Yeah, off the top of my head and pulled out of thin air... I would think 16gb is about the minimum to run w/o a page file. You can use somewhat north of 8gb with Windows, typical setup, and some apps. I know you stop a lot of services on your system per your other posts, but I'm guessing you're still close to the 8bg that you have when you are actively using multiple apps and files. So you need more to run with no paging.
Hmmm so, now I have followers and that means I’m a celebrity. :cool:🤣
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
What is their reason of deactivating pagefile? As we know from this thread, deactivating it has no performance benefits but some instabilities!
Because. The page file is stealing valuable disk space on their tiny disk drive. And it's MY MACHINE, DON'T TELL ME WHAT I NEED.

In the 'ol days, reading/writing to an spinning HD was far slower than writing to memory. So writing something out to the pagefile, and reading something back in, effectively slowed your system. Nowadays, with SSDs, the margin is comparatively minimal. So the performance boost isn't there. You had all the same dangers way back when, even more so, but the upside return was higher.

Nowadays it seems like a waste to worry about it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Ultra 7 155H
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Arc integrated
    Hard Drives
    SSD
Hmmm so, now I have followers and that means I’m a celebrity. :cool:🤣

Naw, I'm not following you... but I still have a few of the cameras and reloadable film reels left in my head from a former photographic memory. Nowadays I'm more like a well used SSD - cells that don't get used just fade away. But the new ones have a good charge.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Ultra 7 155H
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Arc integrated
    Hard Drives
    SSD
I think decreasing the size of pagefile is a better option than completely disabling it !
No, the minimum size for a page file should equal physical RAM, so all crash dumps are preserved. The nominal rule is the page file is 1.5X the size of RAM, which is what Windows normally does (or close enough). Beyond that you don't need it any bigger, because that implies if you're using that much virtual paging space, you're into swapping territory and system performance is guaranteed to suck.

Paging doesn't make up for when you really run out of RAM. It just makes it more tolerable the closer you get to running out of memory. When you have two or more active (not idle) memory-hungry processes, then it gets more difficult for the paging model to dump unused pages to disk. Eventually the easy things to do don't happen, and now you wait the Windows spinning cursor hover over your frozen desktop.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Guys I’m very thankful for every single words you type to help me. And I’m so sorry that sometimes I can’t explain my questions as english is not my native language. But in this forum everyone tries to guide me and this means all you my friends are very kind. Thanks for the information you share with me.

Thread marked as solved.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Huawei MateBook D15
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 3500U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Vega 8
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    256GB Samsung SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    ESET Smart Security Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI GS73 6RF Stealth Pro
    CPU
    intel core i7 6700HQ
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX1060 (6GB)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Don't worry, In about a few weeks or months, someone will resurrect this thread to debate the finer points.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Well, I "leave it on default" - but with some understanding of why I do so.

The font of all knowledge about all things 'Windows' is Mark Russinovich, without whom we wouldn't have Sysinternals.





You can do no better than read what he has to say about the pagefile.

More than I ever expected to learn about the pagefile. And silly me. I was settng the pagefile at 64B on 16 GB ram systems, and 128 GB on 64 GB systems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home built
    CPU
    AMD 7900x
    Motherboard
    ASUS AMD x670E ROG Strix E-A
    Memory
    64 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 3060 Ti (but wanting to upgrade)
    Sound Card
    built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24"
    Cooling
    AIO for CPU, fans for case
    Keyboard
    Das Keyboard 4
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 (white)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
    Other Info
    Also have Lenovo T14S laptop (me) and Lenovo Slim 71 (wife)

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