Solved Questions about pagefile.sys


Levitate11 said:
, but I'm guessing
Click to expand...
People always love to guess. I don't know why that is, but I think I can guess... 😂

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garlin said:
Let's get the common hysteria out of the way:

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

2. Not having one can do strange things, because Windows
Click to expand...
TL;DR: Having one can do strange things also. In the end it's still Microsoft. lol
 

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One misconception - if you have a pagefile.sys of, let's say, 4 GB, or 64 GB, it doesn't matter as far as writing to an SSD shortening it's life all that much. Because when the pagefile is created, the entire 64 GB of the pagefile is not written to the SSD. Only the marker in the Master File Table is written to reserve space on the SSD for the pagefile - and that is only a few bytes. Only paged memory is written to the SSD (not the entire file). For example, I have a 5 GB pagefile.sys on my C: drive, but Task Manager shows only 549 MB of paged memory - it is only that 549 MB that is written to the SSD, not the entire 5 GB of the file size.
 

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i use a RAMdisk and have a 1GB (1024MB-1024MB) swapfile set there.
i also have the system set to wipe the swapfile at shutdown/reboot.
the browser cache i have also moved to RAMdisk as well.

AMD RAMdisk

AMD Radeon RAMDisk

AMD Radeon RAMDisk harnesses the untapped potential of your system's memory to deliver lightning reading and writing speed and dramatically accelerate the loading and processing times of games, web browsers and software suites.
www.techspot.com www.techspot.com

best of luck, Steve ..
 

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All these replies and they do not seem to answer the key point of OPs question.

OP was asking if pagefile should be disabled to prevent life of SSD being reduced NOT specifically if a pagefile is needed.

Answer is simple - do not bother. Modern SSDs have very long lives and disabling pagefile will have a very minute impact on SSD life.
 

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You’re better off setting a custom minimum and maximum size, e.g. 1024–2048 MB (only if you have 16–32GB+ RAM and are confident you won’t exceed it).
My opinion is that you’re better off letting Windows 11 automatically manage paging file size.
A 500GB SSD might have a TBW (Terabytes Written) of 300–600 TB, and Windows pagefile usage contributes only a small fraction of that.

Disabling the pagefile can risk system stability. If your system runs out of RAM (especially during gaming, video editing, or running VMs **like you do**), apps may crash or the system may freeze.
Some applications require the presence of a pagefile, even if you have a lot of RAM (e.g. Adobe apps, some games, debugging tools).
Windows needs a pagefile to write system crash dumps (BSODs) Disabling it can interfere with troubleshooting serious errors.
 

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NavyLCDR said:
Only the marker in the Master File Table is written to reserve space on the SSD for the pagefile - and that is only a few bytes.
Click to expand...
Good point! I was searching for this answer. So we shouldn’t worry about the impact of pagefile on SSD lifetime.
Do pagefile and swapfile completely cleaned during a shutdown? The reason of asking this question is that sometimes some apps or windows create some temporary files and never delete them. Maybe they forget to delete such files and I delete them manually (e.g. WinRAR). Do I have to worry about it or not?
 

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i clear the swapfile at shutdown/restart just to keep the swap clear.
i used this tutorial from Brink to set the system to do this.
www.elevenforum.com

Enable or Disable Clear Virtual Memory Paging File at Shutdown in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable clear virtual memory paging file at shutdown or restart for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11. A paging file (aka: "page file" and "virtual memory") enables the system to remove infrequently accessed modified data from physical memory to...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

also here are some of the reasons why.

Should I Clear Page File at Shutdown? The Ultimate Guide to Understanding the Debate - SmallUsefulTips

When it comes to optimizing your computer's performance, there are several debates that have been ongoing for years. One such debate revolves around the
smallusefultips.com smallusefultips.com

best of luck, Steve ..
 

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The only legitimate reason to clear a page file is to prevent someone who stole your PC (or the authorities) from finding compromising Windows memory data left over from the last session. There is no need to clear it on shutdown to "improve performance".

That quoted article is BS, and Brink's tutorial clearly states you do this for security reasons.

Windows will only re-read the page file at boot if it believes there was a recent BSOD. It just like when you delete a file, Windows doesn't normally go back and do a secure erase to write zeros into where the old file used to live. Windows doesn't need to clear the file, unless you're concerned about data security.

If you have a SSD, clearing the page file on shutdown will increase the wear on the drive.

The problem of cleaning up temporary files is a separate issue.
 

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The main reason for me, gained from the fount of experience, is that many programs would look for both the Swapfile/Paging file/Virtual Memory and a Temp/TMP folder for their installations and would fail if not finding them.
 

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From my personal experience on systems with lots and little RAM, a large, small, and no Pagefile, and with Hard Drives, SSDs, and NVMEs, the best overall experience I've had is just letting Windows do it's own thing.

I've noticed no additional wear or tear on my SSD or NVME drives from Pagefile use and my systems have shown overall better performance (less crashes and glitches). When those errors do happen, I have enough information to either solve it myself or pass the files that has the information that is needed to those who can help out.

My current system runs with a Windows managed Pagefile and that is my recommendation to everyone.
 

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