Solved Windows 11 sets a pagefile in another drive but doesn't recognize it


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madeinlisboa

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I tried to set the page file in a Crucial M4 drive (M4-CT128M4SSD2). Windows creates the page file but ignores it in the total space used by both (I had to create a small one in the boot drive). Why is this happening?

2026-10-04_172829.webp
 

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Is the drive an external drive? If so it may not be available soon enough during boot.

Windows will only count page files that are actually available and usable during boot. If the pagefile is on another drive and Windows is creating pagefile.sys there but not including it in the reported total paging file size, it usually means Windows has determined that drive is not suitable for hosting the primary paging file.
 

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glasskuter said:
Is the drive an external drive? If so it may not be available soon enough during boot.

Windows will only count page files that are actually available and usable during boot. If the pagefile is on another drive and Windows is creating pagefile.sys there but not including it in the reported total paging file size, it usually means Windows has determined that drive is not suitable for hosting the primary paging file.
Click to expand...
It's a fixed drive. I use it as the temp drive and scratch disk for some applications. The only thing not working is this
 

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It wouldn't surprise me if the pagefile code still treats A: and B: as special. Change the drive letter to X: or something temporarily and see if the problem stops with another letter.
 

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madeinlisboa said:
It's a fixed drive. I use it as the temp drive and scratch disk for some applications. The only thing not working is this
Click to expand...


Hello and welcome to ElevenForum.
Here's ten points just for filling out your computer specs. :-)



I notice the drive where you're trying to create the page file is drive A:\
Try changing the drive letter from A: to E: or G:. I think it will work then.

In the old days drive letters A and B were for floppy disks.
Maybe Windows still thinks that there couldn't possibly be a page file on drive A:

Note: Don't use the drive letter Z: for a drive with a page file either. :-)
 

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Ghot said:
Hello and welcome to ElevenForum.
Here's ten points just for filling out your computer specs. :-)



I notice the drive where you're trying to create the page file is drive A:\
Try changing the drive letter from A to E or G. I think it will work then.

In the old days drive letters A and B were for floppy disks.
Maybe Windows still thinks that there couldn't be a page file on drive A:
Click to expand...
Yes. I thought about that, but I have several apps pointing to it and it has also the temp folder. I will try anyway. Thanks
 

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madeinlisboa said:
Yes. I thought about that, but I have several apps pointing to it and it has also the temp folder. I will try anyway. Thanks
Click to expand...


When you change the drive letter, Windows should correct the file paths too.
 

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Ghot said:
When you change the drive letter, Windows should correct the file paths too.
Click to expand...
I don't think so. Anyway I will need to do that in every app. Well, as long as this problem is fixed, I don't mind :-)
 

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If changing the drive letter works for the page file, you can do this to have drive A: point to the new letter, so your old apps will work until you reconfigure them all. Assuming X: is the new drive letter...

Batch: 
subst A: X:\
 

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pseymour said:
If changing the drive letter works for the page file, you can do this to have drive A: point to the new letter, so your old apps will work until you reconfigure them all. Assuming X: is the new drive letter...

Batch: 
subst A: X:\
Click to expand...
Thanks for the hint !
 

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pseymour said:
If changing the drive letter works for the page file, you can do this to have drive A: point to the new letter, so your old apps will work until you reconfigure them all. Assuming X: is the new drive letter...

Batch: 
subst A: X:\
Click to expand...
UPDATE. My Windows, strangely does not have the Subst command. Probably, a symbolic link is a better alternative
 

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subst is a built-in command for CMD, not PowerShell. Open a CMD window and run the command.
 

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Weird. Should be a copy of the exe in both C:\Windows\System32 and SysWOW64.

Screenshot 2026-10-04 200241.webp
 

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pseymour said:
Weird. Should be a copy of the exe in both C:\Windows\System32 and SysWOW64.
Click to expand...
It's really weird indeed. I can download it if I want ;-)
 

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My Computer My Computer

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DIY
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Intel 270k Plus
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ASRock z890 Pro RS
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Corsair DDR5 32GB
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learn.microsoft.com

subst

Reference article for the subst command, which associates a path with a drive letter.
learn.microsoft.com
 

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    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
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    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
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    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
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    up to 2048 x 1536
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    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
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    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
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    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
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    Symantec (Norton)
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    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 11Intel 270k PlusCorsair DDR5 32GBNVIDIA 5070
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
DIY
CPU
Intel 270k Plus
Motherboard
ASRock z890 Pro RS
Memory
Corsair DDR5 32GB
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NVIDIA 5070
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Benq
Ghot said:
I can do that... I just noticed there's also a sudo.exe in C:\Windows\System32
Click to expand...
Thanks but I already answered before. I need to run CMD with Administrator privileges, otherwise it won't recognize the %SystemRoot%\system32 folder as part of PATH and won't find the Subst command. I didn't know that
 

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Windows 11Intel 270k PlusCorsair DDR5 32GBNVIDIA 5070
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
DIY
CPU
Intel 270k Plus
Motherboard
ASRock z890 Pro RS
Memory
Corsair DDR5 32GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA 5070
Monitor(s) Displays
Benq

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9711 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26300.9711 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦26H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
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