Comments for Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

Comment from scottt on 2009-10-20

2009-10-21T03:33:28Z

i read on another site to delete pagefile.sys: turn off (VM) reboot then delete pagefile.sys, then turn on (VM) again and 'click' "set". i did this but when i looked in C:pagefile.sys it was the exact size before i deleted it? (3,712,272) did i do something wrong ?

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Harshit on 2009-02-15

2009-02-15T11:07:13Z

Dear,
I tried both & both setting is same as u suggested above. But still i cant decrise the size of pagefile.. Kindly suggest me on my mail ID..

Thanks & regards;

Harshit

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Christopher on 2009-01-07

2009-01-07T22:14:11Z

I read somewhere that the pagefile is where a memory dump is performed if a system failure would occur, like a bluescreen or the likes. My gaming computer got 12GB ram (64bit OS of course and, yeah, what was I thinking getting that much..). Anyway would there be any reasons like the memory dump example to keep the pagefile, or is it usefulness purely to act as additional ram?

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Terry Hollett on 2009-01-02

2009-01-02T23:46:48Z

I can remember having a WinME computer that keep giving me "hard drive C: write errors", which I eventually solved by deleting the page file. Must have been corrupted.

With XP, as I understand it, it may be a security risk since it can have saved passwords, usernames, and other sensitive data.

Here are two ways to have it deleted at shutdown, a clean one will be recreated at start up.

Clearing the Page File on Shutdown

Click on the Start button
Go to the Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Local Security Policy
Local Policies
Click on Security Options
Right hand menu - right click on "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Select "Enable"
Reboot

For regedit users.....
If you want to clear the page file on each shutdown:

Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Set the value to 1

http://www.geocities.com/terryhollett2003/

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Narc on 2008-12-31

2008-12-31T17:09:36Z

I see! Indeed, checking it again, it seems the commit charge is the sum total of all memory (physical + virtual) usage.

And, what's more, the so-called "Page File Usage" graphs on the Performance tab of Task Manager seem to follow the commit charge, so... in conclusion, I'd like to slap whoever set the labels on those two graphs, 'cause they did it wrong.

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Narc on 2008-12-30

2008-12-31T07:09:18Z

I recall reading in a Microsoftie's blog something about Windows expecting to be able to potentially write, at minimum, the entire contents of RAM to the pagefile -- not in relation to the hibernation file, but rather to some internal Windows processes. I believe the post in question referred to Windows XP specifically, and I don't honestly expect Vista to behave any differently in this regard.

Furthermore, considering that even with 2 GB of RAM in my computer I'm seeing a commit charge (pagefile usage) or 932 MB, I'm loath to suggest its deletion when Windows clearly is using it.

Unfortunately, all I have is a potentially false memory and anecdotal evidence. Plus, I'm certain that Windows will still work without a page file, it's just that I'm of the impression it will not work as well (either BSOD-ing more often, or just performing (paradoxically) worse) as the same install with a page file.

As such, feel free to disregard this comment.

As I mentioned, I run without a page file. Windows XP with 4 gig RAM. It's been as solid as XP gets, and that includes running things like World of Warcraft, Adobe PhotoShop, Sony Vegas (video editting), and more. Often even accidental combinations of the above, just because I forgot to shut something down. :-)

And I don't believe "commit charge" is actually VM usage. As I said, I have no VM, and as I type a commit charge of 1.2gig, which actually matches current RAM usage.

- Leo
31-Dec-2008

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Bradford on 2008-12-30

2008-12-31T03:27:48Z

Had to use the CD boot once to fix a 98 boot pagefile corrupted error. Worked perfectly.
Occasionally had to delete NT pagefile for tweeking performance. Setting VM to zero is a neat trick I'm glad to know.

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Mike O'Brien on 2008-12-30

2008-12-30T17:21:24Z

Hi Leo, re: VM. Have you seen a case where the a desktop's motherboard and HD seem to be incompatable and this results in VM messages about being out of VM no matter how VM is configured? I finally gave up on the friend's computer but it's bugged me ever since. My guess was a computer shop replaced the HD with the wrong type but the situation wasn't one where I wanted to do it again. Really appreciate your site and insight. Thanks for the help....mike

Nope, never seen that. And I'd expect a different more serious error message if there was an incomptibility of some sort.

- Leo
01-Jan-2009

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from David on 2008-12-30

2008-12-30T17:18:04Z

I seem to remember reading somewhere that either Windows or some programs do expect to "see" some sort of page file on the "C" drive (even if it's only a small one) and I recollect that the recommendation in the article I read was to have a token small one on the "C" drive, even if (as I have done) the main page file is put on a second drive, which is supposed to improve performance.

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from Dave C on 2008-12-30

2008-12-30T16:21:59Z

I often defrag and before I do so I set the system to no paging file and reboot, then I defrag and then reset the system to allow Windows to set the paging file size again and it overwrites the previous pagefile,
In this way I feel that I am defragging the area of disk taken up by the page file which otherwise would not be defragged.
I hope that this is a sensible idea.
Just another way of dealing with pagefile.sys rather than just letting it sit there.

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from sul2005tan on 2008-12-30

2008-12-30T10:17:25Z

thanks leo, this file is very big 2Gb of my HDD is wasted, my hdd seem good and i can install more program.
Best regard

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from AuraliX on 2008-12-29

2008-12-30T03:44:22Z

Hello leo. im reading your stuff so much time now.
u great. i have a question. from what size of Physical RAM i can disable the VM? casue i my C drive is small and i need that extra space (3069MB - Fixed Size). My PC have 2GB DDR2 800MHz CL5 Physical RAM.
TNX!

There's no one answer - it depends on how you use your computer. If the programs you run regularly use less than your total RAM, then you can probably get rid of VM. If you run programs that end up using more memory than you have RAM, then VM (or more RAM) is required to avoid "Out of Memory" situations at the cost of some speed.

- Leo
30-Dec-2008

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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Comment from san on 2008-12-29

2008-12-29T16:54:47Z

Hello Leo,

You mentioned that you don't have a pagefile.sys file or to put in a different way you have disabled virtual memory. Are there any performance benefits to be achieved by doing so? Given that I have 2GiB physical memory and at most all my processes end up using not more than 500MiB, what would be ramifications of disabling virtual memory altogether?

Regards.

Mostly it just frees up a chunk of disk space (and provides a little security for people concerned about what might be written to their pagefile). If the system isn't using it the performance impact is negligible.

- Leo
30-Dec-2008

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A comment on: Can I delete pagefile.sys? What is it?

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