Microsoft has been keen on providing its users with the best user experience. You will be amused to know that Microsoft has a hidden tool that enhances the efficiency of your system without even you know if you are not such a tech-aware person. The purpose of hiding this file is to prevent interfering with the system.
This feature is software-based; there is a file hidden in your C-Drive called Pagefile.sys; this file helps manage the load of RAM. Though it is not as best as your original RAM, it still helps keep your system working without any possible interruptions.
However, due to this file, the efficiency of your system may reduce. Therefore, to improve your system’s efficiency, you can shift this file to an external drive or set a limit to determine its maximum size.
Caution: We recommend you don’t interfere with this file, as doing so may alter your system settings or cause the loss of your important data. However, if you are keen on improving your system’s efficiency by tampering with this file, below is a guide on how you can do so. We further recommend that you must have a backup before proceeding further.
How to Back-up Your Files?
Windows 10 has a dedicated tool and feature that helps you intently back up your files. First, you need to save and close all the files you have opened. Once you are sure that your files are secured and saved, attach an external dedicated hard drive to your system. This drive must have sufficient space to accommodate all the data from your system.
Once the setup is in place, open settings > ‘Updates and Security’, and follow the procedure given on Microsoft’s website.
Once you have successfully secured your data, you can now proceed with tampering with pagefile.sys.
How to Delete Pagefile.sys
If you believe that the pagefile.sys file has gone corrupted or is causing other system issues; you can opt to delete it. You have to follow the following simple procedure:
- Unhide the Pagefile.sys
As we have discussed earlier that pagefile.sys is a hidden file. The purpose of hiding it is simple, and it is done to prevent any tampering with your system files. Therefore, to delete it, you need first to unhide it first all.
To do so, open the C-Drive partition in which your window is installed. Click Ctrl+F1 to view the ribbon menu if not visible. Click on ‘View’ > ‘Options’. A drop-down menu will open. Click ‘Change Folder and Search Option’, and a dialogue box will open.
Go to the ‘View’ tab and uncheck the option named: ‘Hide protected system operating files (Recommended)’. After that, select the option, ‘Show hidden files, folders, and drives, click the ‘Apply’ button, and close the dialogue box.
A number of files will be shown, among which there will be your desired file, pagefile.sys.
- Deleting pagefile.sys
Now that you can see pagefile.sys, you can easily delete it. Right-click on the file and press the delete button. The system will delete it directly without moving it to Recycle Bin because of its larger size. Once the file is removed, restart your PC, and you are good to go.
How to Resize Pagefile.sys
Windows 10 is quite handy in its multiple aspects. One of them is handling the size of pagefile.sys. It manages its size automatically. If you think that your hard drive is overburdened by paging file, you can add a limit to it by setting a size limit to the file.
Setting the file limit to your paging file may reduce system efficiency; therefore, another way to enhance system efficiency is to increase its RAM. Depending on the size of the RAM, pagefile.sys varies accordingly.
Still, if you want to add a limit to the paging file, you can follow the procedure below:
- Examine the Memory Usage
For this purpose, you need to open the task manager. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, which will lead you to the task manager. Open the Performance Tab and select Memory. Under this option, you will see how much memory the system is consuming, and it is from here that you could get an idea of the memory usage by pagefile.sys.
One thing to note here that you will have to repeat the process over a few days to get an average and rough estimate of how much memory the pagefile.sys is consuming.
- Locate Advanced Settings
In the Search Bar on the Taskbar, type ‘Advanced’, and a ‘view advanced system settings’ option will show up. Click this option, and a dialogue box named ‘System Properties’ will open. Open the ‘Advanced’ tab, locate the Performance section and click Settings.
Another dialogue box will open, again open the Advanced tab, and click on Change.
- Set Limit to Your Paging File
Another dialogue box will open named ‘Virtual Memory’. Uncheck the option ‘Automatically manage paging file size of all drives. Select the Custom Size option and set the initial limit to your gaping file not less than 800 MB.
Now you can set the maximum size according to your desire. Just keep one thing in mind that the file size is set in megabytes, so you need to enter values in the said memory unit.
How to Move Pagefile.sys
You can move pagefile.sys to another dedicated external hard drive to free up space on your system’s hard drive. Usually, the standard size of pagefile.sys is 12 megabytes. However, it can vary depending on the RAM and the number of resources the system has.
By moving the paging file to an external hard drive can sufficiently increase your computer’s speed.
- Locate Advanced Settings
In the Search Bar on the Taskbar, type ‘Advanced’, and a ‘view advanced system settings’ option will show up. Click this option, and a dialogue box named ‘System Properties’ will open. Open the ‘Advanced’ tab, locate the Performance section and click Settings.
Another dialogue box will open, again open the Advanced tab, and click on Change.
- Choose the External Hard Drive
Another dialogue box will open named ‘Virtual Memory’. Uncheck the option, ‘Automatically manage paging file size of all drives.
Select the option, ‘No Paging File’, and select the external drive you have attached to your system; it might be located under Drive-C. Just click the ‘Set’ button and click Yes after reading the warning message if you want to proceed.
- Restart the Computer
To make the changes effective, you will need to restart your PC. But before doing so, you are advised to close all the opened apps and save your work.
Now you are good to restart your PC. Restarting will shift the pagefile.sys from one hard drive to the external attached hard drive.
