Virtual Memory Windows 7

Does your Windows 10 installation feel like it slows down over time? You’re not imagining it. As the hardware requirements for popular apps increase, your aging hardware suffers. Often there is a simple culprit: low memory. If you don’t have enough system memory, your system will slow to a crawl when you attempt to run multiple resource intensive programs.

Feb 06, 2018 There are some technique to increase virtual memory in windows 7:- Virtual Memory Settings Virtual memory for your computer is hard drive space used by Windows when it fills up the physical RAM. Let’s say you have a computer that has 1 GB of RAM a. Windows 7 and 8: Change the Size of Virtual Memory 1. Open up the Control Panel. This can be done by clicking on the Start button. From the Control Panel, select System and Security. From the System and Security options, select System. Now, select Advanced system settings from the.

Here’s how you fix your virtual memory size to make those issues disappear.

What Is Virtual Memory?

Your computer has two types of memory: A hard drive or solid-state drive, and RAM. Your hard drive is where your operating system lives, as well as your photos, music, games, documents, and otherwise. Your RAM stores program-specific data. It is much faster but also more volatile, acting as a working storage area for the programs and files you have open.

So, what is virtual memory?

Well, if you use all the RAM available to your systemHow Much RAM Do You Really Need?How Much RAM Do You Really Need?RAM is like short term memory. The more you multitask, the more you need. Find out how much your computer has, how to get the most out of it, or how to get more.Read More, it will utilize virtual memory—also known as a swap or paging file—to provide a temporary expansion. Your system virtual memory does this using part of your hard-drive memory to expand your RAM effectively. So this virtual memory is extremely useful. It allows your system to handle more data for more programs than previously available.

However, your hard drive memory (and even a faster solid-state drive) is much slower than your superfast RAM, so your performance can suffer.

When your memory runs low, the paging file comes into play. Some data stored in the RAM will move to the paging file, providing additional space for high-speed memory functions.

Setting Virtual Memory Windows 7

Running Low on Virtual Memory

If your virtual memory runs low, you will encounter the following message:

Your system is low on virtual memory. Windows is increasing the size of your virtual memory paging file. During this process, memory requests for some applications may be denied. For more information, see help.

Manually increasing the size of your paging file will alleviate this message, as per the error message. Windows sets the initial virtual memory paging file equal to the amount of installed RAM. The paging file is a minimum of 1.5 times and a maximum of three times your physical RAM.

Adjust Virtual Memory Windows 7

For example, a system with 4GB RAM would have a minimum of 1024x4x1.5=6,144MB [1GB RAM x Installed RAM x Minimum]. Whereas, the maximum is 1024x4x3=12,288MB [1GB RAM x Installed RAM x Maximum].

Still, 12GB for a paging file is enormous. I would not recommend using the upper limit. Why? Because once your paging file increases over a certain size, your system will become unstable. In that, the paging file is a temporary fix.

How to Increase Your Virtual Memory

The natural question to ask is, “How much virtual memory should I set?”

Here’s how you increase the size of the paging file to get rid of the virtual memory error message.

Head to Control Panel > System and Security > System.
Select Change Settings to open your System Properties. Now open the Advanced
Under Performance, select Settings. Open the Advanced Under Virtual memory, select Change. Here are your Virtual Memory options.

The default option is to Automatically manage paging file size for all drives. Uncheck this to enable the currently greyed out section below. Select the drive you want to edit the paging file size for. By and large, this is your C: drive.

Now, select Custom size. Set the Maximum size you want for your paging file, following the recommended size for your system. Remember, Windows restricts the paging file size to three times the size of your installed RAM. This is to ensure system stability. Set the Initial size to the Currently allocated size (found below).

Click Set followed by OK. You have successfully increased your system’s virtual memory size. +1 knowledge for the day!

Please note that paging file (virtual memory) size increases are not usually met with a system restart message, but decreases are. A sudden decrease could cause system damage.

Other Ways to Increase Your Virtual Memory

If you find that your system still runs slowly following the paging file size adjustment, you must consider upgrading your RAM. Upgrading your RAM is the only way you can increase your virtual memory, by increasing the amount of overall memory available to the system. In that, you will alleviate the virtual memory issue during the process and could see a boost to your system speed, too.

There are countless tutorials to help you through this task, both text, and video, and many can be found specifically for your device. A great place to start figuring out compatible RAM is PC Part PickerPC Part Picker: An Invaluable Resource for First-Time PC BuildersPC Part Picker: An Invaluable Resource for First-Time PC BuildersPlanning to build a PC but not really sure how to get compatible parts? Here's how to use PC Part Picker for an easier build.Read More.

What Are the Best Virtual Memory Settings?

I’m inclined to leave my virtual memory settings alone. Windows 10 manages your physical memory and your virtual memory, along with it. If you keep hitting the paging file memory limit, you should consider upgrading your RAM. It will make a world of difference, especially for older systems.

How To Make Your Pc Run Faster

Want to know more about your system RAM? Check out our quick guide to everything you need to know about RAMA Quick and Dirty Guide to RAM: What You Need to KnowA Quick and Dirty Guide to RAM: What You Need to KnowRAM is a crucial component of every computer, but it can be confusing. We break it down in easy-to-grasp terms you'll understand.Read More!

Explore more about: Computer Maintenance, Computer Memory, Troubleshooting, Windows Tips.

Just a complete nonsense, My 30GB RAM laptop has minimum 16MB 'system managed size', yet when attempting to customise with same minimum I yet a warning message that it's too small. And tripling 30GB RAM? Pff! To make thing even more absurd I get a 'out of memory' popup on my DAW.
It's as clear as MUD.
Thanks a lot, It's more useful article.
Ever best site....
Thanks lot for your very clear information...
okay I have to ask now I have 4 gigs of ram in my computer I set the max at 4016 for both I was told to do and it seems to go much faster. How know if you have noticed but if I got this correct you say you can set it three times the amount you have installed but when I do that the option to restart the computer after changing it does not come up only at the max at the max number of 4016 anytime I change Ram under 4016 and hit apply or okay it gives me the option to restart but if I do anything over 4016 it does not so I'm guessing it does not allow you to by default even if you change it sorry I hope that made sense
Good info - Stuff have been using for years, but here's the rub for me. I have 20gb of ram and my system still runs slow even with a clean install. So what I need is a way to assign more of the ram to the tasks being used. My VRAM is stable, and I have looked thru the usual imps for problems. Do you have any other ideas for giving this rig a swift kick in the PC pants?
The Mac versions are single-threaded and 32-bit only, whereas Windows users can choose 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Both of these make a big difference with Excel's speed of calculation. It also helps with having multiple Office programs open at once.
How does 3 x 3 = 12?
The ram on my HP Core i3 Laptop is 2 Gigabytes , I Increased the Virtual Memory from recommended of 1935 mb to 6148 mb , while this allowed some Improvement from a 10 Second Crash to 10-15 Minute Crash , It hasn't Solved the Problem , Will Increase in Ram from 2 gb to say 4 gb or 6 gb solve this problem
Also these Problems started Cropping since I did a System Refresh in Windows 8 !!!!
... As ever, Windows is on hand to help with a “Microsoft Fix It” module.
CLICK ---> This page doesn’t exist.
So you put the fact that Windows slows down over time, down to it being a curse of being the best operating system around? Haha. That's some flawless logic you have there mate. I have a MacBook that I bought 8 years ago that runs just as fast as the day I bought it. Must be a curse of being the worst operating system around.
Another way to reduce fragmentation of the paging file is to set the initial and maximum sizes to the same number. What this does is ensure that the file does not grow or shrink and therefore will not fragment. However, you should defragment the hard drive before doing this to ensure the paging file is altogether on the hard drive.
Another way to reduce fragmentation of the paging file is to set the initial and maximum sizes to the same number. What this does is ensure that the file does not grow or shrink and therefore will not fragment. However, you should defragment the hard drive before doing this to ensure the paging file is altogether on the hard drive.
I have an easier fix for low on memory and black screen of blindness (death) and making virtual memory larger doesn't really work.
Turn off Cortana, that b*tch is high maintenance and a resource hog. It took 85% of resources and thats why increasing VM doesn't work
in the search windows box next to windows icon type in turn off cortana, then turn off everything in the box. My computer runs perfect like before the upgrade
- Hey Gavin,
  The only reason I figured out it was Cortana was because of your article. So thanks and nope my computer is not low end or end high end thanks for asking.
- Thanks for this tip, Lisa Blomquist. I, too, didn't like Cortana running in the background taking up more RAM memory with my computer being as slow as it is right now.
Where to Start? Well I'm not a computer geek, but I know my Computer sucks to the point that I want o cry every time I try to use it, I even want to toss it in the river or run it over. I have a brand new computer an HP all-in one 5110 came with win 8.1 /Bing ( yuck I hate it) I have since up-graded to Windows 10 , which is an improvement, however my refurbished hp with win. 7 is much faster than this over priced piece of crap. I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET ANYONE TO HELP ME, MAYBE I SET IT UP WRONG, ALL THO I DID SET UP THE REFURBISHED ONE AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS. I ONLY KNOW I WANT TO CRY!!!!! The hp help crap is a joke , they want money even after they go on your computer remotely to allegedly help, then say oops sorry I can't fix it, blah, blah blah call this number, and then they ask for $ and for you to buy more warranty. OMG, REALLY??? WTF, again I want to cry, I'm supprised this computer is even letting me type right now, LOL. THANKS FOR LETTING ME VENT ANYWAY, BUT I THINK I NEED LIVE HELP, AS I'M NOT GOOD AT THIS KIND OF THING, I AM UNABLE TO GET LOCAL HELP WHERE I LIVE BECAUSE I LIVE OUT IN THE BOONIES WITH BIGGER DUMMIES THAN I.
P.S.
Meaning, to be clear, the largest free space on partition may not suffice to hold extended pagefile. Offline defragmenter is recommended, most simple being i.e. free PageDefrag from MS Sysinternals.
Cheers.
Hi Gavin,
Perhaps it should be pointed clearly how important it is to keep pagefile in single fragment. I had access to systems with over 10 fragments of page file. Use of any defragmenter with offline defragment mode for system files improved speed drastically. When added manually after a period of normal system use, Windows will suffer so-called 'free space fragmentation', so the large extension to end of pagefile will most probably be fragmented too.
Hope this helps.
Marvin
Nice One.
Sorry, My PC Is Not THAT Slow.
We Are In The Same Timezone ( A Bit SOUTH From You ), But I Am Fatherless - The World Has Already Enough Screwed Kids As It Is.
I Hate Anything Not Wired - Again, Things Are Already Enough Slow And Unreliable As It Is.
Thank You For Responding.
On A 32 Bit PC I Have 4GB Of RAM.
I Am Not Using Any Swap Files At All - The PC Is Already Slow As It Is.
If The Cruise Speed Takes A Little More Time To Take Off, So Be It.
Cheers.
- Are you my father-in-law in disguise? Sounds exactly like him when using his mobile broadband USB. Takes an age to load, so he makes a cup of tea. Next page he moves to make dinner. By the end of the night he's checked his emails and is happy. I guess we could all take a little more time in life.
Terrible article! First, don't use screenshots showing a 32-bit machine, because RAM is limited at 4GB. Second, discuss WHY and HOW to increase your RAM - not your paging file. Third, use a 64-bit machine in screenshots. These days, almost every computer on the market sold is (at least for the past 4 years) is 64-bit. Discuss the different between 32-bit and 64-bit (for those 32-bit users still out there). At least 64-bit can go well above 4GB. We don't want 32-bit users thinking they can go up to 12GB of RAM, because they can't. Naturally, they would need a 64-bit OS.
- Hi Bob.
  Thanks for reading. You're right - Win32 users cannot use more than 4GB of installed RAM. The article was aimed at a temporary paging file fix for those experiencing the low memory issue. We weren't installing RAM, we were using the swap file to provide a stop gap. As commentor Matthew mentioned, the swap file isn't always in use, only when needed. It isnt constantly reading and writing to your HDD.
  Could you elaborate on why I shouldn't use my laptop for tutorials? Even if most computers in the past four years have been sold with 64bit systems, as you claim, there are still millions of users who don't have access to RAM upgrades, either through choice or necessity.
  If I'd have used a machine with more RAM installed, on a 64bit machine, the article wouldn't even exist. What a world, eh?
  Sorry I'd the article came across the wrong way. It doesn't quite read that way to me.
  I love my 32bit 3GB RAM Integrated Graphics laptop. What beast of a machine are you computing on?
  - Hay Gavin,
    So what on earth a person with 4GB of RAM with 32-bit machine can do to increase the speed of machine? It says you have 4095MB and recommended is 4593MB.
A few points... increasing pagefile - it will only be used if needed, so increasing it will not hurt the performance.
Moving the pagefile - to another actual disk is good, but to another partition on the same disk is not good - it will save a bit of space in a less used partition, but accessing pagefile will require a larger seek of the disk heads.
>4GB RAM ramdisk in 32 bit? - needs special software that can make use of memory by PAE above the 4GB limit.
http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/#ImDisk - which can be found free
- Thanks Matthew. I should have made that clearer in the article. Hope you enjoyed the read!
Even for 32-bit system, the best way is to buy more RAM. The trick is to create RAM Disk for the RAM above 4 GB, and move your virtual memory/page file or TEMP directory to it.
- Yes, it actually an easy process using 3rd party software (just Google free RAM Disk, or you can use the list in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_RAM_drive_software). After you setup the RAM Disk, it available as regular drive for Windows (i.e. drive F). You just need to move the virtual memory/page file there (or using symbolic link).
Upgrading to 64 bit Windows Home Premium or better, and being able to actually use more than 3GB of RAM, should be mentioned.
My other thought on this is to move the paging file to D: (if it is an internally stored extra drive) It will speed up the C: drive and free around 6 gigs of space. (usually) I usually do 1.5 times the amount of ram you have for the Minimum and 2 x the amount of ram you have for the maximum. (however that only works on a 64 bit machine, so with this article it is a moot)
- To add to my post, the moving to another drive is still a good idea. However the sizes I mentioned are for a 64 gig system since a 32 gig system with that amount of ram is max 4 gigs ram.
Good advice! BUT your hard drives swap-file (virtual Memory) is much slower than your RAM, thus will give negative performance increases when used.
This however is the fastest way of solving the problem. The best way would be to buy more physical RAM, however this poses several problems:
1. Do your computer support more RAM? Google your computer name (if store bought) and check what maximum installed memory it can handle, and shop accordingly. If you bought the parts on your own, google the name of your Motherboard (the numbers and letters part, not the maker of the motherboard, althou that can help narrowing it down) and do the same as part one.
2. Can your Operative System (OS) handle more RAM? An operative system is what you see when you turn your computer on (Windows, 'Mac'(Apple OS(x+)) etc etc). They come in two flavours: 32bit and 64bit. What the bit-part is is quite confusing so lets just stay with the information that a 32-bit OS only can handle 3040-ish MB of RAM (3.04GB) and the 64-bit can handle much much more than that (More than 128GB). SO you need to run a 64-bit OS to be able to get more than 3Gb or RAM.
How do you check it? Right Click 'Computer' in your Start-menu and click 'Properties' (windows Only). It will show you what OS you have and how much current RAM your computer sees and can use.
3. Buy the Correct kind of RAM. Ram comes in many diferent shapes and versions, as well as Sizes.
SSO-DIMM Ram is for Laptops only (or very very compact systems), so dont buy that for your big computer.
DDR to DDR4 Is the versions of the RAM sticks you can buy. They are different and cant be placed in the same slot (Again, your Motherboard dictates what DDR version you can use), so if your uncertain, check it up first!
RAM comes in different sizes and you can buy and use a 3GB stick of RAM if you have a 2 GB stick of ram in your pc, as long as the other points have been cleared (OS, Motherboard compatibility etc). But there are some performance issues if you use RAMS of different sizes, thou that will only be relevant if you plan on do a lot of Gaming or work with heavy files (600MB or more) and if you do, you probably already know this.
//Tip: DDR3 Is the most commonly used RAM for todays computers. If you bought a PC 4-8 years ago, DDR2 would be the safest bet, but again, check it up! //
//Tip#2: ECC memory is not something you need to have since the rest of your pc needs to support ECC to be able to use it. Its mostly used for servers and very high-end systems.//
AND, last but not least, Memory is really the wrong terminology for Hard Drive space, and is mostly used to tell someone how many MB or GB of RAM you have. Storage space is what is used to tell some one how big of a Harddrive you have. Its a bit confusing because of the use of Memory-Sticks, but that is still only storage, not RAM-memory (Althou it can be used as a slow RAM-booster).
To Article writer, didnt mean to be condescending towards you. I felt that this information could as well be used as a guiding supplement to your article, constructive criticism and all!
- Since i cant reply to you directly...
  Dont worry! Its impossible to make a guide that covers every little scrap of detail and the pro's and con's of them.
  You did a good job, just wanted to use the commenting system for something goood rather than to troll or hate ;)
  Btw, giving tech tips is very difficult due to the many many grumpy nerds out there, haha.
Er, I thought win 32 will take a max of 4 gb. Only 64 os can manage more than 4gb. Isn't that right? If it is, then surely this article is good advice.
- Although 32-bit operating systems can recognize up to 4GB RAM, only 3.5 would be usable, and after the graphics card, whether integrated or discrete, takes a portion of the RAM, 3.2GB is generally usable to Windows. One thing to note is that anyone that wants to keep performance as best as possible, one would set the minimum and the maximum paging file size the same amount. This way, the paging file becomes less fragmented over time, and should the system require more paging file size than initially allocated, performance does not suffer when the system increases the size on the disk.
  You are right that this is good advice, not best, for 32-bit operating system users. Otherwise, the user would have to format the hard drive and install a 64-bit operating system before installing more than 4GB of RAM. This is, however, after purchasing a 64-bit operating system license (Windows) before it can legally be activated. This would cost minimum $80USD for Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, plus the extra RAM (depending on type and amount, $24+ minimum), plus lost time reinstalling everything and setting everything up. Hardly cost effective nor best advice for anyone that wishes to keep using older computers on a tight budget.
  Something to consider is disabling unnecessary background services and processes, which this information can be found at http://www.blackviper.com (look under Popular Content for the operating system you are using). Otherwise, Tweaking.com's Simple System Tweaker would help disable features and services that are not used or needed for a decent performance boost, by reducing the amount of RAM being used. Also, disable any unnecessary processes from automatically starting by using either Windows'built-in msconfig, or use the simpler CCleaner Startup tool. Something else to consider is CleanMem by PCWinTech, which sets an automatic task schedule fit every 15 minutes to run Windows API for processes and applications to release unnecessarily used RAM, all without reducing system performance at all. Best wishes.
Would the Readyboost option be better if all criteria are met?
- Most people mentioned that they barely noticed Readyboost increasing performance, if at all. It works in a similar fashion as Superfetch by caching commonly used processes to increase load times. It can be more noticeable on systems with low memory, but can also help systems with plenty of memory, as well. One thing to note is that you want about 4GB or more of flash/pen drive storage that is rated for high speed. The faster the speed, the more noticeable the performance boost in opening commonly used applications. It will, however, take several times of starting Windows and the applications you use moist often for Readyboost to 'learn' what should be cached.
  Note: Readyboost will not help with errors about running out of memory, nor would it reduce the amount of RAM being used or increase the amount of available RAM and virtual memory.
- Thanks DalSan I had heard folks weren't seeing an increase and speed but I had 8GB flash lying around so I tried it out. I definitely had good results with my W7 4GB RAM i3 computer.
This is probably the worst computer advice ever. Unless you have an ssd drive, incresing your pagefile size will cause Windows to store more data on your slow hard drive. Causing your computer to run slower not faster. The best thing you can do is invest in more ram, why do you have a computer with only 3gb ram ? Do your homework and get a computer with as much ram as possible. Don't stick with what the manufacturer installed, double or triple that ram and don't mess with the pagefile just let Windows manage it.
- Check the screenshot above. It is running a 32-bit version of Windows. It will only support 4GB of RAM in the first place and not all of that will be available to Windows. Playing with the page file is the cheapest and most effective way to alleviate the issue on this particular machine although I would simply look at how the system is currently using the page file and make it static instead. By keeping the initial and max sizes somewhat larger than what the system is typically using and identical, the system won't be wasting a lot of IO by resizing the file when it becomes RAM starved.
Gavin,thanks for the tip!
- No problem, Arpit. Worked wonders on my aged laptop. Thanks for reading!

No matter how much main memory your system boasts, Windows 7 still creates and uses a page file for virtual memory. To maximize page file performance, you should make sure that Windows 7 is working optimally with the page file. The next few sections present some techniques that help you do just that.

Storing the Page File Optimally

The location of the page file can have a major impact on its performance. There are three things you should consider:

If you have multiple physical hard disks, store the page file on the hard disk that has the fastest access time -- You'll see later in this section that you can tell Windows 7 which hard disk to use for the page file.
Store the page file on an uncompressed partition -- Windows 7 is happy to store the page file on a compressed NTFS partition. However, as with all file operations on a compressed partition, the performance of page file operations suffers because of the compression and decompression required. Therefore, you should store the page file on an uncompressed partition.
If you have multiple hard disks, store the page file on the hard disk that has the most free space -- Windows 7 expands and contracts the page file dynamically depending on the system's needs. Storing the page file on the disk with the most space gives Windows 7 the most flexibility.

See 'Changing the Paging File's Location and Size,' later in this chapter, for the information about moving the page file.

About the book

Virtual Memory Windows 7 32 Bit

This chapter excerpt on Tuning Windows 7's Performance (download PDF) is taken from the book Microsoft Windows 7 Unleashed. This book goes deep into Windows 7 and covers everything from security settings to startup optimization and networking. Author Paul McFedries introduces new styles and techniques to maximize your Windows 7 performance.

Splitting the Page File

If you have two or more physical drives (not just two or more partitions on a single physical drive), splitting the page file over each drive can improve performance because it means that Windows 7 can extract data from each drive's page file simultaneously. For example, if your current initial page file size is 384MB, you'd set up a page file on a drive with a 192MB initial size, and another page file on a second drive with a 192MB initial size.

See 'Changing the Paging File's Location and Size' to learn how to split the page file.

Customizing the Page File Size

By default, Windows 7 sets the initial size of the page file to 1.5 times the amount of RAM in your system, and it sets the maximum size of the page file to 3 times the amount of RAM. For example, on a system with 1GB RAM, the page file's initial size will be 1.5GB and its maximum size will be 3GB. The default values work well on most systems, but you might want to customize these sizes to suit your own configuration. Here are some notes about custom page file sizes:

The less RAM you have, the more likely it is that Windows 7 will use the page file, so the Windows 7 default page file sizes make sense. If your computer has less than 1GB RAM, you should leave the page file sizes as is.
The more RAM you have, the less likely it is that Windows 7 will use the page file. Therefore, the default initial page file size is too large and the disk space reserved by Windows 7 is wasted. On systems with 2GB RAM or more, you should set the initial page file size to half the RAM size, but leave the maximum size at three times the amount of RAM, just in case.
If disk space is at a premium and you can't move the page file to a drive with more free space, set the initial page file size to 16MB (the minimum size supported by Windows 7). This should eventually result in the smallest possible page file, but you'll see a bit of a performance drop because Windows 7 will often have to increase the size the page file dynamically as you work with your programs.
You might think that setting the initial size and the maximum size to the same relatively large value (say, two or three times RAM) would improve performance because it would mean that Windows 7 would never resize the page file. In practice, however, it has been shown that this trick does not improve performance, and in some cases actually decreases performance.
If you have a large amount of RAM (at least 2GB), you might think that Windows 7 would never need virtual memory, so it would be okay to turn off the page file. This won't work, however, because Windows 7 needs the page file anyway, and some programs might crash if no virtual memory is present.

See 'Changing the Paging File's Location and Size' to learn how to customize the page file size.

Watching the Page File Size

Monitor the page file performance to get a feel for how it works under normal conditions, where normal means while running your usual collection of applications and your usual number of open windows and documents.

Start up all the programs you normally use (and perhaps a few extra, for good measure) and then watch Performance Monitor's ProcessPage File Bytes and ProcessPage File Bytes Peak counters.

About the author

Paul McFedries is the president of Logophilia Limited, a technical writing company, and has been writing computer books since 1991. McFedries is the author or coauthor of more than 60 books that have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. He is also the proprietor of Wordspy.com, a website described as 'the word lover's guide to new words,' which tracks new words that become part of the English language.

Changing the Paging File's Location and Size

The page file is named Pagefile.sys and it's stored in the root folder of the %SystemDrive%. Here's how to change the hard disk that Windows 7 uses to store the page file as well as the page file sizes:

NOTE
The Pagefile.sys file is a hidden system file. To see it, open any folder window and select Organize, Folder and Search Options. In the Folder Options dialog box, click the View tab, activate the Show Hidden Files and Folders option, and deactivate the Hide Protected Operating System Files check box. When Windows 7 asks you to confirm the display of protected operating system files, click Yes, and then click OK.

If necessary, defragment the hard disk that you'll be using for the page file, as described in Chapter 7. See 'Defragmenting Your Hard Disk,' p. 145.
Select Start, type advanced system, and then press Enter to select View Advanced System Settings in the search results. This opens the System Properties dialog box with the Advanced tab displayed.
In the Performance group, click Settings to display the Performance Options dialog box.
In the Advanced tab's Virtual Memory group, click Change. Windows 7 displays the Virtual Memory dialog box.
Deactivate the Automatically Manage Paging File Size for All Drives check box. Windows 7 enables the rest of the dialog box controls, as shown in Figure 6.8.
FIGURE 6.8 Use the Virtual Memory dialog box to select a different hard disk to store the page file.
Use the Drive list to select the hard drive you want to use.
Select a page file size option:
- Custom Size—Activate this option to set your own page file sizes using the Initial Size (MB) and Maximum Size (MB) text boxes. Ensure that Windows 7 is able to resize the page file dynamically, as needed, by entering a maximum size that's larger than the initial size.
- System Managed Size—Activate this option to let Windows 7 manage the page file sizes for you.
- No Paging File—Activate this option to disable the page file on the selected drive.

TIP
If you want to move the page file to another drive, first select the original drive and then activate the No Paging File option to remove the page file from that drive. Select the other drive and choose either Custom Size or System Managed Size to add a new page file to that drive.

TIP
If you want to split the page file over a second drive, leave the original drive as is, select the second drive, and choose either Custom Size or System Managed Size to create a second page file on that drive.

Click Set.

Exit all the dialog boxes. If you changed the drive or decreased either the initial size or the maximum size, you need to restart your computer to put the changes into effect.

Printed with permission from Sams Publishing. Copyright 2009. Microsoft Windows 7 Unleashed by Paul McFedries. For more information about this title and other similar books, please visit www.pearson.com.