You can move Windows’ page file through Advanced System Settings—no third-party utility is needed. Set a page file on the destination drive first, then remove it from the old drive, click Set after each change, and restart. For most users, choose System managed size. Before disabling the page file on the Windows boot volume, check whether your crash-dump setup requires one there.
Move the page file in Windows
The page file, named pagefile.sys, is a hidden system file Windows uses as part of virtual memory. Windows lets you configure its location and size for each drive in the Virtual Memory settings.
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Open Start, search for View advanced system settings, and open it.
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In System Properties, select the Advanced tab. Under Performance, select Settings.
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In Performance Options, open the Advanced tab. Under Virtual memory, select Change.
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Clear Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
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Select the drive where you want the page file. Choose System managed size, then select Set. Use Custom size only if you have a specific reason and know the requirements for your workload and crash dumps.
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Select the drive that currently hosts the page file. Choose No Paging File, then select Set. If you need a page file on the old drive for crash dumps or workload reasons, do not remove it; choose an appropriate setting instead.
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Confirm the open dialogs and restart Windows. The new configuration takes effect after the restart.
This sequence follows the click path in an accepted Microsoft Q&A answer by an Independent Advisor dated October 21, 2022. It advises setting the destination before removing the old page file and cautions against removing all paging files.
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Choose a destination and size
Use system-managed sizing as the starting point
For a general-purpose Windows 10 or 11 PC, System managed size on a suitable local drive is the sensible starting choice. Microsoft says Windows adjusts system-managed page files in response to installed RAM, commit charge and crash-dump requirements. Its Windows 10/11 guidance also notes that the volume’s capacity and free space limit how the page file can grow.
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Choose a drive with enough available space and headroom for growth, and consider its reliability, workload and storage performance. A page file is not a substitute for RAM, and moving it by itself does not establish that the PC will run faster. Microsoft warns that a highly fragmented volume can reduce device performance.
Do not treat a fixed size as a universal rule
There is no one custom page-file size that suits every PC. Microsoft’s older Windows Server and 32-bit conceptual guidance gives 1.5 times installed RAM only as a possible starting point when no other information is available; it is not a universal sizing rule for current Windows client systems.
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Microsoft also documents a specific Windows 10 troubleshooting case in which latency while an automatically managed page file grows can contribute to memory-allocation failures. For that issue, it suggests a custom initial size of 1.5 times RAM and a restart after applying the setting. That is a workaround for the described problem, not general advice to resize or relocate a page file.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Check crash-dump needs before removing the boot-volume page file
If the Windows boot volume is the drive you plan to set to No Paging File, check your configured crash-dump type first. Microsoft’s client crash-dump guidance says the page file must be on the boot volume for its documented dump feature. Disabling it there can therefore affect whether Windows captures the dump you expect.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe required size depends on the dump type and the Windows guidance that applies to your setup. Microsoft’s complete-memory-dump guidance describes a boot-volume page file large enough for physical RAM plus 1 MB. Its Windows 10/11 sizing guidance gives a complete-dump minimum of RAM plus 257 MB, accounting for a 1 MB header and up to 256 MB of secondary driver data. These figures describe different guidance contexts; neither should be treated as a universal minimum for every dump configuration. Check the requirement for your configured dump type.
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Automatic memory dumps are enabled by default according to Microsoft’s Windows 10/11 sizing guidance. A system-managed page file can start smaller and grow according to dump and commit requirements. If you want to free space on C: but need to preserve boot-volume dump support, you may be able to keep a smaller page file on C: and configure another on the destination drive. The right arrangement depends on the dump and workload requirements of your system.
If the Virtual Memory controls are unavailable
If the page-file settings are greyed out or you cannot change them, a Group Policy setting may control who can create or change page files. Microsoft’s page-file policy documentation notes that the controls can be unavailable while a Group Policy Object governs the setting. On a work- or school-managed PC, ask the administrator rather than trying to bypass the policy.
What moving the page file does—and does not do
Relocation changes the volume Windows uses for some virtual-memory backing; it does not add physical memory or guarantee a performance gain. If you are investigating hard-page-fault activity, Microsoft recommends correlating hard-page-fault counters with disk performance on the logical volumes that host page files. That can help distinguish memory pressure from a drive bottleneck. The result depends on the system’s workload and storage, not just the page-file location.
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