Nov 2, 2014 Page File Deletion + Reallocation Page File Deletion & Reallocation Tutorial The following will instruct you on how to delete and reallocate the page file (c:\pagefile.sys). Start by clicking on the applicable Windows OS:◊ Windows 8.1 + Windows 8 ◊ Windows 10 + Windows 7 + Windows Vista → Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 - Bring up Search screen (press WIN + S keys) and type/paste sysdm.cpl; select the entry below it - (Windows 7 and Vista - see next step) - → Windows 10, Windows 7 and Windows Vista - Click on START; type/paste sysdm.cpl into the Start Search box; select sysdm.cpl from the search listing results Click on "Advanced" tab; click on "Settings" (hover mouse over image to enlarge it) - Click on "Advanced" tab; click on "Change" (hover mouse over image to enlarge it) - 1. Un-check "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" 2. Check "No paging file" box 3. Click on "Set" 4. Click on "OK" This screen will likely appear -- if so, press "OK" - Re-boot your system. Next, we need to remove the "hidden" and "system" file attributes from the page file. Bring up an Admin CMD prompt - ◊ Open an Elevated Admin Command Prompt (CMD) - Windows 10 ◊ Open an Elevated Admin Command Prompt Window (Windows 8 / 8.1) ◊ Open an Elevated Admin Command Prompt Window (Windows 7/ Vista) Type or paste the following into the CMD screen: Code: attrib -s -h %systemdrive%\pagefile.sys When complete, leave the CMD screen open for now. Next - delete the page file. You can use Windows Explorer -- locate c:\pagefile.sys, RIGHT-click on the file, press & hold the left SHIFT key down while clicking on DELETE. This is called a "hard delete" - it will bypass the Recycle Bin. A hard-delete is preferred as the page file may be too large for the Recycle Bin or in cases of low hard disk space. My preferred method - delete the page file via CMD. Type/paste the following into the Admin CMD screen left open from the ATTRIB step. If you closed the CMD, screen, simply follow the instructions to open a new Admin CMD screen - Code: del /a /q %systemdrive%\pagefile.sys Deletion of Paging Files on Drives other than c: (System Drive) Drive c: is the usual designation for the system drive (or "OS drive"). You can delete page file(s) from other drives or partitions via Windows Explorer or by substituting the drive letter for %systemdrive% in the CMD screen. Example: To delete a paging file on drive j: - substitute j:\pagefile.sys for %systemdrive%\pagefile.sys For info, %systemdrive% is an environment variable (ENV VAR). The system/OS drive/partition letter followed by a colon (:) is substituted by Windows for the ENV VAR as can be seen here by a simple CMD ECHO command - (hover mouse over image to enlarge it) - Time to reallocate the Page File/ Turn virtual memory back on. Go back into the page file screen - follow the above steps except for the last one. Check Box #1 to allow Windows to manage paging files; then click on OK - You will likely see this screen: Re-boot your system. Page file deletion and reallocation are now complete! If you would like assistance, please start a new thread in the appropriate OS forum: Microsoft Support & Malware Removal - Sysnative Forums Additional Information from Microsoft ▫ RAM, virtual memory, pagefile, and memory management in Windows ▫ RAM, Virtual Memory, PageFile and all that stuff ▫ Change the size of virtual memory - Windows Help ▫ How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows ▫ What is virtual memory? - Windows Help ▫ Page File How big is Yours ? - Jane Lewis's Weblog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs Click to expand...
Page File Deletion + Reallocation Page File Deletion & Reallocation Tutorial The following will instruct you on how to delete and reallocate the page file (c:\pagefile.sys). Start by clicking on the applicable Windows OS:◊ Windows 8.1 + Windows 8 ◊ Windows 10 + Windows 7 + Windows Vista → Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 - Bring up Search screen (press WIN + S keys) and type/paste sysdm.cpl; select the entry below it - (Windows 7 and Vista - see next step) - → Windows 10, Windows 7 and Windows Vista - Click on START; type/paste sysdm.cpl into the Start Search box; select sysdm.cpl from the search listing results Click on "Advanced" tab; click on "Settings" (hover mouse over image to enlarge it) - Click on "Advanced" tab; click on "Change" (hover mouse over image to enlarge it) - 1. Un-check "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" 2. Check "No paging file" box 3. Click on "Set" 4. Click on "OK" This screen will likely appear -- if so, press "OK" - Re-boot your system. Next, we need to remove the "hidden" and "system" file attributes from the page file. Bring up an Admin CMD prompt - ◊ Open an Elevated Admin Command Prompt (CMD) - Windows 10 ◊ Open an Elevated Admin Command Prompt Window (Windows 8 / 8.1) ◊ Open an Elevated Admin Command Prompt Window (Windows 7/ Vista) Type or paste the following into the CMD screen: Code: attrib -s -h %systemdrive%\pagefile.sys When complete, leave the CMD screen open for now. Next - delete the page file. You can use Windows Explorer -- locate c:\pagefile.sys, RIGHT-click on the file, press & hold the left SHIFT key down while clicking on DELETE. This is called a "hard delete" - it will bypass the Recycle Bin. A hard-delete is preferred as the page file may be too large for the Recycle Bin or in cases of low hard disk space. My preferred method - delete the page file via CMD. Type/paste the following into the Admin CMD screen left open from the ATTRIB step. If you closed the CMD, screen, simply follow the instructions to open a new Admin CMD screen - Code: del /a /q %systemdrive%\pagefile.sys Deletion of Paging Files on Drives other than c: (System Drive) Drive c: is the usual designation for the system drive (or "OS drive"). You can delete page file(s) from other drives or partitions via Windows Explorer or by substituting the drive letter for %systemdrive% in the CMD screen. Example: To delete a paging file on drive j: - substitute j:\pagefile.sys for %systemdrive%\pagefile.sys For info, %systemdrive% is an environment variable (ENV VAR). The system/OS drive/partition letter followed by a colon (:) is substituted by Windows for the ENV VAR as can be seen here by a simple CMD ECHO command - (hover mouse over image to enlarge it) - Time to reallocate the Page File/ Turn virtual memory back on. Go back into the page file screen - follow the above steps except for the last one. Check Box #1 to allow Windows to manage paging files; then click on OK - You will likely see this screen: Re-boot your system. Page file deletion and reallocation are now complete! If you would like assistance, please start a new thread in the appropriate OS forum: Microsoft Support & Malware Removal - Sysnative Forums Additional Information from Microsoft ▫ RAM, virtual memory, pagefile, and memory management in Windows ▫ RAM, Virtual Memory, PageFile and all that stuff ▫ Change the size of virtual memory - Windows Help ▫ How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows ▫ What is virtual memory? - Windows Help ▫ Page File How big is Yours ? - Jane Lewis's Weblog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs