If the goal is to remove sensitive data from the page file:
If your primary drive is a small SSD (e.g., 128GB or 256GB) and you need to free up 10–20GB immediately for essential files or system updates. Risks of Deleting Virtual Memory delete pagefile.sys
, it's not recommended to delete the pagefile.sys file. Here's why: If the goal is to remove sensitive data
If you want to reclaim storage space but don't want to risk system instability by turning off virtual memory completely, consider these two safer middle-ground strategies. 1. Set a Custom (Smaller) File Size Click Set and restart your computer
Repeat the steps, but select on your preferred drive.
Set both the and Maximum size (MB) to a fixed number (e.g., 2048 for 2GB, or 4096 for 4GB). Click Set and restart your computer. 2. Move the Pagefile to a Secondary Drive
Deleting or disabling the page file is generally unless the system possesses a significant surplus of physical RAM (typically 64GB or more) and specific performance requirements exist.