How to Relocate the Paging File in Windows XP

If your PC’s hard drive is divided into partitions, moving your paging file may enable you to achieve better system performance. The paging file is an area of your hard drive that Windows uses as RAM in what is called “virtual memory.” Follow these steps to relocate the paging file to a different partition than the one containing your Windows system files.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A PC with any version of Windows installed

1. Click the "Start" button and open the "Control Panel."
2. Double-click the "System" icon. Click the "Advanced" tab, then click the "Settings" button in the Performance section.
3. Click the new "Advanced" tab, then click the "Change" button in the Virtual Memory section.
4. Look under the Drive list and select a hard drive or partition other than the one on which Windows is installed, which is most likely C:.
5. Look for the recommended total paging file size for all drives. Click the "Custom Size" button and type that same number into the Initial size box. Then enter the maximum amount of hard drive space you want to allocate for virtual memory in the Maximum Size field. The greater this number is, the more the performance of programs and data stored on this drive will be affected when system resources are strained. Click the "Set" button.
6. Go back to the Drive box and click "C:" or whichever drive the Windows system files are installed onto. Click "No Paging File," then click "Set." Click "Yes" on the window that appears.
7. Click "OK" on the windows that follow, then reboot your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• This trick may dramatically increase your system performance if you routinely receive alerts that say “Limited virtual memory” or “Virtual memory too low.”

Who Can Help:

• Find Computer, Electrical and Telephone Services Here. Compare Up to 4 Quotes, Free Service & No Obligation.