Clear Windows Pagefile on Shutdown

[Kas]

Kelly`s Korner gives this :-

 

Run>Regedit - then :-

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown", change to dword:= 00000001

 

I did this long ago and presumably it works. The Pagefile SIZE stays the same, but the contents are cleared on shutdown. The Pagefile can have a very large content.

 

Well, waddaya know ? Pure magic.

[hazelnut]

Please don't anyone try to search for, and go to, a site which lists kellys-korner fixes for XP.

 

The site is dead now and you will be redirected...a big no no.

[Kas]

Please don't anyone try to search for, and go to, a site which lists kellys-korner fixes for XP.

 

The site is dead now and you will be redirected...a big no no.

Fair enough, my click-on to Kelly`s Korner was years ago when lots of goodies existed. Forget KK now, if it has gone kaput.

 

Just follow the perfectly valid string I gave, it works fine. No problems, just standard Windows Regedit procedure.

[Andavari]

 site is dead now and you will be redirected...a big no no.

 

Good to know! I've removed the URL link I had in my saved XP fix documents.

[Nergal]

Kelly`s Korner gives this :-...magic.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314834#appliestoAlso this is a better way to do this (applies to all OS versions greater than ME except maybe XP home I think)

 

Through the Local Security Policy1. Open the Local Security Policy.2. In the left pane, click on to expand Local Policies and User Rights Assignment, then open Security Settings. (See screenshot below)Virtual Memory Paging File - Clear at Shutdown-secpol-1.jpg3. In the right pane, right click on Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile and click on Properties.4. To Enable Clear Paging File at ShutdownA) Select (dot) Enabled and click on OK. (See screenshot below step 5A) Go to step 6.5. To Disable Clear Paging File at ShutdownNOTE: This is the default setting.A) Select (dot) Disabled and click on OK.Virtual Memory Paging File - Clear at Shutdown-properties.jpg6. Close Local Group Policy Editor window. Your done.7. If you enabled this setting, then restart or shutdown the computer to clear the Virtual Memory Paging File.

That said there's little to no benefit to new page file eratication, and old page files are cleaned by ccleaner so ...meh.

[Andavari]

I never liked cleaning the pagefile at shutdown, it can take ages especially if the machine is maxed out on RAM, because the more RAM a system has equals a bigger pagefile to match that amount of RAM.

[Kas]

I let Windows set my Pagefile size and do not bother with any customization. I do not need any personal gymnastics on this matter.

 

I have  960 MB of RAM, not a lot by others standards, but adequate for me. My Pagefile size is 1440 MB or 1.5 x available RAM, which is the general guidance for Pagefile size setting.

 

Having the computer clear my Pagefile on shutdown as suggested gives no problem whatsoever. It is not even noticed. An empty box is surely better than a box full of junk from a previous session.

[Hav0c]

I let Windows set my Pagefile size and do not bother with any customization. I do not need any personal gymnastics on this matter.

 

I have  960 MB of RAM, not a lot by others standards, but adequate for me. My Pagefile size is 1440 MB or 1.5 x available RAM, which is the general guidance for Pagefile size setting.

 

Having the computer clear my Pagefile on shutdown as suggested gives no problem whatsoever. It is not even noticed. An empty box is surely better than a box full of junk from a previous session.

 

Just want to make something sure here.

By that equation  1.5 x available RAM = general guidance for Pagefile size setting

I have 12gb RAM  so     1.5 x 12,288mb = 18,432mb  of HDD space just to create a pagefile

OR

Is it available RAM after all process has started and RAM being used, available RAM is what is "free" after this process ?

[Kas]

Just want to make something sure here.

By that equation  1.5 x available RAM = general guidance for Pagefile size setting

I have 12gb RAM  so     1.5 x 12,288mb = 18,432mb  of HDD space just to create a pagefile

OR

Is it available RAM after all process has started and RAM being used, available RAM is what is "free" after this process ?

Sorry about the apparently ancient information.

 

The pagefile being advised to be set that high is from days in which 128-512mb of RAM was common and you got a good performance boost from 1.5x physical RAM as your pagefile.

 

Today with 4GB+ becoming the norm setting much above 6GB for the pagefile is unnecesary.

 

With me still using Windows XP Home 2002 version, my comments are perfectly valid with only 960 MB of RAM Obviously things have moved on.

 

The thread is really about clearing the Pagefile, no matter however big it is on shutdown and I have no  wish for it to degenerate into a complex Pagefile size issue. Apologies for inserting a possible bum steer conducive of hijacking. Let us keep on track with the thread purpose.

[Andavari]

The thread is really about clearing the Pagefile, no matter however big it is on shutdown and I have no  wish for it to degenerate into a complex Pagefile size issue. Apologies for inserting a possible bum steer conducive of hijacking. Let us keep on track with the thread purpose.

 

 

It's not going off topic!!!!!

 

You wanted to know about the pagefile at shutdown, and if there are caveats (and there can be) that can go alongside doing so, so wouldn't you like to know beforehand? Could also save the casual reader from following "tweaking" advice they may decide to avoid.

Edited June 4, 2014 by Andavari

[Kas]

It's not going off topic!!!!!

 

You wanted to know about the pagefile at shutdown, and if there are caveats (and there can be) that can go alongside doing so, so wouldn't you like to know beforehand? Could also save the casual reader from following "tweaking" advice they may decide to avoid.

Fair comment. 

 

I suppose with only a small Pagefile of 1440 RAM, my problems are negligible. I have been clearing my Pagefile on shutdown for years, just like I clear my browser cache, history and  cookies.

 

But with a Pagefile of 4-6 GB of RAM, perhaps even greater, then I agree there may be problems, mainly with shutdown times being extended to even a full minute. 

 

There are those who advocate that a Pagefile poses a security risk and the larger the Pagefile, the larger the risk. It is obviously better to clear all the Pagefile junk on shutdown,  just like any other cache and re-start with an empty box, but the advantages may not be worth the disadvantages with a very large Pagefile, if any. There are also those who live dangerously by advocating having no Pagefile at all.

 

I am completely satisfied with my personal choice, but it will be interesting to see how the thread develops into other areas of consideration as voiced by users having more modern OS`s and infinitely more RAM or are more enthusiastic about Pagefile manipulation.

[Hav0c]

But with a Pagefile of 4-6 GB of RAM, perhaps even greater, then I agree there may be problems, mainly with shutdown times being extended to even a full minute.

 

I am sure you are just speculating about the full minute to shut down, right ??

Shutdown time is not based on the time it takes to delete the pagefile, it depends on the amount of processes and services that has to end on the pc before it can shut down..._{^{(but I am sure you knew that)}}

 

 

Another question, you state

 

There are those who advocate that a Pagefile poses a security risk and the larger the Pagefile, the larger the risk. It is obviously better to clear all the Pagefile junk on shutdown.......

 

If it's that obvious to delete the page file on shutdown due to security risks, don't you think that Microsoft will advise the users to delete it ?

 

One more thing, what is negligible for one isn't negligible for someone else.

[Nergal]

Why not just turn page files off if you, opinionally, find them insecure?

[Andavari]

Why not just turn page files off if you, opinionally, find them insecure?

 

I've seen on multiple systems which should in theory have more than enough RAM to warrant turning it off... ...and then a particular program is installed and can cause all manor of issues without a pagefile, the worst being the program refusing to work and telling a user "I can not function with no pagefile available".

 

I know on my XP Pro SP3 system doing a full system scan with Panda Cloud Antivirus with no pagefile it causes Windows to complain.

[Kas]

I've seen on multiple systems which should in theory have more than enough RAM to warrant turning it off... ...and then a particular program is installed and can cause all manor of issues without a pagefile, the worst being the program refusing to work and telling a user "I can not function with no pagefile available".

 

I know on my XP Pro SP3 system doing a full system scan with Panda Cloud Antivirus with no pagefile it causes Windows to complain.

What a logical and constructive post. To delete the Pagefile is an irresponsible maneuver of the Gung-ho trick-cyclist..

 

It is obvious that the Pagefile is a vital and necessary systems ingredient of Windows. The trick is to carefully manage and control its practical size and see that it does not become a malignant liability. An enormous cache of redundant rubbish wasting GB`s of precious memory.

 

Security risk ? Perhaps it is and perhaps it is not. There are those who have this phobia, but are they simply paranoid ? Probably.

 

It makes good sense to  delete the contents of the Pagefile on shutdown and restart with a clean sheet. If Windows takes longer on shut down, so what. Is that such an irritating burden ?  i don`t care if my PC takes 10 seconds or a minute to shut  down. I  see no reason why an empty Pagefile should have any adverse effect on start-up times. Quite the  contrary, it should be an improvement.

[Andavari]

I found a balance which to me beats using the Windows default settings for my now 3GB RAM instead of letting Windows gobble up 4605 MB which to me is absurd I have it set at 1024 MB which hasn't given me any issues.

 

I hope Windows in the future can getaway from needing a pagefile at all, or at the very least have one that's so small it's relatively unnoticed by us end-users as being a constant disk space robbing hog.

 

I  see no reason why an empty Pagefile should have any adverse effect on start-up times. Quite the  contrary, it should be an improvement.

 

I don't think it slows down the startup time, or at least I never noticed in the past when I had the pagefile cleared on shutdown.

[hazelnut]

Something to consider..no page file...no crash dumps

 

http://www.resplendence.com/whocrashed_dumpnotwritten

 

 

 

Your system must have a page file

If you have disabled the page file in virtual memory settings, crash dumps will not be written out. Your system needs to have a page file and it must be large enough

[login123]

Lots of folks may not be able to unravel the ambiguities in this topic. 

 

I suggest that such folks just leave the pagefile parameters alone. 

Both windows and CCleaner help manage the pagefile automatically.

There is no need for any more tinkering. 

 

My system is win xp sp3, RAM = 3.31 gb, pagefile = 1.99 GB (2,145,386,496 bytes) not tweaked. 

Works fine. 

[Kas]

OK fellas, have a giggle at this.

 

If you allow Windows to control the Pagefile size and it becomes a variable relative to need, rather like a balloon can expand, what happens when you customize the size ? This fixes the size at a value decided by yourself, albeit too much or too little.

 

So what happens when the system requires more Pagefile capacity than you have allowed ? Does a boxing glove shoot out from the screen on a spring and hit you in the eye ? Or does the PC self destruct in a puff of blue smoke ?

[login123]

What happens is that the computer slows down and maybe the HDD works hard. 

 

The pagefile is sort of a RAM supplement. 

If RAM is not sufficient to run a program, windows uses the pagefile to augment it.

The best solution for that would be to increase RAM.

If not possible, then the pagefile can be tweaked.

 

But these folks seem to recommend leaving it alone.

I would recommend that for the average user, but I am certainly no expert.

http://lifehacker.com/5426041/understanding-the-windows-pagefile-and-why-you-shouldnt-disable-it

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/WindowsGeneralWeb/RAMVirtualMemoryPageFileEtc.htm

[Andavari]

If you allow Windows to control the Pagefile size and it becomes a variable relative to need, rather like a balloon can expand, what happens when you customize the size ? This fixes the size at a value decided by yourself, albeit too much or too little.

 

So what happens when the system requires more Pagefile capacity than you have allowed ?

 

I have mine at a "fixed" size, and I do quote the word fixed because I have observed Windows black/white magic on a couple of occasions ignoring my set limit of 1024 MB and using more when it needs to. After a startup or reboot it's back to the set size of 1024 MB.

[Winapp2.ini]

OK fellas, have a giggle at this.

 

If you allow Windows to control the Pagefile size and it becomes a variable relative to need, rather like a balloon can expand, what happens when you customize the size ? This fixes the size at a value decided by yourself, albeit too much or too little.

 

So what happens when the system requires more Pagefile capacity than you have allowed ? Does a boxing glove shoot out from the screen on a spring and hit you in the eye ? Or does the PC self destruct in a puff of blue smoke ?

You run out of virtual memory and windows asks you to close stuff

 

I personally disable the page file completely as it is rare that I use even half my ram (barring firefox memory leaks from a few months ago). I've only ever run into one program that demanded a page file

[mta]

I'd imagine if you set the upper limit too low that you would get the old message "Your system is running low on virtual memory".

I set all PC's to 512 min, 4096 max and have never had an issue.  I have 8g ram but I still do that customised settings to any PC despite it's ram amount.