How to Move the Paging File Off the System Drive on Windows 11

Quick fix: Open System Properties (sysdm.cpl) → Advanced → Performance Settings → Advanced → Virtual memory → Change. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size. Set C: to No paging file; set another drive (D:) to System managed size or a fixed size. Reboot.

You have a small fast NVMe as C: and a larger SATA SSD as D:. Windows defaults to placing the paging file on C:, which consumes 8–16 GB on a drive where every GB matters. Moving it to D: frees that space — modern paging is rare enough that the slight latency difference doesn’t matter for typical workloads.

What the paging file does

Paging file (pagefile.sys) is virtual memory backing — physical RAM overflows to disk when allocations exceed available memory. Windows also uses paging for crash dumps, hibernation state, and certain caching. Default size on C: is roughly equal to installed RAM (16 GB system = 16 GB paging file). Moving it requires no special hardware; you just need a second drive.

Method 1: Move via System Properties

1. Press Win+R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
2. Click Advanced tab → Settings… under Performance.
3. Click Advanced tab in the new dialog → Change… under Virtual memory.
4. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
5. Click C: drive. Choose No paging file. Click Set.
6. Click D: drive. Choose System managed size. Click Set.
7. Click OK to all dialogs. Reboot when prompted.

Method 2: Custom size for predictable performance

1. In the same dialog as Method 1, select D: and choose Custom size.
2. Set Initial size and Maximum size to a fixed value (e.g., 8192 MB).
3. Same initial and maximum prevents fragmentation.
4. Click Set, OK, reboot.

Method 3: PowerShell automation

1. Open elevated PowerShell:
   
   $cs = Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem

$cs.AutomaticManagedPagefile = $false

Set-CimInstance $cs

$pf_c = Get-CimInstance Win32_PageFileSetting -Filter “name = ‘C:\\pagefile.sys’”

$pf_c | Remove-CimInstance

New-CimInstance Win32_PageFileSetting -Property @{Name=”D:\pagefile.sys”; InitialSize=8192; MaximumSize=8192}
2. Reboot.

Verification

• dir C:\pagefile.sys — file is gone.
• dir D:\pagefile.sys — file is present.
• Settings → About → Advanced system settings shows the new configuration.
• Disk Cleanup on C: shows the freed space.

If none of these work

If you can’t reboot cleanly after moving, the change may have left the system without a paging file (insufficient virtual memory). Boot to Safe Mode and reset paging to automatic. For systems with crash dumps configured to full memory dumps, paging file on C: must be at least RAM size + 1 MB — check Recovery settings in System Properties.

Bottom line: Move paging to a larger drive via Virtual Memory dialog. Don’t disable entirely; keep a paging file on at least one drive for crash dumps and overflow.