Change virtual memory settings

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To change virtual memory settings

  1. Open Computer Management.

  2. In the console tree, right-click Computer Management (Local), and then select Properties.

  3. On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.

  4. Under Virtual memory, click Change.

  5. In the Drive list, click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.

  6. Under Paging file size for selected drive, click Custom size, type new paging file sizes in the Initial Size (MB) and Maximum Size (MB) boxes, and then click Set. Click OK.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.

  • To open Computer Management, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

  • To perform this procedure on a remote computer, right-click Computer Management (Local), click Connect to another computer, select Another computer, and then type in the name of the remote computer. You can then follow the steps in this procedure, starting at step 2, and substituting Computer Management (remote computername) for Computer Management (Local). You must be a member of the Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority, on the computer that you specify for remote computername.

  • For best performance, set the initial size to not less than the recommended size under Total paging file size for all drives. The recommended size is equivalent to 1.5 times the amount of RAM on your system.

  • Usually, you should leave the paging file at its recommended size, although you might increase its size if you routinely use programs that require a lot of memory.

  • If you decrease the size of the paging file, you must restart your computer to see the effects of those changes.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

System Properties overview
View system properties
Perform a local or remote shutdown
Windows Management Instrumentation overview