What is the largest size for Windows Pagefile.sys you can set?
I know that recommended size for a page file C:\Pagefile.sys in Windows is about 2 or 1.5 times the RAM. Out of curiosity what is the maximum size for a page file that can be set?
3 Answers
The limit on Windows 7 is 16 Terabytes.
Learn Best Practices for Optimizing the Virtual Memory Configuration - Microsoft TechNet
On a PC with a processor that supports Physical Address Extension (PAE)—which is to say, on any PC that is capable of running Windows 7—the maximum size of the page file is 16 TB.
When attempting to set a larger amount, Windows displayed the error:
System Properties
Enter a maximum page file size that is greater than or equal to the initial page file size, and less than 16777216 MB.
Note: This limit is also the max file size for a file on Windows 7 NTFS (Source: NTFS - Wikipedia). The max file size for NTFS on Windows 8 and Windows 10 are larger, but it is unclear if a larger page file is allowed.
5In the days of XP with 1 gig ram, the answer was 1 and 1.5. One being the ram and 1.5 being the pagefile. Otherwise, there was the option of letting the machine decide.
The above mentioned limits of 16TB etc seem quite off the charts! Couldn't find any documentation to base those claims.
According to Microsoft itself, 64-bit versions of Windows have a 4GB max paging file size limit. Windows XP Windows Server 2003, 2008 & 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016 Windows Vista Windows 7, 8, 10
It's clear from the above the OS don't play a much of a role in regards to max paging file size. It plays a role though in recommended page file size (not much but it does).
Since this post is coming quite high in google search, i thought to lay out the facts.
Data taken from:
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