Managing paging memory

What is Paging?

Paging is a memory management technique used by operating systems to efficiently manage and utilize computer memory. It involves dividing both physical memory (RAM) and virtual memory into fixed-size blocks called "pages". By using paging, the operating system can load only the necessary pages of a program into physical memory, while keeping the rest on disk, thus allowing programs to exceed the available physical memory.

In short:

Your games won't and can't run on 8 or 16 GBs of RAM alone, probably not even 32 if it's a new AAA game. That's why there's paging memory, and too little of it can cause memory leaks and BSODs. Windows automatically comes up with the required amount of paging memory, but sometimes it's not enough.

How to change it:

Right Click on Windows/Start Menu > System.

W11: Click on Advanced system settings W10: Scroll down until you see Advanced system settings and click on it.

Click on Performance tab, then under Virtual Memory click on Change. Disable Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.

Select Custom size if not selected already.

Determining your right amount for the paging pool.

Initial size: 1.5 x your RAM size (e.g. 16 gb) Maximum size: 3 x Initial Size

Example:

"So let's say you have 4 GB (1 GB = 1,024 MB x 4 = 4,096 MB) of memory. The initial size would be 1.5 x 4,096 = 6,144 MB and the maximum size would be 3 x 6,144 = 18,432 MB." - Source: GeeksInPhoenix

Then click Set then click Apply and OK on every box, then reboot.

Congratulations! 🎉

This is the end of the guide. Your PC/Laptop should now be memory-leak free!