By default, Windows dynamically expands and shrinks the Windows page file as required. This leads to fragmentation of the page file and additional storage I/O. To minimize the storage I/O associated with page file operations, set the page file to a fixed size.
Not every desktop configuration will require a page file. If you determine that a desktop pool has low per-desktop memory requirements, common when minimal applications are being used, you can disable the page file entirely.
The following steps outline how to configure a fixed-size page file:
- Right-click on This PC (Windows 8.1 and newer) and select Properties.
- Select Advanced system settings | Advanced.
- Click on the Settings... button under Performance to open the Performance Options window.
- In the Performance Options window, click on the Advanced tab.
- In the Advanced tab, click on the Change... button.
- Uncheck the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives checkbox.
- Click on the Custom size radio button, and populate the Initial size and Maximum size fields with the same value in MB.
- Click on the Set button to implement the changes, and then click on OK three times to complete the action. Reboot the desktop if prompted.
Refer to the Microsoft TechNet article Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory for additional guidance about how to determine the fixed page file size.