How to increase swap memory in Windows?

Taken directly from the documentation, which is the first Google result for "windows change swap space":

  1. Open System by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.

  2. In the left pane, click Advanced system settings. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

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

  4. Click the Advanced tab, and then, under Virtual memory, click Change.

  5. Clear the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box.

  6. Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.

  7. Click Custom size, type a new size in megabytes in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box, click Set, and then click OK.

See also http://www.thewindowsclub.com/increase-page-file-size-virtual-memory-windows.

This applies to Windows 7, 8, and all earlier versions back to at least XP. The procedure hasn't changed in over a decade.


First of all, newer versions of Windows use mainly page file not swap file.

To check your current pagefile:

Win+R (Run...) -> sysdm.cpl -> Advanced -> performance -> settings -> Advanced -> Change -> custom size -> set