Facing a sluggish computer when you're running intensive software or dealing with multiple open tabs? You may be hitting the limits of your RAM.
With RAMageddon pushing prices through the roof, physically upgrading isn't realistic for most people right now. Even basic tasks — having just five browser tabs open — can consume around 4GB, enough to clog up budget PCs.
If you're running Windows 11, you may ease some pressure off your PC by increasing your virtual memory. This is when you allow your computer to use hard disk space to simulate extra RAM, which can be used to prevent the system from crashing when the load on your RAM gets too high.
Windows 11 automatically manages virtual memory, but the default configuration is designed for general use. If your PC slows down or becomes unstable when running several programs at once, manually adjusting these settings gives you more breathing room and can noticeably improve performance on systems with limited RAM. Here's what you need to do.
1. Open Settings
The very first thing you’ll need to do is to head to your PC’s settings. To do so, open the Start menu. Then click on Settings.
Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Windows + I.
2. Go to System
From the left sidebar, click on System. This is where Windows 11 keeps performance and storage-related options.
3. Open About
Scroll down and click About. This page includes links to more advanced system controls.
4. Select Advanced system settings
On the about page, expand the device specifications section and click Advanced system settings from the list of related links that appears. This opens the classic System Properties window.
5. Open Performance settings
In the System Properties window, make sure you’re on the Advanced tab. Then under Performance, click Settings.
6. Open Virtual memory settings
In the Performance Options window, click the Advanced tab.
7. Adjust virtual memory
You’ll then see the virtual memory portion of the menu. Next, click Change.
8. Turn off automatic management
At the top of the window, uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives”. You won’t be able to set a custom size until this is turned off.
9. Select a drive
From the list of drives, click the drive where you want to allocate the virtual memory.
Usually, you’ll want to select your fastest drive. With the correct drive selected, click Custom size. This unlocks the two boxes where you’ll enter the amount of virtual memory in the next step.
10. Enter the desired size
Traditionally, the rule of thumb was to set the initial size to around 1.5x your RAM.
If you’re aiming to set around 4GB of virtual memory, you could use figures similar to the following:
In the “Initial size (MB)” box, type 4096.
In the “Maximum size (MB)” box, type 5120.
Click Set, then click OK.
11. Restart your PC
Lastly, restart your computer to finalize the changes and enable your new virtual memory settings.
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