How To Clear Page File Windows 10

Windows uses a paging file, as well known as a folio file, every bit additional virtual retentiveness when your RAM fills up. Windows can articulate your page file every fourth dimension you close downwardly, ensuring no sensitive data is left in the page file on the drive.

How This Works

RELATED: What Is the Windows Page File, and Should Yous Disable It?

When you close downwards your computer, the system's RAM is always erased—it's erased whenever it loses ability. But the page file isn't. If you're worried about someone snooping for sensitive data that may be left in your page file, Windows can erase it each time you close down. It does this by writing 0'south to every fleck of the page file, overwriting whatever existing data. If someone pulls the hard drive from your computer, they can't inspect the page file to discover whatsoever potentially sensitive information that may take been stored in memory.

There'southward a real downside to enabling this feature. It will make your computer take much longer to shut down. Your shutdown time may get from a few seconds to a few minutes, or fifty-fifty longer. It depends on how fast your reckoner's hard bulldoze is and how large your page file is. This is why Windows doesn't automatically clear the page file at shutdown by default. Information technology'south a trade-off, and i near people wouldn't want.

Nosotros Recommend Encryption Instead

RELATED: How to Enable Total-Disk Encryption on Windows 10

Rather than rely on immigration your page file, we recommend setting up full-disk encryption on your Windows PC, if possible. If your page file is stored on an encrypted drive, yous don't have to wipe information technology each time you shut downwardly—the page file will be encrypted, too. That ways no one tin pull the drive and attempt to examine the page file without having your encryption key.

More chiefly, encryption besides prevents attackers from looking at all the other files on your hard drive. But, if you store your page file on an unencrypted drive, or if an organization uses thin-customer systems, this option tin can be useful.

Home Users: Erase the Page File on Shutdown with the Registry Editor

If you have a Dwelling house edition of Windows, you lot will have to edit the Windows registry to brand these changes. You lot can also do information technology this way if you take Windows Pro or Enterprise, simply just feel more comfortable working in the Registry equally opposed to Grouping Policy Editor. (If you accept Pro or Enterprise, though, we recommend using the easier Group Policy Editor, as described in the next section.)

Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing information technology can return your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn't accept any issues. That said, if you've never worked with it before, consider reading nearly how to employ the Registry Editor earlier you become started. And definitely back up the Registry (and your calculator!) earlier making changes.

RELATED: Learning to Apply the Registry Editor Similar a Pro

First, open the Registry Editor by pressing Windows+R, typing "regedit" into the Run dialog that appears, and pressing Enter.

Use the left sidebar to navigate to the following key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Y'all should meet a "ClearPageFileAtShutdown" setting in the right pane. If you don't, right-click the "Retention Direction" key in the left pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and enter "ClearPageFileAtShutdown" as the proper name.

Double-click the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value, set enter "1" in the value data box, and press Enter.

You tin can at present close the Registry Editor window.

If yous want Windows to stop immigration the page file at shutdown, return here, double-click the ClearPageFileAtShutdown setting, and set it dorsum to "0".

Download Our One-Click Registry Hack

RELATED: How to Make Your Own Windows Registry Hacks

We've created ii downloadable registry hacks that practice the work for you. One disables the "ClearPageFileAtShutdown" setting, and 1 enables it. Download the annal below, double-click the registry hack you want to employ, and add together the information to your registry.

Download ClearPageFileAtShutdown Hacks

These are really only two small .REG files that modify the registry value we showed you how to modify above. If you always want to see what a .REG file does, you lot can right-click information technology and select "Edit". And, if you enjoy tweaking the registry, yous tin brand your own registry hacks.

Pro and Enterprise User: Use the Grouping Policy Editor

RELATED: Using Group Policy Editor to Tweak Your PC

If you're using a Professional or Enterprise edition of Windows, the easiest way to have Windows clear your page file at shutdown is by using the Local Group Policy Editor. Information technology's a pretty powerful tool, so if y'all've never used it before, information technology's worth taking some time to learn what information technology can do. Also, if you're on a company network, do everyone a favor and check with your admin first. If your work computer is part of a domain, information technology'southward as well likely that it's part of a domain group policy that will supersede the local group policy, anyway.

To open up it, press Windows+R on your keyboard, type "gpedit.msc" into the Run dialog that appears, and press "Enter".

If you encounter an error message saying gpedit.msc wasn't found, you're using a Dwelling edition of Windows. You can't use this tool.

In the left pane, navigate to the Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options binder.

Locate the "Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile" choice in the correct pane and double-click it.

Click the "Enabled" option in the backdrop window that appears and click "OK". Windows will now clear the folio file each time y'all shut down.

You can now close the group policy editor window.

If you always want to end Windows from clearing your folio file each fourth dimension you shut down, render here, double-click the "Shutdown: Articulate virtual retentiveness pagefile" setting, and select the "Disabled" option.