Virtual Memory (Pagefile) Too Small for Games
What is this error?
Windows pagefile is too small or disabled, causing games to crash when they try to allocate more memory than physical RAM available. Games like Hogwarts Legacy, Star Citizen, and modded titles can easily exceed 16GB RAM usage.
Common causes
- pagefile manually set too small or disabled entirely
- pagefile on a nearly full drive with no room to expand
- system managed pagefile on a slow HDD causing stutters
- user disabled pagefile thinking it was unnecessary with 16/32GB RAM
How to fix it
- Set pagefile to system managed on your fastest SSD
- or manually set to 1
- 5x your RAM size
- ensure drive has free space
Too many steps? Crashless can diagnose this automatically — checks your drivers, temps, VRAM, and 400+ known error patterns.
Get free AI diagnosis Detailed analysis
Your game crashes with an 'out of memory' error even though you have 16GB or 32GB of RAM. The issue is your pagefile — Windows virtual memory that uses disk space as overflow when physical RAM is full. Many gamers disable or shrink the pagefile thinking it is unnecessary, but modern games absolutely need it. To check: right-click This PC > Properties > Advanced system settings > Performance section > Settings > Advanced tab > Virtual Memory > Change. If 'Automatically manage' is unchecked and the pagefile is set to a small size (or 'No paging file'), that is your problem. Games like Star Citizen, Hogwarts Legacy, modded Skyrim, Cities: Skylines 2, and many Unreal Engine 5 titles can request 20GB+ of memory even on systems with 32GB RAM. Without a pagefile, the game crashes instantly when it exceeds physical RAM. The fix: check 'Automatically manage paging file size for all drives' and click OK. Or for manual control, set it to your fastest NVMe SSD with an Initial size of your RAM amount (e.g., 16384 MB for 16GB RAM) and a Maximum of 1.5x your RAM (24576 MB). Make sure the drive has at least that much free space. Never put the pagefile on a slow HDD — it will cause massive stuttering when accessed. After changing, restart Windows. You can monitor pagefile usage in Task Manager > Performance > Memory to see the 'Committed' memory vs your physical RAM.
When to seek help
If this error keeps happening after trying the fixes above, it may point to a deeper hardware or system issue. Consider professional help if:
- The crash occurs across multiple games or applications
- You see the same error after a clean Windows install
- Your PC is less than a year old (could be a warranty issue)
- You smell burning or hear unusual sounds from your PC
Or let Crashless do the deep analysis for you -- our AI checks drivers, temps, event logs, and 400+ known patterns automatically.
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