Paging file
A file that is used to handle virtual memory on a computer.
With virtual memory under Windows NT, some of the program code and other
information are kept in RAM, while other information is temporarily stored in a
virtual-memory paging file. When that information is required again, Windows NT
places it into RAM and, if necessary, swaps other information to virtual memory.
The resulting benefit is that you can run more programs at one time than your
systemÆs RAM would usually allow.
In Windows NT, the virtual-memory paging file is named pagefile.sys, which is
usually located in your system partition. You cannot delete this file while
running Windows NT. If you delete this file while running another operating
system, a new paging file is automatically created the next time you start Windows NT.
The paging file size should be the amount of physical RAM plus 12 MB, but it
should not be less than 22 MB. In addition, if you have multiple physical drives
(not just multiple partitions on a single drive), you can split the paging
file across them for increased efficiency.