Swap file in Windows OS

A swap file, sometimes called a page file or paging file, is space on a hard drive used as a temporary location to store information when RAM is fully utilized. By using a swap file, a computer can use more memory than what is physically installed in the computer. However, if the computer is low on drive space, the computer can run slower because of the inability of the swap file to grow.

It is normal for the swap file or page file to grow, sometimes growing several hundred megabytes in size. By default, swap files are hidden.

Below is a listing of common Microsoft operating system default swap file names and locations.

Operating system	Swap file name	Location
Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and 10.	PAGEFILE.SYS	C:\
Windows 95, 98, and ME	WIN386.SWP	C:\
Windows 3.x	386PART.PAR	C:\WINDOWS