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Checking Pagefile (Swap) Usage on Windows Server

Pagefile.sys is the Windows equivalent of Linux Swap. It is a file on your hard drive used as "Virtual Memory" when your physical RAM is full.

High usage of the Pagefile usually indicates that your server needs more RAM. You can check the current usage via PowerShell or the graphical Performance Monitor.

Method 1: PowerShell (Quickest)

The fastest way to check usage without clicking through menus is via the command line.

  1. Open PowerShell.
  2. Run the following command:
Get-WmiObject Win32_PageFileUsage | Select-Object Name, CurrentUsage, AllocatedBaseSize, PeakUsage

Output explanation:

  • AllocatedBaseSize: Total size of the file (MB).
  • CurrentUsage: Current active usage (MB).
  • PeakUsage: The highest usage recorded since the last reboot.

Method 2: Performance Monitor (Visual)

If you want to see a live graph or monitor usage over time, use the built-in Performance Monitor tool.

  1. Press Win + R on your keyboard.
  2. Type perfmon and press Enter.
  3. In the left menu, click on Performance Monitor.
  4. Click the green Plus (+) icon in the top toolbar to add a counter.
Perfmon Add Counter button
  1. In the list, scroll down to Paging File.
  2. Click the arrow to expand it and select % Usage.
  3. Click Add >> and then OK.

You will now see a live graph. If the line is consistently high (above 70-80%), consider upgrading your VPS plan.

Dashboard Stats vs. Internal Stats:
The graphs in the MyTilaa Dashboard show memory usage from the Hypervisor level. Windows often caches data in RAM, making it look "full" from the outside.
Checking the Pagefile usage internally (as described above) is a much better indicator of whether you are actually running out of memory.