Setting a Page File
Larger Skyrim modlists require a significant amount of memory, running out of memory will result in crashes and other potential issues. Due to Skyrim Unification Project’s size and number of files, a page file is NOT optional. I do not care how much RAM or VRAM you have, you must do this.
What is a page file?
A page file (also known as a “paging file”) is an optional, hidden system file on a hard disk. Page files are utilized when your computer runs out of physical RAM to temporarily store data that isn’t actively being used. Page files help prevent crashes and keep your system running smoothly.
Why do we need a page file?
Skyrim is a very old game (originally released in 2011) that is built on the Creation Engine, a engine based off of the Gamebryo engine that was originally used for Morrowind.
Through lots of experience and trial-and-error, we have discovered that increasing the window’s pagefile can fix certain types of Skyrim crashes, the two most common examples being Unhandled native exception occurred at 0x7FF6ADC8DDDA
and Unhandled native exception occurred at 0x0
.
But why is this? Skyrim appears to use system memory in very unexpected ways, for example it will frequently dip into the pagefile memory despite there being available RAM. Based on internal testing, Skyrim heavily favors high speed, low latency RAM.
How do I set up a page file?
In order to set up a page file follow the steps below.
- Press
Win+R
. - Type
sysdm.cpl ,3
and hitENTER
. - Navigate to Performance and click the box
Settings...
. - Click the Advanced tab.
- Under Virtual Memory click the box
Change...
. - Uncheck
Automatically Manage
(if it is checked). - Select your disk drive, ideally your fastest solid state drive.
Your page file does not need to be on the same drive as your Skyrim Unification Project installation.
- Click
Custom Size:
. - In the box next to Initial Size (MB), type
40960
. - In the box next to Maximum Size (MB), type
40960
.
If you have 64GB of RAM or more, you can try setting these sizes to 20480
in order to save some space.
- Click
Set
. - Click
OK
. - Click
Apply
. - Click
OK
. - Restart your PC