How to Clear the Windows Paging File at Shutdown

This article documents the method for clearing the Windows paging file (Pagefile.sys) during the shutdown process, so that no unsecured data is contained in the paging file when the shutdown process is complete.

Note If you enable this feature, the shutdown time may be increased.

Some third-party programs can temporarily store unencrypted (plain-text) passwords or other sensitive information in memory. Because of the Windows virtual memory architecture, this information can be present in the paging file.

Although clearing the paging file is not a suitable substitute for physical security of a computer, you might want to do this to increase the security of data on a computer while Windows is not running.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Change the data value of the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value in the following registry key to a value of 1:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
   If the value does not exist, add the following value:
   Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
   Value Type: REG_DWORD
   Value: 1

This change does not take effect until you restart the computer.

For additional information about Session Manager memory management settings, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: