Win32_PageFileSetting

The Win32_PageFileSetting WMI class represents the settings of a page file. Information contained within objects instantiated from this class specify the page file parameters used when the file i...

The Win32_PageFileSetting WMI class represents the settings of a page file. Information contained within objects instantiated from this class specify the page file parameters used when the file is created at system startup. The properties in this class can be modified and deferred until startup. These settings are different from the run-time state of a page file expressed through the associated class Win32_PageFileUsage. To create an instance of this class, enable the SeCreatePagefilePrivilege privilege. For more information, see Privilege Constants and Executing Privileged Operations.

Methods

Win32_PageFileSetting has no methods.

Properties

Win32_PageFileSetting returns 6 properties:

'Caption','Description','InitialSize','MaximumSize','Name','SettingID'

Unless explicitly marked as writeable, all properties are read-only. Read all properties for all instances:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting -Property *

Most WMI classes return one or more instances.

When Get-CimInstance returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_PageFileSetting exist. This is normal behavior.

Either the class is not implemented on your system (may be deprecated or due to missing drivers, i.e. CIM_VideoControllerResolution), or there are simply no physical representations of this class currently available (i.e. Win32_TapeDrive).

Caption

STRING MAX 64 CHAR

Short textual description of the current object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property Name, Caption

Description

STRING

Textual description of the current object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property Name, Description

InitialSize

WRITEABLE UINT32 “MEGABYTES”

Initial size of the page file.

Example: 139

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property Name, InitialSize

MaximumSize

WRITEABLE UINT32 “MEGABYTES”

Maximum size of the page file.

Example: 178

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property Name, MaximumSize

Name

KEY PROPERTY WRITEABLE STRING

Path and file name of the page file.

Example: “C:\PAGEFILE.SYS”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property Name

SettingID

STRING MAX 256 CHAR

Identifier by which the current object is known.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property Name, SettingID

Examples

List all instances of Win32_PageFileSetting
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting

Learn more about Get-CimInstance and the deprecated Get-WmiObject.

View all properties
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting -Property *
View key properties only
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting -KeyOnly

Selecting Properties

To select only some properties, pipe the results to Select-Object -Property a,b,c with a comma-separated list of the properties you require. Wildcards are permitted.

Get-CimInstance always returns all properties but only retrieves the ones that you specify. All other properties are empty but still present. That’s why you need to pipe the results into Select-Object if you want to limit the visible properties, i.e. for reporting.

Selecting Properties

The code below lists all available properties. Remove the ones you do not need:

$properties = 'Caption',
              'Description',
              'InitialSize',
              'MaximumSize',
              'Name',
              'SettingID'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting | Select-Object -Property $properties
Limiting Network Bandwidth

If you work remotely, it makes sense to limit network bandwidth by filtering the properties on the server side, too:

Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_PageFileSetting -Property $property | 
Select-Object -Property $property

Selecting Instances

To select some instances, use Get-CimInstance and a WMI Query. The wildcard character in WMI Queries is % (and not “*”).

The parameter -Filter runs a simple query.

Listing all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_PageFileSetting -Filter 'Caption LIKE "a%"' 
Using a WQL Query

The parameter -Query uses a query similar to SQL and combines the parameters -Filter and -Property. This returns all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”, and returns the properties specified:

Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT Caption, Name, InitialSize, Description FROM Win32_PageFileSetting WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'"

Any property you did not specify is still present but empty. You might need to use Select-Object to remove all unwanted properties:

Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT Caption, Name, InitialSize, Description FROM Win32_PageFileSetting WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property Caption, Name, InitialSize, Description

Accessing Remote Computers

To access remote systems, you need to have proper permissions. User the parameter -ComputerName to access one or more remote systems.

Authenticating as Current User
# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'

# authenticate with your current identity:
$result = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PageFileSetting -ComputerName $list 
$result
Authenticating as Different User

Use a CIMSession object to authenticate with a new identity:

# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'

# authenticate with a different identity:
$cred = Get-Credential -Message 'Authenticate to retrieve WMI information:'
$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $list -Credential $cred

$result = Get-CimInstance Win32_PageFileSetting -CimSession $session

# remove the session after use (if you do not plan to re-use it later)
Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session

$result

Learn more about accessing remote computers.

Requirements

To use Win32_PageFileSetting, the following requirements apply:

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance was introduced with PowerShell Version 3.0, which in turn was introduced on clients with Windows 8 and on servers with Windows Server 2012.

If necessary, update Windows PowerShell to Windows PowerShell 5.1, or install PowerShell 7 side-by-side.

Operating System

Win32_PageFileSetting was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.

Namespace

Win32_PageFileSetting lives in the Namespace Root/CIMV2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance.

Implementation

Win32_PageFileSetting is implemented in CIMWin32.dll and defined in CIMWin32.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:

explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\CIMWin32.mof