Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\File System\NTFS Description
Encrypting the page file prevents malicious users from reading data that has been paged to disk, but also adds processing overhead for filesystem operations. Enabling this setting will cause the page files to be encrypted.
Registry
HKLM
System\CurrentControlSet\Policies Value name: NtfsEncryptPagingFile
Enabled: NtfsEncryptPagingFile = 1
Disabled: NtfsEncryptPagingFile = 0
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_FileSys/EnablePagefileEncryption Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies]
"NtfsEncryptPagingFile"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NtfsEncryptPagingFile' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_FileSys/EnablePagefileEncryption
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies' -Name 'NtfsEncryptPagingFile' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NtfsEncryptPagingFile' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies' -Name 'NtfsEncryptPagingFile' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable NTFS pagefile encryption
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
$path = 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NtfsEncryptPagingFile' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.