title: High Paging file % Usage while memory is not full
body: <p>I was handed a server hosting SQL Server and I was asked to fined the causes of its bad performance problems.</p>
  
  <p>While monitoring PerfMon I found that:</p>
  
  <p>Paging file: <strong>% Usage = 25%</strong> average for 3 days.
  Memory: Pages/sec > 1 average for 3 days.
  What I know that if % Usage is > 2% then there is too much paging because of memory pressure and lack in memory space. However, if when I opened Resource Monitor, Memory tab, I found:</p>
  
  <p>-26 GB in use (out of 32 GB total RAM)
  -2 GB standby
  -and <strong>4 GB Memory free</strong> !!!!!!</p>
  
  <p>If there is 4 GB free memory why the paging?! and most importantly why it (paging %) is too high?!! </p>
  
  <p><strong>Someone please explain this situation and how paging file % usage can be lowered to normal.</strong> </p>
  
  <p>Note that SQL Server Max. memory is set to 15GB</p>