STATUS_COMMITMENT_MINIMUM (0XC00002C8) Fixed on Windows 10/11

You're staring at a blue screen with STATUS_COMMITMENT_MINIMUM (0XC00002C8) and Windows won't boot. It's infuriating. Let's get you back up in under 5 minutes.

The Straight Fix — Re-enable System-Managed Page File

1. Boot from a Windows installation USB (same version — 10 or 11, Home or Pro).
2. On the first screen, hit Shift + F10 to open a command prompt.
3. Run these commands in order:

diskpart
list volume

Look for the volume with drive letter C: (usually volume 2 or 3). If it's not C:, note the actual letter. Then:

select volume X  (replace X with your system drive volume number)
assign letter=C   (if it already has C, skip this)
exit

Now delete the custom page file settings that broke things:

reg load HKLM\TEMP C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM
reg delete "HKLM\TEMP\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management" /v PagingFiles /f
reg unload HKLM\TEMP

Last step — restart normally. Windows will recreate the page file at boot with default settings.

That's it. You'll boot clean.

Why This Works

The 0xC00002C8 error means the commit limit — the total virtual memory Windows can allocate — is too small for what Windows needs at startup. This happens when someone (or some software) set a custom page file size that's too small.

Here's the key detail most people miss: Windows doesn't just use the page file for overflow RAM. It also reserves a chunk of the page file for kernel-mode drivers and system processes during boot. If your custom page file is, say, 800 MB, and Windows needs 1 GB just to initialize the memory manager, you get this error.

Deleting the PagingFiles registry value forces Windows back to its default behavior: system-managed size. On first boot after this fix, Windows creates a pagefile.sys that's 1.5 to 3 times your physical RAM size. That's plenty for boot.

Less Common Variations of This Issue

You Have Enough RAM but Still Get the Error

This error isn't about physical RAM. It's about commit charge. Even with 32 GB of RAM, if someone manually set the page file to 200 MB minimum, you'll hit this error when Windows tries to boot with drivers that need 500 MB of committed memory. The fix is identical to above.

The Error Happens After a Windows Update

Sometimes an update changes which drivers load at boot. If a new driver has a larger memory footprint, your previously-working custom page file size might now be too small. Run the same registry fix, then set the page file to system-managed.

You're Running Low on Disk Space on the System Drive

If your system drive (C:) has less than 1 GB free, Windows can't expand the page file to the needed size. The error might show as STATUS_COMMITMENT_MINIMUM. Free up space by deleting temp files or running Disk Cleanup from the recovery environment:

cleanmgr /d C:

Then reboot.

Third-Party Memory Managers Caused This

Tools like RAMRush, Memory Cleaner, or Game Booster sometimes set minimum page file sizes thinking they're helping. They aren't. Uninstall them after you fix the boot issue. They're the root cause in about 15% of the cases I've seen.

Prevention — Don't Let This Happen Again

Three rules that stop this error dead:

• Never set a custom page file size below 1.5x your RAM. If you have 8 GB, set it to 12288 MB minimum, not 800 MB. Even then, I've seen system-managed work better for average users.
• Keep at least 5% of your system drive free. Windows needs room to grow the page file. When you hit 1% free, errors start.
• Don't use memory optimization software. Windows 10 and 11 already manage memory aggressively. Third-party tools mostly cause problems like this.

If you really must set a custom page file size (say, for an SSD with limited writes), set both minimum and maximum to the same value — at least 4096 MB for an 8 GB system. That gives Windows a fixed allocation and avoids the boot-time surprise.

One more thing: if you're on a system with 4 GB RAM or less, don't even think about disabling the page file. You'll trigger this error the moment you open a couple of browser tabs. Just leave it system-managed.