New
#11
No.
Supporting dumps after a system crash is only a minor function of the pagefile. The primary functions of the pagefile on the NT platform have not changed since the beginning. The 2 primary purposes are:
1. Optimize RAM usage by providing a place where rarely used data can be offloaded from RAM.
2. Increase the commit limit which is RAM size + pagefile size - a small overhead.
The terminology of pagefile and swapfile was confusing prior to Windows 8. Then it became more so.
The NT platform has always had a pagefile, although it is sometimes called the swapfile. Swapfile is an old term dating back to when it actually swapped out entire processes. Modern operating system don't do that anymore but page blocks of data instead. Linux continues to use the term swapfile for historic reasons but it functions much the same as in Windows. Windows 8 brought back the swapfile but is used only with modern Apps. The pagefile remains and functions as it always has.