Create Clear Memory Cache Shortcut. This is one of the easiest solutions to clear memory cache on. Run a system scan. Some malicious data files may trigger 'your system is low on memory' error. Restarting the PC is a common but effective fix for many computer issues, so is for the issue-insufficient RAM space. You can free up RAM on Windows 10 by rebooting the PC, which can help reset all the running programs and completely clear RAM.
Summary :
What is high memory usage? How do I check it? And how do I fix it? This article will give you a brief introduction to high memory usage and tell you how to solve it step by step. These methods can solve most common Windows 10 high memory usage problems.
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About High Memory Usage
What Is Computer Memory?
Computer memory is one of the most important parts of a computer. It includes RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), and Cache (click computer booting to know the relationship between RAM and ROM). It enables CPU (Central Processing Unit) to access instructions and data quickly.
The memory is used to temporarily store the operational data of CPU and the data exchanged with an external memory (such as a hard disk). To put it plainly, CPU will transfer the data that needs to be operated into the memory for operation when the computer is running and transmit the result out when the operation is completed.
Additionally, the program installed on hard drive disk is also loaded into memory for running. So, the main memory has great influence on computer's stable operation.
How to Check Windows 10 High Memory Usage
Windows 10 high memory usage is usually related to RAM and virtual memory. Although memory is tightly connected with CPU and hard drive, the high memory usage problem still differs from high CPU usage and high disk usage problems.
If the computer has high memory usages problem, it will freeze (especially when a large program like a game is running). Sometimes, it will result in 'Your computer is low on memory' error popping up.
In addition, computer users can also evaluate high memory usage Windows 10 on Task Manager. Follow the steps: right click the taskbar and select Task Manager.
How to solve high memory usage Windows 10 problem? The methods users take should depend on the causes to the problem. The reasons that may cause high memory usage Windows 10 are various, but the common causes are as follows.
- Running too many programs at the same time.
- Registry hack.
- Defective program design.
- Startup programs.
- Insufficient disk space.
- Virus or antivirus.
- Other causes.
How to Fix Windows 10 High Memory Usage
How to Fix Windows 10 High Memory Usage
- Close unnecessary programs.
- Disable startup programs.
- Disable Superfetch service.
- Increase virtual memory.
- Set Registry Hack.
- Defragment hard drives.
- Methods suitable for software problems.
- Virus or antivirus.
- Adjust for best performance.
- Reinstall Windows 10.
- Increase physical memory.
Fix 1: Close unnecessary programs
If the high memory usage is caused by the computer running multiple programs at the same time, users could close the program to solve this problem. Or if a program occupies too much memory, users can also end this program to solve this problem.
Similarly, open Task Manager. Then right click the application you want to end up under Processes and choose End task.
Fix 2: Disable startup programs
Some programs run automatically when the computer starts up. If users don't need these programs to run at startup, they can disable them.
Open Task Manager and then navigate to Startup page. Right click the programs that you don't want to run at startup and then select Disable.
Fix 3: Disable Superfetch service
Superfetch service is usually booted by default. This service is especially designed for traditional hard drive disk. It improves computer performance by only allowing the memory to load a fraction of the data needed to run common programs very quickly.
So, although it may cause high memory usage Windows 10, it shouldn't be disabled if the computer disk is hard drive disk. However, if the computer disk is SSD, this service should be disabled.
Press 'Windows + R' keys, and then type 'services.msc' to open Services window. Scroll down to select Superfetch. Right click on it and select Stop to disable it.
Fix 4: Increase virtual memory
Virtual memory is a computer system memory management technology, which can make a part of disk space serve as memory to relieve memory stress. Virtual memory is actually a big file on hard disk named PageFile.sys.
How to set virtual memory in Windows 10? Here is a tutorial.
Step 1: Find virtual memory and click Change.
- Open File Explorer and right click This PC, and then select Properties.
- Select Advanced system settings in the pop-up window.
- Click Settings in Performance box under Advanced page of System Properties
- Navigate to Advanced page in the pop-up Performance Options window, and then click Change in Virtual memory box.
Step 2: Cancel virtual memory on partition C.
- Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
- Select partition C and then check No paging file, and then click Set to save it.
- Then, click Yes in the pop-up warning window.
Step 3: Set suitable virtual memory on non-system partition.
- Select a non-system partition and then check Custom size.
- Set a same value in Initial size and Maximum size to avoid system frequently requesting page files of different sizes, which can reduce the consume of system resource and improve operating efficiency.
- Then click Set and OK to save.
Fix 5: Set Registry Hack
This feature can delete page file at shut down to release virtual memory.
Here is a tutorial.
Step 1: Press 'Windows + R' keys and then type 'regedit' to open Registry Editor.
Step 2: Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > Memory Management.
Step 3: Find ClearPageFileAtShutDown and right click it to modify its value to 1, and then click OK to save it.
Step 4: Restart the computer to boot up the Registry Hack setting.
Fix 6: Defragment hard drives
Defragmenting hard drives can also help to save memory space. Users can use Disk Defragmenter to complete defragmentation. Click disk defragmentation to know more information about it and more methods.
Open File Explorer and select Partition C. Then click Manage on the toolbar and click Optimize. Finally select Partition C and click Optimize.
Additionally, computer users should delete unnecessary files on Partition C. The Space Analyazer feature of MiniTool Partition Wizard is recommended to perform this operation well. This feature also displays hidden files for users to conveniently delete them.
Here is the tutorial.
Step 1: Download MiniTool Partition Wizard and launch it to get its main interface. And then click Space Analyzer on the toolbar.
Step 2: Select Partition C and click Scan. After scanning process is completed, select unnecessary files and right click them to delete.
Fix 7: Methods suitable for software problems
Windows 10 memory leak
Sometimes, the Windows 10 high memory usage is caused by memory leak, which is caused by defective software design.
Memory leak has great influence on computer server where programs will run for a long time. It will make memory space smaller and smaller and finally result in downtime.
As for personal computers, Windows 10 memory leaks will generally consume all the memory space. Although rebooting the computer can solve this problem temporarily, when the software runs again, the problem will occur again.
Because this problem is caused by defective software design, in order to solve this problem, users can download a patch, change version, or uninstall the defective software.
Chrome
At the same time, some computer users complain that Chrome occupies too much memory usage, which is usually caused by the tab page single process design of Chrome. So, when users open too much tab pages, Chrome eats a lot of memory.
Luckily, if it is Chrome who occupies too much memory, users can close prefetch feature or install One Tab extension to solve this problem.
Way 1: Open Chrome and go to Settings. Scroll down to open advanced settings. Uncheck 'Use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar” and 'Use a prediction service to load pages more quickly'.
Way 2: One Tab extension can close all tabs and integrate them into one tab, which can release a huge amount of memory space.
How To Clear Ram Memory On Windows 10
Fix 8: Virus or antivirus
Sometimes, the Windows 10 high memory usage is caused by virus. If so, computer users should run a virus scan of all files. Users can run the antivirus programs that they trust, or they can run the built-in Windows Defender if they don't install any other antivirus program.
Here is a guide to Windows Defender.
Canigo. Step 1: Find Windows Defender.
- Click Start button and select Settings.
- Select Security & Update.
Step 2: Run Windows Defender.
- Click Windows Defender and Open Windows Defender Security Center.
- Click Virus & threat protection and then click Quick scan.
But there has been users reporting that antivirus programs, including Windows Defender may cause Windows 10 high memory usage. If so, they can end the process of antivirus programs in Task Manger.
Fix 9: Adjust for best performance
Step 1: Open File Explorer, right click This PC, and then select Properties.
Step 2: Click Advanced system settings and then click Settings in Performance box.
Step 3: Check Adjust for best performance and click Apply. Finally click OK.
Fix 10: Reinstall Windows 10
Some users report that Windows 10 high memory usage only occurs when they leave the PC alone for about 30-45 minutes. Or this problem occurs after they upgrade to Windows 10. They have adopted the above methods to solve it, but it seems that these methods don't work.
At last, they have to reinstall Windows 10 or reset PC. Fortunately, the reinstallation or reset usually fixes the problem. So, reinstalling Windows 10 and resetting PC are also methods to solve the problem.
When users decide to reinstall Windows 10 or reset PC, backup is recommended in advance. If the reinstallation and reset have accidentally caused data loss, MiniTool Partition Wizard can help you recover them. Click recovering data for detailed tutorial.
Fix 11: Increase physical memory
If the physical memory is very small, users can add a memory bank. How to check memory size? Open File Explorer and right click This PC to select Properties.
Generally speaking, 4G memory can satisfy simple needs in daily life. However, if users want to use computer to run large programs or to play games like H1Z1, at least 8G memory is needed.
But if users want to add memory, please note that the memory type must be the same. Users can refer to the parameters of memory bank installed on computer. Otherwise, incompatibility may appear.
Bottom line
The above 11 methods can solve Windows 10 high memory usage caused by most common reasons. However, there are still other reasons to cause it and other methods to cause it.
If you have this problem and can't solve it with the above methods, please leave a comment below for discussion. Surely, if you have better solutions for high memory usage, please leave a comment for sharing. Email to [email protected] for help if you have problems in dealing with high memory usage.
Windows 10 High Memory Usage FAQ
- Close unnecessary programs.
- Disable startup programs.
- Disable Superfetch service.
- Increase virtual memory.
- Set Registry Hack.
- Defragment hard drives.
- Methods suitable for software problems.
- Virus or antivirus.
- Adjust for best performance.
- Reinstall Windows 10.
- Increase physical memory.
- Running too many programs at the same time.
- Registry hack.
- Defective program design.
- Startup programs.
- Insufficient disk space.
- Virus or antivirus.
- Other causes.
Don't worry if your computer gets stuck and Windows Task Manager warns 'High memory usage'. On this page, we will guide you to easily fix high memory usage issue in Windows 10/8/7 with the following resolutions:
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. Close Unnecessary Programs | On Task Manager, find running programs that take high memory, click End Task..Full steps |
Fix 2. Disable Programs from Startup | On Task Manager, go to Startup, right-click to disable big programs from Startup..Full steps |
Fix 3. Defragment Hard Drive | Type dfrgui in Search, open Defragment and Optimize Drives, select drives to Optimize..Full steps |
Fix 4. Fix File System Error | Run EaseUS Partition Master, right-click drives to fix file system error..Full steps |
More Fixes.. | Other 6 fixes are available here for you to follow and fix high RAM memory errors..Full steps |
What is High Memory Usage?
High Memory Usage is a state that Windows computers' RAM, ROM, or Cache usage grows to an extremely high level. Windows 10 high memory usage error is related to RAM and virtual memory.
When the PC has a high memory usage error, it will freeze while running a program and pops up an error message, warning that 'Your computer is low on memory'.
Follow to check if you are having this error and what caused high memory usage.
Define High Memory Usage Windows 10 Error:
Try the following steps to define if your computer is with high memory usage, high CPU, or high disk usage error:
Step 1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and select 'Task Manager'.
Step 2. At the Process tab, check the usage state of CPU, Memory, and Disk.
If the Memory column displays 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99% used as the two figures shown below, it's a 'High Memory Usage' issue.
High Memory Usage in Processes:
High Memory Usage in Performance:
Symptoms and Causes of High Memory Usage:
So what will happen when your computer is caught with a high memory usage issue? And what causes this error? Check it out.
Symptoms of High Memory Usage | Causes of High Memory Usage |
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10 Fixes for High (RAM) Memory Usage Issue in Windows 10
So how to fix 'high memory usage' or 'High RAM memory usage' issues? How do I reduce or fix the high memory usage in Windows 10?
Here is a list of all tested fixes, just follow to fix high memory usage Windows 10 issues immediately:
If you are having a similar problem in older Windows OS, like Windows XP, you can also give these fixes a try.
Method 1. Close Unnecessary Running Programs/Applications
When your computer is with high memory usage, you can try to close some unnecessary running programs and applications to fix this issue.
Step 1. Open Task Manager by right-clicking on the Windows icon and select 'Task Manager'.
Step 2. Go to the process tab, find the running programs that are taking high memory but you don't need it at all.
Step 3. Click the unnecessary programs and select 'End Task'.
Method 2. Disable Programs Running from Startup
Disabling programs running from Startup will effectively decrease the system load and saving quite a lot of CPU memory space.
Step 1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del keys, select 'Task Manager'.
Step 2. Click on 'Startup' in Task Manager, right-click the applications that you don't want to run from Startup, and select 'Disable'.
Method 3. Defragment Hard Drive & Adjust for Best Performance
It will also help to save quite a lot of memory space by defragmenting hard drives. You can also refer to a manual way to defrag and optimize the disk for its best performance.
Defragment hard drives:
Step 1. Press 'Windows + R', type: dfrgui, click 'Defragment and Optimize Drives' to open this app.
Step 2. Click on the hard drives (C: drive for example) you want to defragment and click 'Optimize'.
Wait for the process to finish the defragment process. Do remember to restart the computer when the process completes.
Adjust for the best performance:
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Step 1. Right-click 'This PC' and select 'Properties'.
Step 2. Click 'Advanced system settings', click 'Settings' under Performance.
Step 3. Check 'Adjust for best performance', click 'Apply' and 'OK' to confirm.
Method 4. Fix Disk File System Error
File system error is a major reason that may cause high memory usage or high CPU usage on Windows 10/8/7 computers. Professional partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master can easily fix the error and get rid of it from your PC. It's easy for all levels of Windows users.
Check and Fix System Error
Method 5. Increase Virtual Memory
Virtual memory makes use of part of disk space to serve as memory so as to release computer memory stress. Therefore, when your computer is with high memory usage issue, you can try the following steps to increase virtual memory:
Step 1. Right-click on This PC, select 'Properties'.
Step 2. Click 'Advanced system settings' in the pop-up window.
Step 3. Go to the Advanced tab, click 'Settings..' under the Performance section.
How To Clean Ram Memory On Windows 10 Desktop
Step 4. Navigate to the Advanced tab, click 'Change' under the Virtual memory section.
How To Clean Ram Memory On Windows 10 Mac
Step 5. Uncheck 'Automatically manage paging file size for all drives'.
Step 6. Select C drive, check 'No page file', and click 'Set'.
Step 7. Click 'Yes' to continue.
Step 8. Select a non-system partition, check 'Custom size', and set the same value in Initial Size and Maximum Size.
The value size is recommended to be twice big as the physical memory on your computer.
Step 9. Click 'Set' and 'OK' to save the changes.
Method 6. Disable Superfetch Service
Step 1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc into the Run box and click 'OK'.
Step 2. Locate and right-click 'Superfetch' > select 'Properties' > click 'Stop' on the pop-up windows.
Step 3. Click 'Disabled' from the 'startup type' drop-down menu.
Method 7. Set Registry Hack
This method will release some virtual memory on your computer by deleting page files in the Registry. Here is how to do so:
Step 1. Press Windows + R keys, type regedit to open the Registry Editor.
Step 2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/Memory Management.
Step 3. Find and right-click ClearPageFileAtShutDown, select to modify its value to '1' and click 'OK'.
Method 8. Increase Physical Memory
Logically, when your computer is with a high memory usage issue, you can add a new memory card to your computer so to extend the physical memory.
You need to first check out the memory type by referring to the parameters of memory on your computer. Here is how to increase a physical memory on your PC:
Step 1. Check the physical memory size: Right-click on This PC and select 'Properties'.
Step 2. Open Task Manager and go to the Performance tab, click 'Memory'.
Step 3. Check out the speed, size of the memory to decide which type you'll need.
Step 4. Then purchase a new memory card, add it to your PC.
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After adding the new memory to your computer, restart the PC and it will automatically detect the new memory.
Method 9. Disable NDU in Registry
Note: EaseUS technical support experts say this method may affect the usage of internet connection.
If you would like to try, here are the steps:
Step 1. Type regedit in Windows Search and click Registry Editor to open it.
Step 2. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Services/Ndu.
Step 3. Right-click on the Start DWORD and select 'Modify'.
Step 4. Change its value to 4, click 'OK' to save the changes.
After this, restart your PC and the high memory usage issue should be resolved.
If your computer internet connection gets disabled, we suggest you repeat the steps and change the Start word value back to the previous number - 2.
Method 10. Clean Up Virus
Sometimes, virus infection or malware may also take up high usage of memory on your PC. The best way out is to run antivirus software on you PC to clean up all existing virus, and malware immediately:
Step 1. Download and install anti-virus software on your computer.
Step 2. Run the anti-virus software and choose to scan your whole computer drive.
Step 3. Select to clean up all found virus or virus-infected files or devices.
Bonus Tips: How to Avoid High Memory Usage Issue on Windows 10
After you fixing Windows high memory usage on Windows 10/8/7, some of you may want to know how to prevent this issue from happening again.
Here, we'll offer tips to protect your Windows 10 computer from this issue.
How to Avoid High Memory Usage in Windows 10 - Tips
Here are some tips that you can follow to avoid high memory usage issues in Windows 10/8/7. See how to set your computer with the best performance:
- #1. Add a big enough memory card to the PC
- #2. Run virus cleaner regularly
- #4. Disable unnecessary programs from Startup
- #5. Release virtual memory from hard drive
- #6. Fix file system error and defrag hard drive regularly
You May Also Interest In:
Some of you may also want to know how to define High CPU or High Disk Usage errors. Here are the steps'
Step 1. Hold Ctrl+Alt+Del keys, click 'Task Manager'.
Step 2. On the Processes tab, check the Memory or the Disk usage state:
- The CPU column reaches up to 99% or even 100%, it's a 'High CPU Usage' issue. Refer to Fix 99% or 100% High CPU Usage for help.
- The Disk column shows high usage or even displays 100%, it's a 'High Disk Usage' issue. Follow to fix this problem.
Take Action, Keep Your Computer from High Memory Usage Issue
On this page, we provide tips to help you define whether your computer has high memory issues. And we also collected 10 practical fixes to resolve high memory usage Windows 10 error, and listed tips to help you avoid this issue.
Besides managing RAM and virtual high memory usage issues, we also suggest you apply EaseUS disk management software to make your computer running smoothly again. EaseUS Partition Master helps to manage partitions, make full use of disk space and optimize disk performance to the best state.
Now it's your turn. Take action and keep your computer from the high memory usage issue, making it running smoothly again.