99% Memory in Use per TaskMan


Ed McCauley

Member
Local time
10:59 AM
Posts
16
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Win 11; 21H2; OS 22000.1281
Dell Laptop Core i7Gen9 2.59Ghz
64-bit OS; 16 GB Memory

Much to my surprise, after multiple searches on this site, I couldn't find a thread for this issue. It certainly was a common problem (for me anyway) with Win 10.

I never open multiple apps anymore or multiple sites on line, yet at least once a day, the machine almost stops functioning. Task Manager shows 99% memory in use despite the fact that whatever items appear in TM never come close to this memory usage. Closing any open apps and going offline, ejecting ext drives, etc. produces no improvement in memory usage. The only cure is a restart. Memory use then matches the "load" until the problem recurs...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/Precision 351
    CPU
    Intel i7 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    16GB
Sounds like a memory leak, could be a specific app you use, a driver/ service or Explorer itself, some versions were known to have memory leaks associated with them.
A memory leak is at it's simplest an error in the code that causes the app/ driver to keep allocating a portion of memory each time it performs a task instead of clearing allocated memory and re allocating from scratch, so the amount in use just keeps creeping up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2, build: 22621.521
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Scan 3XS Custom 1700
    CPU
    Intel i7-12700K 3.6GHz Base (5.0GHz Turbo)
    Motherboard
    Asus ProArt Creator B660 D4
    Memory
    64GB DDR 3600Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Tuff RTX 3080 10GB OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte G32QC 32inch 16:9 curved @2560 x 1440p 165Hz Freesync Premium Pro/ Dell SE2422H 24inch 16:9 1920 x 1080p 75Hz Freesync
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p & 1920 x 1080p
    Hard Drives
    WD SN570 1TB NVME (Boot), Samsung 870QVO 1TB (SSD), SanDisk 3D Ultra 500Gb (SSD) x2, Seagate 3Tb Expansion Desk (Ext HDD), 2x Toshiba 1Tb P300 (Ext HDD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM1000X Modular
    Case
    Corsair 4000D Airflow Desktop
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H150i RGB Pro XT 360mm Liquid Cooler, 3 x 120mm fans, 1x Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    800Mbs
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Defender, Malwarebytes
Sounds like a memory leak, could be a specific app you use, a driver/ service or Explorer itself, some versions were known to have memory leaks associated with them.
A memory leak is at it's simplest an error in the code that causes the app/ driver to keep allocating a portion of memory each time it performs a task instead of clearing allocated memory and re allocating from scratch, so the amount in use just keeps creeping up.
Heh, back in the early 70's a friend of mine wrote a program to do this to our Honeywell 6000 mainframe. He called it The Rabbit because it kept multiplying, but he did get in a sh*tload of trouble over it too, and then a new job writing programs to stop that sort of thing.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro (Insider Beta channel)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer AN515-54
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-9300H CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.40 GHz
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, Intel UHD 630
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer CB272D
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB and 1T SSD
    Keyboard
    Logitech K375S
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    250MB
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro (Insider Canary Channel, unsupported)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell E6430
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3540M CPU @ 3.00GHz 3.00 GHz (non-compliant)
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA NVS 5200M
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Sounds like a memory leak, could be a specific app you use, a driver/ service or Explorer itself, some versions were known to have memory leaks associated with them.
A memory leak is at it's simplest an error in the code that causes the app/ driver to keep allocating a portion of memory each time it performs a task instead of clearing allocated memory and re allocating from scratch, so the amount in use just keeps creeping up.
So, I need to uninstall programs until the issue ends. If success still eludes me, remove drivers, etc. Explorer is my #1 suspect, but it's up to date, and to my knowledge it's running whether I open it or not. Any ideas as to how to eliminate it as a suspect?

Thanks for the info,

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/Precision 351
    CPU
    Intel i7 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    16GB
Prevent all non essential apps from running at Windows start up, use Autoruns to temporarily disable all non essential 3rd party drivers/ services/ tasks, no need to remove anything at the testing stage.
With all or as many 3rd party influences disabled see if the issue still happens, if not then re enable 3rd party apps/ drivers one at a time until you find the culprit, re booting between each change.
You might find the answer by searching any forums relating to your apps/ hardware to make the task easier.

Unfortunately only an update to the original code can prevent the 'leak' from happening.

Due to the wide variety of 3rd party apps and drivers, plus the variety of hardware/ software configurations deciding what is essential to your system is mostly down to you.
Best idea is to use something like Macrium to create a system image before disabling anything, just in case.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2, build: 22621.521
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Scan 3XS Custom 1700
    CPU
    Intel i7-12700K 3.6GHz Base (5.0GHz Turbo)
    Motherboard
    Asus ProArt Creator B660 D4
    Memory
    64GB DDR 3600Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Tuff RTX 3080 10GB OC
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte G32QC 32inch 16:9 curved @2560 x 1440p 165Hz Freesync Premium Pro/ Dell SE2422H 24inch 16:9 1920 x 1080p 75Hz Freesync
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440p & 1920 x 1080p
    Hard Drives
    WD SN570 1TB NVME (Boot), Samsung 870QVO 1TB (SSD), SanDisk 3D Ultra 500Gb (SSD) x2, Seagate 3Tb Expansion Desk (Ext HDD), 2x Toshiba 1Tb P300 (Ext HDD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM1000X Modular
    Case
    Corsair 4000D Airflow Desktop
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H150i RGB Pro XT 360mm Liquid Cooler, 3 x 120mm fans, 1x Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    800Mbs
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Defender, Malwarebytes
so, I need to uninstall programs until the issue ends.
Why not eliminate problematic software conflicts by using clean boot. Brink's tutorial explains it in detail.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Why not eliminate problematic software conflicts by using clean boot. Brink's tutorial explains it in detail.
While working on the above procedure, I discovered that every time my computer pauses for a few seconds following a command, Task Manager reports a 100% CPU usage. After 5-10 seconds the usage drops to a normal level and the computer immediately executes whatever command I had given. It happens even during a simple command such as opening a folder. This issue reoccurs fairly frequently, but not during every command.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/Precision 351
    CPU
    Intel i7 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    16GB
To make sure I'm clear, you are saying that in clean boot with nothing but MS services running you get these memory spikes? You also say the problem also occurred in Windows 10. If that is correct, here are some things to try in no particular order. Resorting problems like this can be neither quick or easy. Backup your system before making changes.

1. Make sure you have no malware. Install Malwarebytes and run it. It installs as the trial premium version for 14 days. After 14 days it will revert to the free version. (Note: if you run any antivirus except Windows Defender, uninstall it before installing MWB) Download Free Windows 10 Antivirus | Malwarebytes

2. Cleanup unnecessary files. Run disk cleanup. Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 11 Tutorial

3. Optimize and defrag drives. Optimize and Defragment Drives in Windows 11 Tutorial

4. Check drives for errors Check Drive for Errors with CHKDSK (Check Disk) in Windows 11 Tutorial

5. Test your physical memory. Run Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool in Windows 11 Tutorial

6. Set Paging File Size for All Drives to be Automatically Managed. Use option 1 in this tutorial.
Manage Virtual Memory Paging File in Windows 11 Tutorial

7. Disable Sysmain service (formerly called Superfetch) Type Services in search box> Open services app>right click sysmain service>properties>Click on the “Stop” button. From the ‘Startup type’ select the “Disabled” option>Apply>OK.

8. Delete page files in the Registry. Search>Regedit>Run as administrator.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-> SYSTEM-> CurrentControlSet-> Control-> Session Manager-> Memory Management.

Right-click on the “ClearPageFileAtShutdown” and select “Modify”.
Change the Value Data from “0” to “1” and click “Ok”. Restart.

9. Increase Virtual Memory through Registry NDU

You can disable NDU from the Registry Editor of your computer.
Search>Regedit>Run as administrator.> Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-> SYSTEM-> ControlSet001-> Services-> Ndu.
Right-click on the “Start” REG_DWORD and click on the Modify option. Change the value from “2” to “4”.

10. Do a clean install Clean Install Windows 11 Tutorial

(Note: You can also try a repair install, but in your case since you also had the problem in Windows 10, I do not think it will resolve the issue.)

Other stuff: There are a number of tools you can use to try to narrow down the problem.

Performance Monitor (perfmon): the Performance Monitor gives direct correlation between hardware resources, such as CPU, disk, memory and system resources in use by the OS, services, and applications. To open it, launch the Run dialog (Win + R) and type perfmon.

Resource Monitor (resmon): the Resource Monitor helps stop memory-intensive processes from an easy-to-use dashboard. To open it, go to Run and type resmon.

Process Monitor (procmon): the Process Monitor by SysInternals is a handy tool to determine which process is causing your system to become slow or crash suddenly. You can download it from the official Microsoft link.

I hope one of these suggestions work. Good luck.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Glasskuter, thanks for your list of excellent suggestions. I've tried all but a new install, but still have the same issues...
Also, with Win Explorer and/or Internet Explorer open, they alternately disappear and reappear at 1-second intervals in Task Man, although they appear to run normally as viewed onscreen.

With only MS Apps running, TaskMan indicates 32% usage.

With settings as you suggested, my VPN doesn't start. Is this an effect of the new settings?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/Precision 351
    CPU
    Intel i7 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    16GB
I can not see any correlation between these settings and your VPN but you can change them back to see if VPN will start.(or restore an image made before you made the changes).
The reason I believe a clean install will be necessary is you had the problem in 10 which carried over when you upgraded to 11. Personally, I am not a strong advocate of upgrades, especially in a machine that already exhibits problems.

Internet Explorer should no longer be working at all. If one attempts to use it, it redirects to Edge, at least it does for me.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Actually, the problem I had with Win 10 was on my previous Laptop and the symptoms were identical. My current machine came with Win 11 Pro installed. Absolutely agree with you on upgrading an operating system. For whatever reason, Internet Explorer runs fine, except as previously mentioned. I can't think of a reason why my VPN fails to start, but I can live without it for awhile...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/Precision 351
    CPU
    Intel i7 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    16GB

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