explorer eating all memory --

You're describing a memory leak. A programme that, even when closed, does not return allocated memory for reuse. The only way to get memory back is to shut down the computer. Try Googling your programmes one by one coupled with "memory leak" and see if any generate a lot of responses.

Do you have any old programmes. A favoured old game could be the culprit.

Nothing relevant in event viewer because as far as Explorer is concerned, there's.  Getting my readings from Process Hacker -- it has graphs that work among lots of other things that  the others don't. 

It didn't run amok yesturday...wait,,, yes... but I caught it WAY early (it was only up to 5G, but I was running some higher-resource need apps and having ti take up 20-30MB/s of IO, got noticable...But nothing in the app, or sys logs under warnings/errrors, and in the info too many service start/stops to be useful -- normal behavior.  Of course if I don't catch explorer before it eats all of memory, there will be an error report that my machine ran low on physical memory, but that's a no brainer.

My system is usually up 24/7 -- these incidents don't cause a reboot if I catch them -- last one (one that I didn't catch till mem was full anyway) caused the worst damage in killing off about 3 other processes that out of memory when explorer had it all)...

I think it is search related...because even though search doesn't search my network, other things do -- like media player and security scanner -- and they don't work efficiently with the normal search function begin disabled over networks.   But I don't know what might have changed a month ago...other than last MS updates...

had over 40GB in it's ACTIVE SET

Where are you getting these readings from? Task Manager, Process Explorer or ????

Anything in Event Viewer?

Here are some notes about Event Viewer Reports which may help. When you have a lot of errors you need to concentrate on system errors and warnings, even if it is applications that are giving you grief. Sorting system problems first can make resolving application problems easier. Note the time the computer is last booted and deal with those at the beginning of the boot first. Correcting the earlier errors can resolve later ones.

1. Normally when an error occurs on your computer looking in Event Viewer should be your starting point for finding a solution. Most system related errors are logged and getting an exact copy of the relevant report is important. Unfortunately understanding the reports is not easy and most computer users need help with their interpretation. I have more to say later on interpretation.
2. Event Viewer comprises three main Windows logs. These are Application, Security and System. For troubleshooting purposes System is by far the most important.
3. To access the System log select Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, from the list in the left side of the window select Windows Logs and System. Place the cursor on System, right click and select Filter Current Log. Check the box before Error and click on OK and you see only Error reports. Click on the Date and Time Column Header to sort. You may need to click a second time to see the latest Report at the top.
4. A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double click on the error you want to copy. Click on the Copy button to place a copy on your Clipboard and close Event Viewer. Now start your message and paste into the body of the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from Event Viewer.
5. There are three types of Report, being Information, Warning and Error reports. In most situations it is Error Reports that offer the best information but occasionally Warning Reports provide useful clues.
6. All reports have date and time stamps and when troubleshooting it is important to concentrate on more recent reports. Study reports since the point when the computer was last booted and then check whether a similar report appeared in the previous session. If errors do not repeat investigation as to why they occurred is wasted effort.
7. Within individual reports the more important information is Event ID and Source as these help when looking for help on the internet. The description is equally important and copying the exact text for use as the search criteria greatly helps getting better results when using Google. Do not paraphrase descriptions when asking others for help.

What drive is in question?

The network drive?  It's a network drive -- can't check it....

My other drive is 'C' which checks out fine...

Hello,

Use check disk utility

1. Open the "Computer" window
2. Right-click on the drive in question
3. Select the "Tools" tab
4. In the Error-checking area, click <Check Now>.