NTFS.sys consuming huge kernel paged memory

Megha Dawar 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
2023-05-19T13:02:50.8366667+00:00

In my windows system, I see kernel paged memory starts increasing when free disk space in C Drive goes down to 0%. I ran a kernel dump to see the process consuming most of the memory and it seam NTFS.sys was consuming 4.4 GB of paged memory.

I don't see the memory consumption decreasing even when I delete some of the files and reduce the load on C Drive.

Below are the version details.

VersionInfo       : File:             C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ntfs.sys

                    InternalName:     ntfs.sys

                    OriginalFilename: ntfs.sys.mui

                    FileVersion:      10.0.20348.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)

NonPaged                  Paged Tag     Allocs         Used     Allocs         Used 
NtFa         0            0   39304531   4402107344	AllocSup.c , Binary: ntfs.sys
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management updated to data storage.
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Windows Server
Windows Server
A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.
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3 answers

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  1. Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP
    2023-05-19T14:44:36.9566667+00:00

    Windows Server 2019

    Somethings amiss as file version seems to point to Server 2022? Might try installing more recent updates, also confirm here (and with manufacturer) that the hardware supports Server 2022.
    https://www.windowsservercatalog.com/

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

  2. Megha Dawar 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
    2023-05-22T13:02:12.83+00:00

    I checked on another machine where I am facing this issue. Windows version I am using is Windows Server 2019 Datacenter Edition

    NTFS Version is 3.1

    The issue is that when free disk space in the machine goes 0%, kernel paged memory starts increasing and reaches around 40GB. The committed bytes of the machine at this point reach 100%, rendering the machine unusable.

    What I would like to understand here is:

    1. Is this some kind of memory cache since I am out of space in my C Drive, or some kind of memory leak?
    2. Is there any way of getting out of this situation other than restarting the machine? Can we restart the driver itself or run some command to free up the memory NTFS is using?
    0 comments
  3. Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP
    2023-05-22T13:25:04.3433333+00:00

    Running out of disk space can cause many problems for applications and windows in general. The effects you seen may vary depending on what's running or trying to run. Seems the simplest solution may be to add some disk space.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--