"High memory usage" from several open windows/tabs affecting browser performance

Question

I tend to have *a lot* of windows and tabs open on Edge. My computer says I have 7 of 8 gigs of RAM avail, but Edge keeps alerting me about "High Memory Usage". Is the RAM on my computer different from the memory that the Edge browser can handle? This is affecting the speed that I perform tasks, and I believe its the reason why I have daily computer crashes. Can someone explain what's going on, or offer suggestions on how to work around this issue?

Answer 1

Hello, teegithan

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your problem, but when you open *a lot* of windows and tabs on Edge, edge prompts you with "High Memory Usage".

First of all, thank you very much for the information, and based on your feedback, I have some suggestions for you here:

1. If you want to check the memory usage of the edge website, press Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open the browser task manager when the Edge browser is open.

Then, click on the "Memory" column and sort the tabs by their RAM usage.

Of course, you can select the tabs you don't need and close them with the "End Process" button. (Remember to save the site data before closing.)

2. Enable Efficiency Mode

Efficiency Mode is a nice feature in Microsoft Edge that allows you to use system resources wisely. The browser limits the activity of some tabs and puts some inactive tabs to sleep.

To enable efficiency mode in Microsoft Edge, do the following:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Edge, click the three-dot menu icon in the upper-right corner, and select Settings from the list.

Step 2: Navigate to the System and Performance tab. Use the drop-down menu next to Turn on Efficiency Mode at the following times to select Always.

3. Disable hardware acceleration

While enabling hardware acceleration in Edge can speed up specific tasks and improve the overall user experience, it can sometimes cause Edge's memory usage on Windows to spike. You can disable this feature to see if it makes any difference.

In Microsoft Edge, type edge://settings/system in the address bar at the top and press Enter. Then, turn off the toggle next to "Use hardware acceleration when available". Restart the Edge browser to check if this helps.

4. Clear Browser Cache

Large amounts of browsing data are a common cause of many browser-related problems. Therefore, when Edge behaves strangely on Windows, it is always a good idea to clear the existing cache and browser data.

Open the Clear Browsing Data panel by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Delete shortcut on your keyboard. Check the "Cached images and files" box and click the "Clear Now" button.

If you select the "Cookies and other site data" option, this will log you out of all sites you have visited and delete your login credentials. This means that you will need to enter these details manually or get them from the built-in password manager.

Disclaimer: Your browser automatically saves temporary internet files to help pages load faster. Clearing this cache will sometimes fix website issues. Please back up all your personal files first, such as Favorites, to ensure you do not lose data.

The above are some of my suggestions that you may want to consider and maybe they will work, also if the problem is not solved we will provide you with a more in-depth solution and you can give us your feedback.

Thank you for your time and effort working on this issue.

Best wishes

Bobhe | Microsoft Community Support Specialist