Why is my memory usage so high?

Question

I have a total of 16GB of memory. For example, right now, I'm only using the browser and the Discord app, yet the system is using 15GB is this normal? What could be the reason for this?

I bought the computer about a year ago, and it was reinstall a few weeks ago. I remember that this issue didn't occur around two months ago.

It doesn't even add up to that much.

RamMap looks like this.

Answer 1

Hi Tamás Fülöp

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I understand that you only have the browser and Discord app open, which shows 15GB of RAM usage, and I understand very well how you feel!

This is very unusual and here are some possible causes of this problem.

1. Although you are only using the browser and Discord, it is possible that this is due to some background processes consuming a lot of memory.
2. The application may have a memory leak, which means that it is not able to free the memory after using it.
3. If you have malware or viruses on your system, it is also possible that the memory is being consumed in large amounts, and it is even possible that the memory being used is undetectable.
4. Sometimes operating systems and applications use memory for caching to improve performance. Memory may show up as “Used” but this does not mean that it is not available.

etc.

I will give you some suggestions and troubleshooting options to hopefully solve your problem or find out what is causing it! However, as this is a first reply with little information and the problem needs to be troubleshooted in different ways, please understand and provide more information (pictures would be great!) in your reply. Thank you very much!

Option 1: Let's first try to check if there are any processes using high memory through the task manager, or to see what the highest memory consuming processes are.

“Ctrl + Shift + Esc” to open Task Manager -> Click on the ‘Processes’ tab to see which processes are using a lot of memory -> If you find unnecessary processes, right click on them and select ‘End Task’.

In particular, we need to check if there are certain system services that may be taking up too much memory, and if so, we need to wonder if there are fake viruses that may be taking up a lot of memory.

Reduce the number of programs that start automatically at boot time: Disable unnecessary startup entries in the “Startup” tab of the Task Manager.

You can also sort by memory usage and send me a screenshot.

Option 2: Please try to clean boot your computer.

Since clean boot only uses a limited set of files and drivers, it can help us to effectively troubleshoot the possibility of problems caused by third-party applications, driver conflicts, etc.

You can refer to Clean Boot for more information: How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

After clean boot, please slide down the webpage after opening the link and find “How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot” This is a dichotomy that helps us pinpoint the service that is causing the problem and disable it.

Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem. These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track.

Option 3: We try to run a full scan of your computer using Windows Defender and some third-party reliable antivirus programs.

In particular, you need to choose an antivirus program with a larger virus database to avoid situations where some newer viruses or malware may be overlooked.

Option 4: Consider closing some unnecessary tabs or disabling memory-consuming browser extensions.

Visit your browser's settings to see the resource usage of each extension.

Option 5: Let's try to adjust the virtual memory settings manually.

The virtual memory will reduce the pressure on the memory by calling some of the performance of the hard disk when we are approaching 100% of the actual memory.

1. Right-click on “This computer” and select “Properties”.
2. Select “Advanced System Settings” on the left sidebar.
3. In the System Properties panel that pops up, select “Advanced” in the upper tab, and click the “Settings” button in “Performance”.
4. In the upper tab, select “Advanced” and click “Change” under “Virtual Memory”.
5. Uncheck the “Automatically manage paging file sizes for all drives” box.
6. Click on the C drive and check the Customize Size box.
7. Set the Initial Size and Maximum Size to 2x~3x the actual memory.

For example, if you have 16GB of RAM, we can set 32GB or 48GB.

Please note: the unit here is MB not GB, so we need to multiply the actual 32GB or 48GB by 1024.

Option 6: Sometimes, memory corruption does have the potential to cause high memory usage and other performance issues.

Over time, the performance of the memory chip may degrade, especially with frequent use. And there may be bad dots in the memory sticks that prevent smooth data exchange.

To avoid this, we try different troubleshooting methods to gradually narrow down the problem.

1. Run Windows built-in memory diagnostic tool.

Click “WIN key” to open the search bar -> type “Windows Memory Diagnostic” and open it with administrator privileges -> complete the process according to the guide.

However, the built-in memory diagnostic tool is a preliminary diagnostic, not in-depth.

2. Use some third-party tools, such as MemTest86, for more in-depth memory diagnostics.

Due to community rules, I can't provide you with specific third-party tools, you can use Github, Reddit and other technical communities to check the relevant information and choose a reliable and safe third-party tools.

3. We can also check the memory sticks on a physical level.

(1) Turn off the computer, disconnect the power, open the case and check if the memory stick is installed correctly.

(2) If you have multiple memory sticks in your computer, let's try to unplug all the other memory sticks and keep only one for testing to see if the problem still exists.

Repeat this step until all memory sticks have been tested individually.

During the test we also need to see what the memory footprint is in the case of a single memory stick.

4. If necessary, we can try to update the BIOS and chipset drivers to improve compatibility between hardware.

Please note: Please try the latest version of the driver first, if the problem still exists, we can try some known older and more compatible versions.

I sincerely hope that the above information and programs will help you! Please feel free to contact me (Photos related to the question would be great!).

I look forward to hearing back from you. 

Best Regards

Arthur Sheng | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Update: I saw a few minutes after posting my initial reply that you appeared to have edited and added some new images, I'll analyze that information in depth.