Windows Secure System Eating up RAM

Question

Hello - I recently installed Windows 11 on my new PC and facing issues with windows Secure System. Its is taking up more than 50% of my RAM and slowing down the whole system. After the restart, it is normal and under 1%, but starting taking up memory after few hours of usage. It does not even go down if i launch any other applications. It is a memory leak or something else? I have not installed any other Anti virus or bloatware, apart from the necessary drivers. System is 2 days old. I am unable to find any answers. Initially there was a program called MsMpEng.exe taking up RAM, but not its Secure System.

Answer 1

Hi Nitish, I am John J.D., a fellow Microsoft user like you.

I understand your concern, and I'm here to help. Firstly, it's worth noting that after a recent upgrade or fresh installation, Windows often performs various background tasks that can temporarily consume more resources. You mentioned that your system is only 2 days old, which suggests this could be a factor.

Here are a few steps you can take to address this issue:

> Check for Updates > Make sure your system is fully updated. Go to Windows Update and ensure all updates, including drivers for graphics, sound, and network, are installed. Pending updates can sometimes cause high resource usage.

> Check Properties of Secure System > Right-click on the Secure System process in the Task Manager and click on Properties. If it shows ntoskrnl, this is part of the normal operation, but still worth monitoring.

Also, try running DISM and SFC command to automatically repair and restore any potential system file issues. Steps 2 to 5 can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/windows/using-sys...

After running DISM and SFC command, restart your PC and check if issue persists.

Let me know how it goes by clicking "Reply" below. Feel free to reach out with any updates or additional questions.

John J.D.

Answer 2

Hi John - Thank you for the help. You are a saviour. running DISM and SFC commands fixed the issue. There was a memory leak due to DirectX driver.

Before

1. Task Manager

2. RAM Map

After

1. Task Manager

2. RAM Map

I hope this helps people in future.

Cheers,

Nitish