What’s RAM cache and how to clear RAM cache in Windows 11? In this post, you’ll learn basics about RAM cache and some practical ways to securely clear it.
Cached RAM, sometimes known as CPU memory, is a type of high-speed Static Random Access Memory. The cached RAM aims to help the CPU perform quicker and more smoothly. Cache RAM is either directly or indirectly linked to the CPU. Cached RAM's job is to store the fundamental instructions and commands that a computer needs often, as well as the data that the CPU is likely to require next. Because the computer can obtain such instructions from Cache faster than from the main memory, it will help to boost the overall performance of the application.
When you run a program or a game, Windows will use part of your computer's RAM as a cache so that the same data may be promptly accessed from the RAM cache whenever the application requests it. If the cached memory approaches the limit of your RAM usage, especially when you run too many applications or games simultaneously, you may have difficulties such as abrupt slowing and lag when using the application, out-of-memory errors, or even app or game crashing.
Of course, you can free up RAM by closing apps you don't use. However, when you end an application, Windows does not always erase the cache that the program utilized. The data will remain in the cache so that when you open the same application again, it will start and run faster since the necessary data is still in the cache. Regardless, Windows can recognize when RAM is required for another program and will instantly clear up the unneeded memory cache so that other programs may utilize it.
Thus, users need to clear the RAM cache on the computer to keep RAM status well.
To help you clear RAM cache, here we list some practical ways, you can choose a suitable way to clean the RAM cache regularly.
Lots of visuals can consume a lot of RAM; if you just have RAM with poor capacity installed, these effects may have an impact on your PC's performance. As a result, you might try decreasing the visual effects to empty the RAM cache.
Step 1. Open the File Explorer, and then right-click This PC entry and select Properties.
Step 2. Select About from the left window, and then scroll down the right sidebar and click on the Advanced system settings.
Step 3. Go to the Advanced tab and click on the Settings button under the Performance section.
Step 4. Tick the checkbox next to Adjust for the best performance to disable all the animated visual effects.
Step 5. Click on Apply and then on OK to save the change.
Tip: While this action frees up RAM, it may severely restrict the aesthetics of your machine. You may also pick Custom and select various aesthetic effects based on your tastes.
When you shut down your computer, the system RAM is cleaned, but the page file remains on your disk. Clearing paging files might assist in clearing the RAM cache in Windows 11. You may clear the page file automatically when the computer shuts down.
Step 1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run box, and then type Regedit in it and hit Enter. Then click on Yes to open Registry Editor.
Step 2. Go to the following registry key via the left navigation bar:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/ Memory Management
Step 3. With the Memory Management folder selected in the left panel, double click the ClearPageFileAtShutdown DWORD and set its Value data to 1, and click on OK.
To clear the RAM cache, there is a shortcut that may be employed.
Step 1. Go to your desktop and right-click on any empty space. In the pop-up menu, select New > Shortcut.
Step 2. In the pop-up window, type:
%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks, and click on Next.
Step 4. Give a new name for the shortcut, such as Clear RAM Cache, and click on Finish. After that, you can double-click the shortcut at any time you want to flush the memory cache.
In fact, RAM cache is simply one of several garbage files that might slow down your PC. Because cache data is used to swiftly load an app or website for each subsequent visit, cache data from distinct resources may be kept in several locations. It’s strenuous work if you manually clear all cache files from different locations on your PC, you may delete important files by mistake.
To save your time and perform a secure cache clear job, here we suggest you employ a professional cache cleaner, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, a free disk and partition manager for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP OS.
Its “PC Cleaner” feature can scan your computer to find all junk files, even hidden cache, and users can choose to clear all or just part of files. And if you need it, this tool also has wiping hard drive and disk defrag features to help you.
Step 1. Download and open AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, and click "Free up" and "PC Cleaner" in turn.
Step 2. Click "Start Scan" in the new pop-up window to scan your computer for unwanted files.
Step 3. After starting the scan, please wait for a while until the progress bar is loaded.
Step 4. Unneeded data will be automatically selected, you can directly click "Clean All" to delete them. If you still have other unnecessary files, you can tick the boxes of the corresponding files.
Step 5. When you see a correct symbol displayed in the interface, you can click "Back" to leave the function.
The first and simplest solution is to close these memory-consuming processes. Here’s how to clear memory on Windows 11 by closing unwanted programs.
Step 1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc shortcut to open the Task Manager window and click on More Details to access the full view.
Step 2. In the Processes tab, click on the Memory header to sort from most to least RAM usage.
Step 3. Right-click the progress that takes up much RAM, and select End Task. Then repeat the same process for other tasks.
This is all about how to clear RAM cache on Windows 11 computer. If you’re not familiar with the locations of different kinds of cache and junk files, you can choose AOMEI Partition Assistant to clear your PC. Besides the PC Cleaner feature, if you upgrade to the Professional Edition, you can unlock more handy functions, such as allocating free space to extend C drive, merging partitions, migrating OS without reinstalling, converting disk between MBR/GPT without data loss, moving installed programs, etc.