How Do I Fix High Memory Usage Windows 11?

What is Memory Usage?

Microsoft recently released the official version of Windows 11. Although this upgrade has brought some design innovations, it also seems to have brought a serious performance problem. Some users are complaining that the high memory usage Windows 11, which in turn has a negative impact on the overall performance.

Memory refers to RAM (Random Access Memory), which stores temporary data when performing tasks. Whenever you run a program on Windows, the CPU transfers data to memory for efficient operation. The operation of the memory also determines the speed of the overall operation of the computer.

What causes Win11 high memory usage?

Before we solve the high memory usage in Windows 11, we should know what causes the high memory usage.

After upgrading to Windows 11, many users have experienced this problem. After investigation, the “culprit” causing this phenomenon is the Windows 11’s File Explorer, which will cause the memory usage to soar to 70% or even 99% when it is opened for use or activity in the background. Fortunately, Microsoft has responded to related issues in the Dev channel and stated that it is working on repairs and has taken some mitigation measures.

If you can tolerate this bug at the moment, please wait for Microsoft’s patch to be updated. If you can’t stand it, then this article also provides you with some other ways to solve this problem or If you feel that Windows 11 is not as good as you think, you can also downgrade back to Windows 10.

How to fix high memory usage Windows 11?

In addition to Windows 11’s File Explorer, the following are the most common reasons for high memory usage:

☞ Too many automatic startup programs at boot.

☞ Too many programs are running in the background at the same time.

☞ Fragmentation of the hard disk causes high memory usage.

☞ SysMain preloads frequently used software into RAM for quick access.

☞ Enable NDU to cause memory leak.

If you experience high memory usage before upgrading to Windows 11, then the above five points are likely to be the cause. Next, I will provide you with solutions for these five situations one by one.

│Method 1. Disable automatic startup of programs

Some programs will start automatically when you boot, so that it will take up RAM when running in the background. If users do not need these programs to start automatically, they can choose to disable them.

Step 1. Type in Task Manager from the search bar at the desktop.

Step 2. Click on “Startup” in Task Manager, right-click the applications that you don’t want to run from Startup, and select “Disable”.

│Method 2. Clean up background running programs

Closing programs that are running in the background is also a common way to reduce memory. Many times, users do not close the program after using it because they do not know that the background program will occupy the memory.

Step 1. Type in Task Manager from the search bar at the desktop.

Step 2. Once the application is opened, select programs that don’t need to be running.

Step 3. Then, find the application and select End task to close it.

│Method 3. Perform disk defragment with professional tool

Too many fragmented files will slow down the reading speed of Windows. Defragmentation is the process of continuously gathering these fragments on the physical space of the hard disk, which helps to increase the operating speed.

You can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to run disk defrag. This is a powerful disk partition management software. Its “Disk Defrag” function will first analyze the entire hard drive, and then you can choose whether to defragment it based on the analysis result. The whole process is very simple, just click with the mouse.

In addition to fix high memory usage in Windows 11/10/8/7, If your C drive has insufficient space, it can also help you extend C drive. There are more features waiting for you to unlock.

After downloading and installing this partition manager. Right-click the target disk and delect Disk Defrag on the right pane, and then follow the instructions to complete.

│Method 4. Disable SysMain Service

SysMain helps to load frequently used programs into RAM in advance for quick access. Although it speeds up the access speed, SysMain may be one of the reasons for the high memory usage.

Step 1. Press “Windows +R” to open “Run” command, enter “services.msc” and click “OK”.

Step 2. Find SysMain and double-click.

Step 3. Drop-down Startup type and select Disabled.

Step 4. Next, click on the “Stop” option under “Service Status”.  Then, click “OK” to close the window.

│Method 5. Disable Ndu in Registry

The memory leak caused by Ndu is a problem that has appeared since Windows 10, it will make the memory unable to be released, and restarting the computer after disabling Ndu will solve the problem.

Step 1. Press “Windows+R”, enter “regedit” and open it.

Step 2. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Services/Ndu.

Step 3. Double-click on the Start to open it.

Step 4. Change its value to 4, click “OK” to save the changes.

After this, restart your PC and the Windows 11 high memory usage issue should be resolved.

Conclusion

This is the whole process of solving high memory usage Windows 11. If you have enough budget, you can actually add another memory stick to your computer, so that whether you are running software or playing games, your Windows 11 performance will keep at an excellent level.