Windows 7: IE8 Memory Leak

Reading around I thought IE eliminated it's memory leaks but I definitely have it when I use IE8.

I typically have three windows of IE8 open and within one will have multiple tabs, maybe five or six at the most. Over time memory usage definitely grows and is not reclaimed as tabs or even windows are closed. Only way I can reclaim memory is by closing all windows and putting computer to sleep. When I awaken it and start again memory usage is back to it's initial state. But then it will grow again as I use IE8. Seems to happen no matter what websites are visited so I don't think a specific site is causing the problem.

Is it a problem somewhere in my system or is it just how IE8 really is?

Have you done a Google Search?
Remember Google is your friend.

Some examples...

A memory leak issue occurs in Internet Explorer 8 when you switch between XML files

Memory Leak in IE8?

IE8 memory leak - Microsoft Answers

My saying "reading around" meant yes I searched.

I have previously read all the links you provided.

The first link references a hotfix that I can't seem to locate.

The second link resolved the issue by installing Windows Server 2008 R2 RC. I have Windows 7 preinstalled.

The third link says maybe an add-on is causing it. Kind of vague and I'm pretty sure that is not the case with my issue.

All of them talk about the leak causing the system to eventually become unresponsive. That hasn't happened to me, I've gotten to about 60% memory use. I suppose it could happen. So I guess I live with it for now.

Would you like us to pull an answer from...our *cough*...out of the air? Memory leaks can be cause by anything at anytime, the only way to know is by deep analyse, and monitoring. Process Explorer and RAMmap can both be valuable.

Process Explorer
RAMMap

Just reboot your computer every now and again. It will clear your memory. Any thing that uses memory can cause a small leaks. The two easy ways to handle this problem is to add more memory or don't ask you computer to do so much at one time. Because you use more memory when you have several things open at the same time does not mean you have a memory leak. It means you are using up the memory (ram).

I have the same symptoms as the original poster: Let's say after a reboot I open 1 window with 5 tabs and it consumes 200MB memory. I use it a few hours, maybe open more tabs, close them and return to same initial 5 tabs. Now IE is using 700MB. That just ain't right! Can "fix" by closing all IE and reopening to original 5 tabs.

Windows 7 PRO x64, 4GB RAM never more than 3GB total utilized. MSIE8. All known patches & updates applied.

I did not install the special patch referenced because it does not fit my symptoms. (How does one know if he's using XML switching anyway?). I did briefly try other browsers, Opera & Chrome, and they don't seem to behave this way, although they each have their own weirdness I don't particularly care for. I tried MSIE9 and had some issues (I forget now the details) but bottom line I went back to IE8.

I am using a couple of add-ons... will test without them and report back. Meanwhile, any other ideas?

UPDATE 1: Ok, I disabled all add-ons. Opened IE with the usual 5 tabs. Memory usage by IE = 190MB. I went away for 90 minutes. Didn't touch a thing. Now IE is chewing up 330MB. So it seems a) it's not caused by add-ons, b) it's not caused by my use of the app and c) the suggestion to reboot every once in a while is completely useless.

UPDATE 2--
CAUSE: Well whaddayaknow? Facebook.com is the culprit. Probably should have guessed that right out of the box. FB is one of my 5 "standard" tabs. I tested with the other 4 tabs and memory was stable for hours at 130MB. Next test with only FB: let the leakage begin! If you google for "facebook memory leak" you'll find tons of stuff. This link was pretty enlightening, esp. for the web designers out there: http://gent.ilcore.com/2011/08/findi...ory-leaks.html
It goes into diagnostic tools to pinpoint which element of a webpage is leaking. Above my paygrade.

WORKAROUND: So I guess the thing to do is to just close and reopen the Facebook tab once in a while. Beats rebooting and also beats closing/reopening the whole browser window.