memory "leaks"

[matts6887]

Is there any way to fix the memory leaks that windows unfortunately is inheritently known for? Cause i have 16gb ddr3 which should be more than enough to keep the memory usage pretty low; but after several days of use; the memory usage keeps getting higher and higher until i finally reboot the system to refresh everything.

 

[carwiz]

Windows doesn't create memory leaks. It's the result of poorly written software.

Overview of Memory Leaks

You can force Windows to clear idle memory by creating a desktop shortcut. Right click the desktop, select New then select Shortcut. When the wizard window appears, copy the line from the code below and paste it into the location field of the wizard.

 %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks

Click Next and give it a name like Flush Memory, Clear Idle Memory or similar. Click Next and the shortcut will be placed on the desktop. Before using it, you must give it Administrative Privileges or it won't run and you won't get any notice.

To give the shortcut Administrative Privileges, Right click on the desktop shortcut and select Properties. Click on the Shortcut tab then click on Advanced. Click on the Run as Administrator box to select. OK out of the windows.

 

[carwiz]

I should mention, before I'm corrected, that this doesn't actually "flush memory" but forces Windows to evaluate idle processes. If a program terminated without releasing memory, Windows treats the process as idle and holds the memory. This will clear the hold if the process isn't running.

 

[matts6887]

Ok thanks will try this out and see what happens

 

[LMiller7]

A great deal about the ProcessIdleTasks command can be found on the Internet. Unfortunately most of it is wrong.

Windows has a number of system optimization and maintenance tasks that it normally runs during idle periods of low CPU usage and no user input. This way they won't interfere with user activity. The command forces these tasks to run immediately, regardless of current system activity. This could be of use for benchmarking so you don't have to wait for an idle period. It may also be of use on a laptop where idle period are rare.

I don't know where the idea that the command clears memory or stops idle tasks comes from. Try the command while Task Manager is open to see for yourself what it does. I have done this and found that memory usage was actually higher after running the command.

Windows is more than capable of manging memory by itself without such user intervention.

See this:
What does "Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks" do?

 

[Layback Bear]

Here is a great way to take care of memory and start fresh.
Shut down the computer and Start it again. Takes less tha 60 sec. and you are off and running again.