Win 7 64 RAM filling up. Memory leak outside windows?

[jemcgarvey]

In the last week or so, I have to reboot my pc almost every day because the RAM usage gets up to 93% and I can't do anything, even launch taskmanager. When I've caught it before it was too full, I saw that almost nothing was listed as using RAM (system was at like 80MB). Essentially, RAM is "in use", but the use is not explained by taskmgr or perfmon.

I'm prepared to learn that it's a BIOS or mem controller issue, but it never happened in several years of XP and Vista on the same rig. Also I see I'm not the only one with the same issue on Win 7 64bit:

Win 7 64bit Ram Filling Up Problem - general-discussion - windows-7

Somebody tried to shut him down, but I have a feeling his complaint is as legit as mine. There's no excuse for Windows using all of the memory if it can't flush when you need it.

Ideas?

 

[richc46]

In the last week or so, I have to reboot my pc almost every day because the RAM usage gets up to 93% and I can't do anything, even launch taskmanager. When I've caught it before it was too full, I saw that almost nothing was listed as using RAM (system was at like 80MB). Essentially, RAM is "in use", but the use is not explained by taskmgr or perfmon.

I'm prepared to learn that it's a BIOS or mem controller issue, but it never happened in several years of XP and Vista on the same rig. Also I see I'm not the only one with the same issue on Win 7 64bit:

Win 7 64bit Ram Filling Up Problem - general-discussion - windows-7

Somebody tried to shut him down, but I have a feeling his complaint is as legit as mine. There's no excuse for Windows using all of the memory if it can't flush when you need it.

Ideas?

Blaming windows would be the first reaction, but is it warranted? I have no such problem, with 64 bit. Maybe, you have a virus, or maybe all your memory is not recognized. There are a lot of areas to look into before we can assume that it is windows.
Many times the A/V is a memory glutton. Other times other things are going on in the system, indexing, or a virus scan. All things to think about.

 

[MdM]

I had something similar happening today, my RAM usage doubled and I couldn't find the culprit. Luckily I have 8GB so it didn't fill up, it stopped at 3.20GB and my system kept running smooth. A reboot fixed it, now it has its usual 1.30-1.70 used with no apps open, only in background.
It doesn't bother me, I have plenty of memory, I'm just curious and thought I'd mention it since you mentioned it

Edit : By the way, looking at the events my RAM double usage was probably due to some sort of caching or prefetching by Windows, or even a defrag since my disk was "noising" more than usual.

 

[Frostmourne]

1) What antivirus are you using?

2) Use HWinfo and check if your RAM is being recognized properly.

3) Pause the POST and see if you RAM is listed

4) Type msinfo32.exe and see what is says about your RAM.

5) Run Memtest.

6) Use Process Explorer and Process Monitor to identify your apps memory usage.

 

[jemcgarvey]

Please read my entire post if you think my question warrants getting defensive on behalf of MS. MdM you seem to have the same issue I do, but unfortunately I only have 4GB. At the same time, it might not be the same, and my system just might keep filling up had I doubled my RAM.

Like I said, the bottom line is this. When the issue happens:
A. Windows Task Manager and Performance Monitor report something like 3.8GB physical memory "in use"
B. The current processes total no more than 250-500MB.
C. System response = slow as a dog

I'll try to get screenies next time since people seem to have a hard time believing it.

In response to specific questions:
Windows install is less than 2 weeks, ran AVG several days ago finding nothing. Have 250MB pf on primary and 6GB pf on second HDD. Incidentally, at the moment I have indexing limited to 3 folders of movies, no more than a thousand files. I run AVG free, and cpu use is <1%, no scan running, mem use at 2MB. Memory is listed perfectly in BIOS and HWinfo.

I did notice that the windows defrag was set to run automatically, but the schedule was 3 days ago, and even if it was running it would have appeared in Task Manager, but I disabled it for kicks.

 

[Frostmourne]

Kill AVG and switch to Microsoft Security Essentials.

 

[M17x]

In the last week or so, I have to reboot my pc almost every day because the RAM usage gets up to 93% and I can't do anything, even launch taskmanager. When I've caught it before it was too full, I saw that almost nothing was listed as using RAM (system was at like 80MB). Essentially, RAM is "in use", but the use is not explained by taskmgr or perfmon.

I'm prepared to learn that it's a BIOS or mem controller issue, but it never happened in several years of XP and Vista on the same rig. Also I see I'm not the only one with the same issue on Win 7 64bit:

Win 7 64bit Ram Filling Up Problem - general-discussion - windows-7

Somebody tried to shut him down, but I have a feeling his complaint is as legit as mine. There's no excuse for Windows using all of the memory if it can't flush when you need it.

Ideas?

I had the same problem. I noticed that besides the RAM filling up over time all the way to 100% and LOCKUP, that the CPU cores were always doing something. This then became a clear indication to me that something else was running that may have a memory leak. I then brought up the running Services screen and watched for what services were getting almost constant regular share of CPU clock time. I located the problem service and found it to be in a constant "Starting..." state but never reaching a final "Started" status state. So I disabled the service and the problem was gone. Never had the problem since.

BTW...if you find yourself having a similar problem with some service of yours you never want to just set the problem program to "Manual". It needs to be set to "Disabled". The reason is that if the problem service is one that may be used by another service, the other service can actually invoke it if it is set to "Manual" and NOT "Disabled".

In other words "Manual" doesn't mean that the computer user has to actively "Start" the service in order for it to become invoked.

 

[jemcgarvey]

Interesting. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a "starting" service.

It's funny though, after numerous reinstalls (over the years) I've gotten to where I have a "perfect install"; I keep a log of every tweak and app that goes into setting up my windows, but every time it seems that when I'm completely set up, it has immediate performance issues and bugs like this.

I wonder if like too much software, or if I should use some sort of vm to contain my superfluous apps like Mp3tag and mediainfo, etc.

 

[jemcgarvey]

Here's a screenie on the way to full. If I don't reboot, it will eventually stop responding completely:

 

[Uber Philf]

Java #1
Search indexer #2

Those 2 would be the probable cause.
Java gets more and more.

 

[jemcgarvey]

Great, but two things...

How are they most likely to be using 3GB of "sneaky" RAM? According to Windows, they are using a maximum of 330MB in total. That doesn't seem to explain it.

Also, if they are somehow the nasty culprits, what then? Windows users are not recommended to run java? I guess the Search index is debatable, since it is definitely a performance/convenience trade-off, but even that shouldn't result in 3.7GB of hogged memory and grinding halt to the system. Then indexing service supposedly "throttles back" when the computer is in use, if any of that rot is to be taken at face value...

 

[Frostmourne]

Is the RAM showing as configured properly in the BIOS and HWInfo32? Also check Msinfo32.exe.

 

[jemcgarvey]

Yes, unfortunately this has been asked, and the memory appears fine.

 

[Frostmourne]

Have you tried switching to Microsoft Security Essentials for antivirus?

 

[Cato]

I noticed a big difference when I switched from AVG to Microsoft Security Essentials. My feeling is that AVG has gone backward in the past couple of years.

Also, and of course this is a personal choice, I don't keep CCC running, which, if I remember correctly MOM.exe is part of. (Few years ago MOM was death...but that was altogether different.) I've used ATI cards for lots of years and have found that I can go to my Catalyst Control Center manually if I need to make changes then remove it from startup.

I do believe there's something else going on in your system, though. I just can't think it through right now.

 

[gangman]

i think you are using jdownlader. i have the same problem if i run that program all day.

 

[jemcgarvey]

I am getting the same issue again, this time with the same windows version on an entirely new rig. It happens whenever I open an .mkv whether 700mb or 15GB, with zoomplayer and wmp.

The annoying thing is I played a 6GB movie last night with no hitches, and tonight I can't open anything. I double click the file, and watch the memory usage fill up (4GB) in about 15s. However, the process lists only 20MB used (zplayer.exe or wmp.exe). This happens no matter which filters (haali, ac3, etc.) are running. I re-imaged my HDD to a state that I know worked perfectly, and the memory issue remains.

Is there a memory leak issue that is hardware related? I haven't changed anything I can think of since last night, and it's completely broken.

 

[M17x]

In the last week or so, I have to reboot my pc almost every day because the RAM usage gets up to 93% and I can't do anything, even launch taskmanager. When I've caught it before it was too full, I saw that almost nothing was listed as using RAM (system was at like 80MB). Essentially, RAM is "in use", but the use is not explained by taskmgr or perfmon.

I'm prepared to learn that it's a BIOS or mem controller issue, but it never happened in several years of XP and Vista on the same rig. Also I see I'm not the only one with the same issue on Win 7 64bit:

Win 7 64bit Ram Filling Up Problem - general-discussion - windows-7

Somebody tried to shut him down, but I have a feeling his complaint is as legit as mine. There's no excuse for Windows using all of the memory if it can't flush when you need it.

Ideas?

I had the same problem at one time. After trying a bunch of different things that were not the cause I displayed the processing times of the backlground services that are running and found that a particular OEM service specific to my computer brand (in my case Alienware) was stuck in a continuous "starting" (NOT Started) status loop and was getting constant processing time when the computer is supposed to be idle. So I ended up disabling the the service and rebooted.

The problem stopped as a result of disabling the service. So you might want to display ALL your services and sort in decending order by CPU time and look at all the statuses of each and check if you have one that is stuck in "Starting" status. If so set it to "Disabled" so it never boots up at startup and reboot. Your problem should disappear...unless of course if you have more than one service acting that way.

 

[jemcgarvey]

Thanks for the idea, though none of my services show "starting" whether just after boot, or while starting the video player.

This is what it looks like while attempting to open an .mkv in zoom player. On a fresh boot, sometimes the ram is fine (about 1.4GB in use) and here it had about 2GB of extra usage, though the processes barely total 500MB.

 

[Tepid]

I am just going to say 2 things, because I don't have a specific answer,....

1. AVG is garbage, trash it, trust me, it's garbage.

2. Windows is not the problem. I have lots of software and my non-techy wife uses the system to go to every site and install all kinds of crud. That I promptly clean out.

The system has been on for weeks and I play numerous different games. And have not restarted till recently that we haven't been using it I shut it down. So, I just want to reiterate that this is not a Windows issue.

I can say with confidence this is a Software or Hardware or Other issue. But not Windows specifically.