Memory usage increases after each time the computer wakes up from SLEEP

[Bill_Bright]

Maybe the culprit could somehow be FireFox???

It is known to cause memory problems for some users. Simple to check - switch to IE or Chrome for awhile and watch.

 

[Kursah]

Can you verify if it stops 5GB or keeps going that you not reboot your system and lets see if it pushes past the 5,6,7GB mark. I'm curious if we have a memory leak that is constantly expanding or if it reaches a certain point based on what you are currently doing/using.

FF and Chrome are resource hogs when a lot of tabs are in view or open tabs have a lot of content cached. I would try a different browser, I use Chrome, but it has a tendency to use a lotta RAM with a lotta tabs open, between it, it's background services, and if you load and link Drive as well, Google's apps can use quite a bit of resources...I still prefer and use Chrome...but at times it can consume a lot as well..be aware of this.

Windows will cache frequently used items in RAM for faster loading, so there's a possibility that is consuming more RAM than you're expecting. The way I understand it this happens as pre-fetch and also when a program closes, data is still stored in RAM for faster access to your frequently used data and applications, though this is usually stored in standby allocation (check Resource Monitor) which can be flushed out when those resources are needed by something else, or recalled by the app that calls on the standby data.

 

[rms8]

Can you verify if it stops 5GB or keeps going that you not reboot your system and lets see if it pushes past the 5,6,7GB mark. I'm curious if we have a memory leak that is constantly expanding or if it reaches a certain point based on what you are currently doing/using.

FF and Chrome are resource hogs when a lot of tabs are in view or open tabs have a lot of content cached. I would try a different browser, I use Chrome, but it has a tendency to use a lotta RAM with a lotta tabs open, between it, it's background services, and if you load and link Drive as well, Google's apps can use quite a bit of resources...I still prefer and use Chrome...but at times it can consume a lot as well..be aware of this.

Windows will cache frequently used items in RAM for faster loading, so there's a possibility that is consuming more RAM than you're expecting. The way I understand it this happens as pre-fetch and also when a program closes, data is still stored in RAM for faster access to your frequently used data and applications, though this is usually stored in standby allocation (check Resource Monitor) which can be flushed out when those resources are needed by something else, or recalled by the app that calls on the standby data.

For testing purposes I could try using IE or Chrome, but I love the look I have for FF and the add-ons I have installed. I disable PreFetch via the registry when I set up a PC with an SSD/NVMe drive.

 

[Ferrum Master]

You have answered it your self. Those addons are often resource hogs.

The OS does the job well. It will flush the cached ram pool when some programm will need it.

Just ignore it and don't interfere with it.

 

[Kursah]

For testing purposes I could try using IE or Chrome, but I love the look I have for FF and the add-ons I have installed. I disable PreFetch via the registry when I set up a PC with an SSD/NVMe drive.

FF + Add-ons = possible source of your problems, but I'm curious to know if that is truly the cause so please keep us posted.

I'm more curious to see if this issue continues beyond the 4-5GB mark, or if that's about where it levels out.

Agreed with @Ferrum Master post, the OS does an excellent job of managing RAM out of the chute.

 

[Filip Georgievski]

FF + Add-ons = possible source of your problems, but I'm curious to know if that is truly the cause so please keep us posted.

I got an idea here:
I use both Edge and FF and i just realised my RAM goes up way more when i use FF than Edge does.
Try Edge since you got Windows 10, since Edge has no plug-ins on it.

My PC with 8 gigs doesnt go up to 4 or even 5 when idling after sleep, and i got a lot of programs, plus i dont have SSD, only HDD so i would guess 2 things:
1. FF and other heavy programs sit in backround even when turned off.
2. Which may sound crazy but i had a similar problem with a virus which makes the HW go crazy, sometimes 1 part ( RAM, CPU, GPU etc), sometimes the whole PC "goes up in flames" stacking processes, and ovetheating. This is questionable.

 

[rms8]

Some testing :

I rebooted and let the PC stabilize for 10 minutes. Idle RAM usage was 1448Mb. Below you can see the top memory users. Note Antimalware Service Ex, Desktop Win Mngr and Windows Explorer.

After this I opened about a dozen windows explorers to various internal and networked drives/folders, ACDSee, Photoshop, and Nero. I never launched Firefox. I let the system sit for a minute, then shut each of those open windows down. So I closed everything I had opened. Let the system stabilize then saw the below. Again, take note of Antimalware Service Ex, Desktop Win Mngr and Windows Explorer, they all are increasing. I will mention that even though they are higher now than directly after reboot, I don't recall those being too much higher in the past when I was looking at TM while RAM usage was 5Gb with nothing opened...

RAM usage was now 1580Mb at idle with nothing opened. So, perhaps FF is not the culprit?

I'll let the memory continue to increase to see if it caps out at some point, or keeps rising beyond 5Gb. May take a day or two......

 

[Filip Georgievski]

With 16 gigs, this is not even a problem.
Windows does a lot of background stuff so it is just normal.
It would be a problem if these processes reach insane memory usage say half a GB or even a GB.
My thinking is your sistem is fine, since you did not report crashes, freezes, or lag while working even the simplest things.
As people said above, Free RAM = Wasted RAM.

 

[P4-630]

Hi All!

I have a problem I have noticed for quite some time now. I normally will put my PC into Sleep mode when I'm finished for the day, then wake it via a keyboard tap. Each time I wake the PC the memory usage is higher. A reboot will bring it back to normal (~1.5Gb) I did see THIS THREAD on something similar a few years ago, but nothing really helpful.

I noticed this while I was using Win7, but still notice it now that I am using Win10. I build PC's on an irregular basis, so I am pretty apt at PCs.

For the move to Win10, my new machine comprises the following HW :

MB = MSI Z170A Gaming M5
CPU = Intel i7-6700K
Memory = 16Gb DDR4
OS Drive = Samsung NVMe 950 PRO

I assume the used memory would continue to rise to my 16Gb limit if I let it, but I'll typically reboot once the usage hits 4-5Gb at idle.

When ever I put the PC to sleep, I always close any open programs. In the referenced thread (link above) it mentions something about memory leakage from poorly written applications. is that about the only thing it could be ?

The only programs which I installed that start automatically with windows are AnyDVD HD, ObjectDock and AIDA64. I use AIDA64 to display all sorts of stats via a desktop gadget.

Yeah I had the same problem when I was using hibernate.
My laptop starts up pretty fast with OS on SSD so I don't need to use hibernate, I just shut it down and I don't have that ram eating issue anymore now.

 

[Filip Georgievski]

Here is my RAM Usage:

Preety much same as yours, and you got 1.5 GB, I got 2.1 GB usage constant.
Processes look similar to yours so no problem there.

 

[OneMoar]

windows will release the ram if/when something requests it todo so
unused ram is wasted ram there is nothing wrong here other then windows's aggressive caching

 

[rms8]

Thanks for all the quick and great replies.

I wasn't worried about the RAM usage...I was just curious as to why the RAM usage kept creeping up and up over time, despite all programs being closed when finished with them

Great to know this forum has such speedy replies. Was totally unexpected.

 

[Mussels]

Unless you're like me and disable the pagefile.

then it turns back on automatically. since XP you've never been able to truly disable it.

 

[Mussels]

this might not be sleep mode. my i3 netbook NEVER sleeps or gets shut down, its a 24/7 little chugger.
It was using 3GB of ram at idle, with 1.2GB being used by "service host" (svchost), which normally gets eaten up by windows update.

The wrench in the works here is that this system has windows update disabled (to prevent the automated reboots)

after a reboot (first in months) its back at 1GB idle.

 

[trog100]

watching win 10 update after a few months would be a bit scary..

though they do seem to have slowed down a bit from what they were..

i looked at my memory idle usage yesterday.. it started with chrome running at 2.2 gig.. after a normals days use which for me is mostly browsing with a bit of game playing every so often chucked in it had risen to 2.8 gig at end of the day.. the vast majority of my ram never gets used so to me whats in use at any one time dosnt matter in the slightest..

i do remember the days when such things did matter but i cant say as they do now.. in fact i wish windows would make better use of the stuff.. having it sat there doing bugger all dosnt make much sense..

i even bought some ram drive software to try and make some use of my spare ram but as yet havnt really been able to.. to me more stuff being loaded into ram and staying there makes all the sense in the world but so far i cant make it happen..

trog

 

[rms8]

Hi Guys!

Wanted to return and show what I have been trying to explain with words.

Since my last post, I have not rebooted my machine. I have put it to sleep when finished. Let me state now that I do not think SLEEP MODE has anything to do with this memory increase. I think it is simply memory NOT returning to idle levels after closing a program.

I noticed upon closing programs that the memory may be slightly more than just before I opened that program. There doesn't seem to be any one program that does not exhibits this behavior although I will say that FF may seem to have more memory used upon closing than other programs. And again, this is seen BOTH in WIN 7 and WIN 10.

No sluggish symptoms, nor any other signs of high memory usage, simply an observation looking for an explanation.


Here you can see the memory usage is at 6.0Gb with no programs opened. Compare that to the 1.4Gb after a reboot (see prior posts).

Here are the highest memory users as reported by Task MNGR:

Just something to think about if anyone may have any theories.

THANKS in advance!!!!!

 

[Mussels]

that matches what i wrote a few posts up with my netbook. i think W10 just keeps everything in ram until its no longer needed.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I see "Killer Network Manager" in your taskmanager screenshot - I just happened across this issue mentioned on a reddit link while doing a search for RAM issues and it could be related to your issue. Here's the link and a screen shot of what is suggested:

Maybe it'll help you...?

 

[Bill_Bright]

i think W10 just keeps everything in ram until its no longer needed.

Not just that but when computers are put to sleep (or even shutdown), they are just in a "stand-by" state where the ATX required +5Vsb standby voltage is also used to keep system RAM "alive" (though in a low-voltage state). This is to allow for computers to wake and boot faster.

This goes even further with "6th generation" Intel CPUs that allow for "instant" wake ability.