How to Fix High RAM Usage and Memory Leaks in Windows

Is your RAM usage stuck at 80-90% with nothing visibly running? Learn how to identify memory leaks, disable common culprits, and reclaim your system memory.

Published 2026-02-04 by TechNet New England

You open Task Manager and see your RAM sitting at 80%, 90%, or even higher, but you don't have anything unusual running. Your computer is sluggish, programs take forever to open, and the only "fix" seems to be restarting. If this sounds familiar, you're likely dealing with a memory leak or a background process consuming more RAM than it should.

Understanding the Problem

A memory leak happens when a program allocates RAM but never releases it back to the system, even after it's done using it. Over time, the leaked memory accumulates, and your system runs out of available RAM. This forces Windows to use the page file (a section of your hard drive used as overflow memory), which is dramatically slower than actual RAM.

Not every case of high RAM usage is a memory leak, though. Some programs are just memory-hungry, and some Windows services use more memory than you'd expect. The key is figuring out what's consuming your memory and whether it's normal.

Step 1: Identify What's Using Your RAM

Start with Task Manager, but go beyond the basics.

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
  2. Click the "Memory" column header to sort processes by RAM usage
  3. Look at the top consumers. If a specific app is using several gigabytes and climbing, that's your culprit
  4. Pay attention to "Non-paged pool" and "Cached" memory in the Performance tab. High non-paged pool values (above 1 GB) often indicate a driver-level memory leak

Step 2: Use RAMMap for Deeper Analysis

Microsoft's free RAMMap tool (from Sysinternals) gives you a detailed breakdown of exactly how your RAM is being used.

  1. Download RAMMap from Microsoft's Sysinternals website
  2. Run it and look at the "Use Counts" tab
  3. If "Driver Locked" or "Nonpaged Pool" is abnormally large (multiple gigabytes), you likely have a driver leak
  4. You can use the "Empty" menu options to flush standby memory as a temporary relief, but this doesn't fix the underlying cause

Step 3: Disable Common Culprits

These Windows services and third-party programs are known to cause high memory usage:

SysMain (formerly Superfetch)

SysMain preloads frequently used apps into RAM. On systems with limited memory or slow HDDs, it can cause problems.

  1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter
  2. Find "SysMain" in the list
  3. Right-click it, select Properties, set Startup type to "Disabled," and click Stop

Windows Delivery Optimization

This service shares Windows Update files between PCs, and it can consume significant memory.

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options
  2. Click "Delivery Optimization"
  3. Turn off "Allow downloads from other PCs"

ASUS Armoury Crate and Other OEM Software

Manufacturer-installed software like ASUS Armoury Crate is notorious for memory leaks. If you have an ASUS system and notice high memory usage from Armoury Crate services, consider uninstalling it using ASUS's official removal tool and managing your hardware settings through BIOS instead.

Browser Tabs and Extensions

Each browser tab and extension uses its own chunk of memory. Chrome is especially known for this. Consider using fewer tabs, disabling unused extensions, or switching to a more memory-efficient browser like Edge or Firefox.

Step 4: Update or Roll Back Drivers

Driver-level memory leaks are common, especially with network adapters, GPU drivers, and USB controllers. If your high RAM usage started after a driver update, try rolling back to the previous version through Device Manager. Also, make sure you have the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website (not from Windows Update, which often has older versions).

Step 5: Check for System File Corruption

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

sfc /scannow

Then run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Restart and monitor your RAM usage over the next few hours.

If these steps don't resolve the issue, or if you'd like professional help, our team is here. Contact TechNet New England for IT support.