7 Best Ways to Fix Memory Leak in Windows 11

Microsoft has had some hiccups with the rollout of Windows 11. First, the company had Windows 11 compatibility confusion, and then after releasing the update, users complained of memory leaks in the new OS. If you are among those affected, read on to learn how to fix memory leaks in Windows 11.

If you are experiencing the same thing on your computer running Windows 11, you can quickly fix it. However, you will only observe this problem when you call. This means that there are no obvious indications of a memory leak problem.

Confirm Memory Leak Issue in Windows 11

Before proceeding and performing any troubleshooting tricks on your PC, you should first confirm the memory leak issue on your PC. Here’s what you need to do.

Stage 1: Press the Windows key and search for Resource Monitor.

Step 2: Press Enter and open the application.

Stage 3: Go to the Memory tab.

Check the total physical memory on your PC or laptop. Closely check the system resources that are taking up an unusual amount of RAM on the device. As a result, you have less physical memory in standby and free space.

After identifying memory leak issues, review the following tricks and fix memory leak in Windows.

1. Close File Explorer Windows

When Windows 11 was released, the first reports of memory leaks came from the File Explorer app. Trying to open too many File Explorer windows will consume a huge amount of RAM in Windows.

You should avoid opening too many File Explorer windows. If you already have a lot of windows open in Windows, right-click the File Explorer icon in the Windows 11 Taskbar and select Close all windows.

2. Make Changes in File Explorer

Even after closing File Explorer, your computer is likely to still have memory leaks. For example, reopening File Explorer will consume a lot of memory resources. Use the workaround from the steps below.

Stage 1: Click the Windows key, type File Explorer Options and press Enter.

Stage 3: When the File Explorer Options window opens, go to the View tab.

Stage 3: Enable the option to start folder windows in a separate process.

Hit OK at the bottom and it should put some brakes on File Explorer’s consumption of RAM on the computer.

3. Manually Free Up RAM

This may not be the most practical, but it can quickly free up RAM consumption. We will show you how to use the Task Manager to free up RAM on a computer.

Stage 1: Use Windows + X keys and select Task Manager to open it.

Step 2: Click on the Memory tab at the top to see which app is consuming too much RAM.

Stage 3: Click on the app and then select the End Task button in the bottom right.

All of Windows immediately closes the selected task and frees up RAM.

4. Close Unnecessary Apps and Browser Tabs

As you keep opening apps and browser tabs in Windows, it requires a lot of RAM to run properly. Out of habit, most users open apps and forget to close them when the job is done.

You should check which apps and browser tabs you don’t need on your computer and close the irrelevant ones.

5. Close Apps and Services from the Beginning

If you have a lot of applications and services at Windows startup, it will take up a significant amount of RAM in the first place. You should use the Startup menu in Settings and review your current setup.

Stage 1: Press Windows + I to open the Settings app.

Step 2: Click on the Applications menu.

Stage 3: Choose Start.

Step 4: Check the system effect of each service and disable any that are no longer needed during startup.

For example, most VPN apps open automatically at startup. You can disable them to make your computer boot faster.

6. Update the Windows operating system

Microsoft continues to offer the update to fix minor glitches in Windows 11. So if you need to update it on your PC especially if you waited for the options to install. Open the Settings app (Windows + I keys) and go to the Windows Update menu. Click the Check for Updates button to download and install the latest OS build on your computer.

After installing the updates, let your computer restart and watch if File Explorer or any other application is consuming an unusual amount of RAM.

Use Memory Wisely in Windows

Whether your Windows 11 PC has 8GB of RAM or higher, all apps should have a chance to access RAM properly. Unless it’s incompatible or you’re not using an older build of Windows 11, you won’t see the memory leak issue.