6 Fixes for Memory Leak Issues in Windows 10

Is your computer not running as effectively as it used to? If yes, then your computer might have a memory leak issue. Memory leak refers to the RAM memory loss in Windows caused by an app or program.

The issue usually appears when some installed programs use more RAM than they should. While it is a software-related issue, it can occur for a wide range of reasons.

Luckily, fixing the issue is not as complicated as it might seem. Instead, there are a few simple methods that you can try to get rid of the error. But before I move to the fixes, let’s examine memory leaks in Windows in detail.

What are Memory Leaks in Windows 10?

Memory Leak refers to RAM loss in Windows. A program or an app mainly causes the issue.

Hence, you will find that every running process in Windows is taking a certain amount of RAM. As a result, you will face a laggy computer.

Fortunately, the issue is not related to your computer’s RAM but rather to software.

Applications like Photoshop, Google Chrome, games, and a few other programs demand a lot of RAM, but there are also apps that use little RAM.

However, the problem arises when a program uses more RAM than it should, which we know as Memory Leaks.

1. Update Drivers

Outdated Drivers on Windows 10 can cause various issues, including Memory leak. Hence, it would be best if you kept your driver software current. To update your drivers, follow the below steps:

1. At first, right-click on the start menu.
2. Go to Device Manager.
3. Then, check if any driver has a yellow exclamation mark next to it. 
4. If it has, then right-click on it and select Update driver software and then follow all the on-screen instructions.

2. Memory Diagnostic Tool

Windows comes with a tool called Memory Diagnostic Tool. This tool is designed to perform a scan of your computer’s physical RAM to help you identify possible errors and determine whether the problem is with your RAM.

To get started with this, you have to follow these steps:

1. Go to Windows 10 search bar and type down Memory Diagnostic Tool and launch it.
2. Next, click on Restart now and check for problems. Also, make sure you don’t have any unsaved work.
3. After restarting, let Windows scan for errors. Once it completes the scan, it will let you know the results.

3. Restart The Program

If you find that one of the programs uses too much RAM than it should, you can restart it.

1. To do this, you must press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keys simultaneously to open Task Manager and click on More Details.
2. Then, look for what programs use the most memory.
3. Next, select the program and click on End Process to close the program instantly.

Of course, this closes the program, but the issue isn’t resolved yet. The amount of memory it initially accessed is still unavailable for the other process. Hence, to solve this, you must restart your computer and check if you are still facing the same issue.

4. Optimize Your PC

1. At first, right-click on This PC > Properties Tab.
2. Scroll down and select Advanced System Settings > Advanced tab
3. Click on the Settings button under the Performance tab.
4. Then select Adjust for best performance option and click on OK.
5. Finally, restart your PC to make the changes.

5. Disable Programs On The Startup

You can also try disabling programs on startup. If programs are booting up alongside Windows, it will take too much time for Windows to boot up, and you will face the memory leaks issue.

Hence, it is important to disable apps that don’t need to start at the startup. For instance, apps like Spotify, Discord, and others open at the startup.

However, to view and disable startup apps, you can follow the below steps:

1. At first, press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keys simultaneously to open Task Manager.
2. Then go to the Startup tab.
3. Right-click on the program you wish to disable and then select Disable.
4. Finally, restart your PC.

6. Defrag Hard Drive

The issue isn’t always with your system’s memory. But sometimes, the storage drive can cause the issue. Hence, just to be sure, you should defrag the hard drive to optimize performance. For this, follow these steps:

1. Go to This PC.
2. Then right-click on the C: Drive or whichever drive you have installed Windows in.
3. Select Properties > Tools > Optimize.
4. Next, select your C drive and click on Analyze.
5. Once the process completes, restart your computer.

However, you may not be able to defragment the hard drive since Windows itself runs it from time to time. So, after clicking on the C Drive, if the analyze button is grayed out, skip this step.

From Editor’s Desk

Those were a few ways to fix memory leaks in Windows 10. Now go ahead and try these fixes. Also, even after trying everything, if your PC still lags, then your computer might be lacking RAM. So install physical RAM on your computer and see if it has worked or not.