Windows 10: Is this normal? System and compressed memory process ALWAYS at 20% cpu

dalchina, thanks for replying. In my case, I came across "System and Compressed Memory" because I was looking into high disk access and memory usage in Task Manager. I understand now that the normal function of "System and Compressed Memory" should reduce disk activity. So for those who complained of that, it is most likely something else causing heavy disk access. Still, I don't think "It runs when needed" addresses my issue.

In my situation, I NEVER have seen "System and Compressed Memory" appear as a process in Task Manager on my Win 10 Pro system. Also, I think it's been suggested that this is a Service; however, no such service is listed in Services on my machine, even as Disabled. The closest I've come to understanding how "System and Compressed Memory" is implemented is in the article found here:

https://appuals.com/100-disk-usage-by-system-and-compressed-memory-in-windows-10/

The author, Kevin Arrows, points out that this runs as a Task under MemoryDiagnostic in Task Manager. He was also impressed enough by one of his reader's comments to add it to the end of the article. That reader said that on his system, for RunFullMemoryDiagnostic under MemoryDiagnostic, the error message, "The operator or administrator has refused the request. (0x800710E0)" appeared.

When I checked my Task Manager, I found the same error message. For both tasks listed there, ProcessMemoryDiagnosticEvents and RunFullMemoryDiagnostic, the Status is listed as Ready and the task shows as having run very recently in both cases. (Last Run Time) However, the same error message appears in both, under Last Run Result:

"The operator or administrator has refused the request. (0x800710E0)"

So I suspect that this Task has never actually run on my machine, which suggests that there is either something amiss in the Task's argument, or some module that is supposed to be called which could not be found. The commenter's Win 10 system, like mine, was an upgrade from a previous version. So I am wondering if, as he suggests, this is the result of something getting scrambled in the upgrade process. If so, it may be that many people who upgraded to Win 10 have never experienced this process being called.

Perhaps you can tell me, is my analysis correct--how SHOULD that task be set up? And what am I missing about how this process is called and run?

Thanks,
Michael

 

Hi that's how the task is set up on mine as seen by Nirsoft's Taskschedulerview (free).

You're correct- "The operator or administrator has refused the request. (0x800710E0)" is typically related to a failed scheduled task.
Of course you can check the dll exists.

I'd suggest running
chkdsk C: /F
(requires restart) and
SFC /SCANNOW
as a matter of course.

But looking at my task scheduler, I now see the same error code appears...




By changing the start conditions (wrt idle) I got it to run, result 0x0. However System was using 25% CPU

 

Okay, thanks again, dalchina. Yes, NirSoft tools are usually simple and so sane to use. But this one seems not to capture "Last Run Result" in the same way as the actual Task Scheduler. Also, I notice that in mine the result is fully typed out--yours only shows the result code.





I see also under Conditions that the Task is to be run only on AC power on my laptop. However, most of the time it IS on AC, and I still have not seen that task run--ever. So I am not one of those complaining about seeing a large number of MB used by this task (as I never see the task listed in TM). I've sometimes seen a very high percent of total memory used. That lessened considerably once I restored the default in Virtual Memory--let Windows manage it instead of setting a fixed amount (apparently now OLD INFORMATION in Win 10) and also I've disabled Superfetch, though I don't yet have an SSD on this machine. Memory use seems much more reasonable after those changes.


But--you've introduced another mystery. Your Scheduler also shows the same result code (apparently indicating the Task was unable to run)--though not expressed in text like mine. So have you ever seen it running on your or another machine? Now I am wondering whether there is anything wrong with my setup of the Task, and if so, what to change.

Also, under Actions it's indicated that this is done by a "Custom Handler". Does that imply to you that this is not a Service at all but is handled by some built-in OS component that is called by this Task? How and when it is called, and why at those times, are also mysteries to me.

I ran SFC not too long ago, but will run it again shortly, and also scan my C: Drive for errors. I doubt that's the problem, but I'll check.

[Edit: I forgot to mention that, while I do not see a task call "System and Compressed Memory," I do see a task called just "System" appears a lot at the top of the list for Disk usage. This frequently uses the disk for extended periods shortly after returning from Sleep or Hibernation.]

Michael

 

PS: I checked two other systems that were also upgraded from Win 7 (mine is Pro and the other two are Home), and all of these have similar messages about "The operator or administrator has refused the request. (0x800710E0)", except in one instance the report is: 'The process terminated unexpectedly (0x8007042B)." I don't recall seeing "System and Compressed Memory" as a process in Task Manager in any of these computers. I am now trying to check with someone who has a system that was not upgraded--originally installed as Win 10.

Also: I ran SFC--all is fine; and chkdsk on C: --no problems, some minor corrections to the file system.

Michael

 

Hi, the missing text might be related to me having history disabled in the task scheduler.

I commented I could run the tasks successfully manually by changing the idle criteria for the task, with the effect that System used a lot of CPU time for perhaps 10 mins when I ran RunFullMemoryDiagnostic. You might like to experiment with that to see if you get a different outcome. Similarly with the idea of changing Administrators to your user name, just as an experiment.

My Win 10 was clean installed.

No, I've not seen the task run- the only time I'm aware of people mentioning it has been in the context of exceptional disk or CPU use- i.e. a problem/conflict. My limited understanding is it shouldn't run continuously, only on particular events, and that it isn't a service. And I don't see it in task manager even when both those tasks are running.

 

@dalchina: I've been looking at quite a few other threads on this System and Compressed Memory process issue. (You were present in several, dalchina.) I only recently started reading about it, but I see it emerged around beginning of this year, was talked about most heavily April till July, and much less after August. It's hard to create a clear history of what happened with it, but I think I'm beginning to understand why researching this has been such a pain. Most helpful threads have been here on TenForums, and on SuperUser, like these:

System and compressed memory

(A very short thread, but see the posts by swarfega and TairikuOkami.)

http://superuser.com/questions/1063616/high-compressed-memory-usage-in-windows-10


http://superuser.com/questions/1020629/what-is-the-cause-of-a-high-cpu-usage-of-system-and-compressed-memory-in-windo

*The idea that the error message in Task Scheduler has something to do with it being an upgraded system does not hold up. Both you and my Brother-in-law have clean installed systems and have the same error message in the Last Run Result--except mine and his are typed in full and yours is just the error code. (Why??) ...But does EVERYONE have that same message in their Task Scheduler? I've never seen an indication that it HAS run successfully. Is that the way it looks in everyone's system now?

*Not likely. My History is also disabled, and I noticed that for just about every other task I looked at, History was disabled. I think this must be the default--I'm guessing you have to turn it on if you want to observe it.

*At least one other person besides us confirms this process/task is not a service.

*The main thing that confuses this is that many reported (in many threads) a process called "System and Compressed Memory" but you and I have not seen that process. That could be because we were not looking at the right time,...but I suspect it's actually because Microsoft has changed the name, and we weren't looking for it before they did so. ...My theory is that after they got a lot of flack, and fixed the main issues, they also removed the reporting of memory size that was compressed and changed the name to simply "System". The memory compression thing is now hidden inside the "System" process, which may show a lot of disk accessing or CPU for various reasons--but it doesn't show you how much memory is compressed any more. What's puzzling is that in my reading I did not find one instance where someone mentioned that such a change has taken place.

I guess I will have to break down (as I have resisted for a long time) and learn how to use Process Explorer if I want to look at the details under "System".

You mentioned the idea of running the task manually. I have not tried that yet. I may do that, but my main concern has been to understand if this was something that's relevant to problems I was noticing, or if I was missing something that should be obvious--why was I not locating the very thing that so many people were talking about? And then, why are they not talking about it much any more? And why doesn't anyone know why they aren't talking about it? ...Or another way to say it, is this just another easy way to be misled while researching a computer issue, because the bug was partly corrected and partly confused by being changed or hidden?

The older it gets, Microsoft's flagship Consumer OS gets more and more confusing, more confused, and less possible to really manage by the average consumer.

Michael

 

I like the idea of checking the effect in the performance tab of the task manager.

It is interesting that reports of difficulties are negligible now. It was, after all , a new feature, and MS has issued a number of major updates.

MS relying increasingly on users documenting their OS doesn't help at all. We struggle with partial understanding.

Philosophy: ideally we wouldn't have to worry about the OS. We should benefit from levels of abstraction and move on- if only MS would isolate the OS from consumers - on a hidden normally inaccessible partition - and not muddle along with a legacy registry and C: structure where installing software can write to a number of OS folders, and user data and temporary files are on the same partition by default. The OS should be separately and independently maintained from installed programs for the most part (compatibility issues aside). That would mean (e.g.) splitting the registry, placing 'user' related parts on (say) D: with all user data, drivers, etc etc. That way you could freely reinstall the OS and still have everything 'installed'.

tenforums would be a lot quieter, and maintaining PCs simplified.

 

I like your philosophy, Dalchina. While I am not a tech, I've been around since the beginning of home computing, and I've always tried to keep my data on a separate partition, if not drive. Programs too where possible. Remember Lotus Smartsuite? The whole suite of programs could be installed on D:. It drove me nuts that each new version of Windows forced more and more User info onto C. I wonder, if IBM had emerged as King of the home computing world, instead of MS, would things have been different? Remember OS/2? Too bad that didn't catch on....

The Performance tab of TM is fun to look at (and BTW, my "(Compressed) Memory" figure is 0 every time I look at it), but it doesn't give a breakdown of what is happening under System. (I am also still not clear if System is actually the same as what was, for a short time, System and Compressed Memory.) The Processes tab gives some breakdown, but not enough. While not really wanting to become a Tech, I guess I need to get better tools to look at what is happening.

Since I find I don't have a "System and Compressed Memory" process, I need to understand better what is going on with the "System" process. Mine runs at what appears as "full disk use" a lot, particularly right after resuming from sleep--making it difficult to start working when you want the computer to be available. --And even after disabling Superfetch and doing some of the other things different folks often suggest. Since all this discussion here has been between you and me on an old thread, my sense of this is that I should start a new thread if I want help looking into the System process, as that might get more input from more people. Do you agree?

Michael

 

Hi, yes, a separate thread would attract appropriate attention, perhaps from Kari, for example.
Meanwhile:



is of interest, as maybe memory compression has been reassigned there.. just a guess from looking at that.

And for comparison, you can see I do have compressed memory:




My preference would be to reverse any changes in OS functions unless extremely well justified, and suggest you create a thread, say,
Why have I no compressed memory? Is System responsible? or similar, with screenshots as those above.

I'd suggest you include a screenshot of your page file details too (thinking of the unexpected high disk usage you are experiencing. Also it's worth researching
system process high disk usage
as there is a good number of reports.

 

Yes, thanks, it does look as though memory compression is now listed under "System" and they've dropped the MC part of the title of the process. Again, I'm really surprised I haven't come across references to that change.

It will take me a little while to put together a concise question/report for a new thread. Should I ask it under this area of "Performance and Maintenance" of the Forum, same as this thread? Or is another topic area better?

Here is a current snip of my memory. Note that the Disk usage is low here, but about 15 min. ago it was frequently at 99%, and most often when I look at the processes at that point, #1 disk use is Systems, sometimes for quite a while. What is most annoying is the inability to get the computer to respond much while the disk is being accessed so much. We have two laptops in our house (with HDD's), and they both tend to do this--it seems an issue of prioritizing for what the user is trying to do, but I will say that the one desktop machine we have that does have an SSD seldom has such problems. I guess Microsoft figures we all just ought to have an SSD installed. *sarc

Not sure what you meant here--is that what I just showed above? Or something else?

Michael

 

This section should be fine.
Like this:

 

Update: I posted some questions on Superuser at: What happened to the "System and Compressed Memory" **PROCESS** in Windows 10? - Super User

Apparently, it looks like when you turn Superfetch off in Services by disabling it (as I had) this causes there to be no Compressed Memory shown in Task Managererformance Tab:Memory. But at this point I still don't understand why this should happen. I'm also wondering now about the current thinking/arguments about turning Superfetch off. The reasons people were doing that at one point may no longer be valid.

As I just wrote in another thread, it's hard to know the relevance of what you find in earlier posts, because as Win 10 evolves, they keep changing how things work. So we are no longer dealing with a stable "version" of Windows when we talk about issues we are having or how things work, as we might have been with XP, Vista & 7.

@dalchina: Also, it was interesting to see your page file details. I see you have a stable 400 MB size on C: and have moved any further paging to another disk that is System Managed. I presume what you have on C: is to make sure you capture any dump files. My recent understanding is that Win 10 does much better with a System Managed setup than with setting a single sized large Page file which used to be recommended by a lot of people. Is that your rationale for your PF setup?

Michael

 

Actually my main page file is on E: - the idea being to move it off my SSD avoiding a lot of writes and reads, perhaps in one area. However I think you have to have a minimal page file on C - I forget the details now- would have to revisit it.

It seems these days that memory compression is handled under System, rather than by System and Compressed Memory-

 

Yes, the main rationale is that a dump file needs at least around 200-300 MB, I think, and Windows will only dump to C: ...Still, other sources say Win 10 does not handle well setting a fixed size for paging--which used to be highly recommended by some. (When I changed mine back to "System Managed", things improved a lot.) So I figure if Win 10 has a small fixed-size file on C: but also has another disk to manage the page file in, maybe paging will function smoothly and 10 won't balk? And note that this makes sense if you have more than one disk--even if the OS disk is not an SSD.

Right, that looks clear to me now. But when I started trying to figure this out, I could not find any threads at first that confirmed this. MS renamed "System" to "System and Compressed Memory" at first "to avoid confusion," but then put it all back under "System" process again to re-confuse us.... *Wink

But it looks like they did deduct the large figure for how much memory was compressed there from the previous total they indicated for this process.

Michael

 

I want to add here that it looks like there are a number of different processes that interact and confuse users who are sophisticated enough to try their own repairs. These processes may well affect each other.

People have--variously--turned off or set a fixed size for paging, turned off Superfetch, and tried a number of other solutions for high CPU, Disk usage or Memory. They report in these forums sometimes that their solution works and sometimes that it doesn't work.... But if these things interact, a solution may not really be a solution. It might only make up for another solution that solved another problem earlier, and down the road created a new one.

Layered on top of that we have the fact that Windows 10 is an evolving OS, and Microsoft often changes how something works. Most often users have no real notification and are none the wiser about what this means. So we are caught in a trap between trying to correct a problem, or waiting for MS to correct a problem, that we may or may not know exists. If we have made our own changes, it could be that once MS makes a correction, we are now into a new problem that is very difficult to untangle with the changes we made.

Michael