Windows 10: Memory usage - 'mapped file'??

I have 16GB of physical RAM, about 2.5GBs of which is used up after Windows 10 (20H2) loads. I just moved a few files from one of the SSDs to an external drive and did one or two other 'management' tasks. Now, with all applications closed again, my used RAM registers as around 7GBs and I have been browsing forums trying to understand where the extra 4.5GBs is being 'held'. But I am not really getting that far. Can anyone help please? In essence, is it possible to ascertain which processes I ran are responsible for the RAM usage? (Also read articles about Windows' 'Standby Memory' but not sure if that is relevant to what I am seeing or not). I got as far as installing RamMap, but I am not sure how to proceed now in identifying which processes are involved. And if I do identify them, what do I do to regain the RAM without rebooting? Kill them (not usually the best option!)? Or will the RAM be released as needed, so I shouldn't even worry about this? (Even so, be good to know what's going on). I attach a couple of screenshots. How do I investigate this further? The PC is mostly used for X-Plane 11, so I tend to reboot before running it (as it can use up up to 90% of my RAM - though usually a lot less than that). Thanks

:)

 

Runaway memory usage

On your suggestion I went to uninstall AVG. It offered to go into an on-demand mode (I can't remember the word it used to describe).
So I tried that instead of uninstalling. Upon reboot everything seemed unchanged. High CPU usage, memory growth, no good.

So I ran the uninstall. This moved along step by step ... until the last step (titled: replacing files) never completed. It left behind a bunch of its stuff in Program Files:
Code:

So I have a bunch of leftover crap ... which I'll probably just delete.

Anyway, after rebooting it seems that all is well. CPU usage is near zero. The fans are quiet. (Computer fans, not football fans!) *chuckle

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

100% Memory usage

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

You might be facing this issue due to several reasons like low virtual memory, third party software conflicts, virus threat on the computer etc.



Even though no programs or applications are running, some background services can show memory usage and disk usage. In order to check which particular program is using the memory, I would suggest you to check the Task manager.



Refer to these steps:

1. Press Windows key + X, select
task manager.

2. Click on the ‘Processes’ tab and it will show you show you a list of programs and services running and their corresponding memory usage and disk usage.

3. Check if any of the item listed is consuming more memory or disk usage than normal.



I suggest you to try the following steps and check if this helps.

You need to increase the virtual memory by making it equivalent to your RAM size for the initial size and twice of the initial size in maximum size and make sure you have the same amount of free space in your hard drive
in each drive.



To do this, follow the steps:

1. Go to Control Panel (Press Windows key + X)> All control panel items > System

2. Click on Advanced system settings.

3. Under Performance, click on settings

4. Go to Advanced tab

5. Under Virtual memory, click on Change

6. Un-check "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" check box

7. Select your windows drive (where OS is installed)

8. Click on Custom size radio button

9. Set Initial size equivalent to your RAM size in MB

10. Set Maximum size to twice of your RAM size in MB

11. Click on Set

12. Click on OK thrice

13. Restart your system

Hope this information was helpful and do let us know if you need further assistance. We will be glad to assist.

 

System and compressed memory high disk usage during file copy

Thank you Amarjeet_Paul.

I spent many more hours than I had hoped this past week reading and trying others' suggestions from this community on how to reduce high RAM usage due to ntoskrnl.exe. The "System and compressed memory" process remained the top consumer of RAM, using 500-900MB,
among all other processes running. I deemed it to be the likely culprit in making my computer use frustratingly sluggish. After completing your
third step, steps 1. & 2. provided no improvement in my case, the "System and compressed memory" process RAM usage has plummeted from the top of the Task Manager Process list to the bottom, running at a remarkable 0.1MB! That's a whole lot less than
1% of the targeted process' gluttony. You're hired! Ps. I'll be keeping an eye on the process' use as I get back to normal operations, and be back if it floats to high in the list. Or if the registry fix you suggested has compromised use in any way. Please
explain in simple terms what the insertion of your registry modification is doing.

Thanks again.

Geoff