Windows Might Be Holding Your RAM Hostage. Here's How to Free It

You've likely noticed that your Windows computer tends to slow down after it's been running for a while. This can happen even on brand-new laptops and powerful gaming PCs, yet few people understand why this happens. The good news is that I have a solution.

Why Windows Clogs Your RAM

If your PC generally has good specs and is fast but slows down when you try opening a new app or even a tab in a browser, you're probably running out of space on your RAM. It's the fast kind of memory that programs use, not the type you store your files in. The stutter doesn't necessarily indicate that you don't have enough RAM; I have 16GB, and even opening a new tab in Chrome makes my PC freeze for a second sometimes.

If you open Task Manager at any given time, chances are you're going to see that "Memory" is around 50–60% full. This happens for a few reasons. First, Windows has a bunch of background services, on top of which, you likely have a few apps running yourself. That's nothing to be concerned about.

The second reason is that Windows' Superfetch allows the system to preload your most frequent apps so that your PC can open them faster when you click on them. The third and most important reason is that previously run apps continue holding on to their allocated RAM space, which effectively reduces the available RAM for the rest of your system.

Windows doesn't set a cap on how much RAM an app can use, which is great for performance while using an app. However, if it's not released when you close it, you'll have little memory left for the apps that you're running in the foreground.

How to Free Up Your RAM to Improve Performance

If you keep your PC on all the time or just put it in Sleep mode, Windows won't automatically free up allocated memory. This isn't necessarily a problem, as unused memory is actually useless. It's good for apps to take up space, as it allows your PC to run them more quickly. However, it does turn into a problem if you start encountering performance issues caused by a memory leak. Stuttering and micro-freezing can happen quite often if you only have 8GB or less, or if you're a gamer. That's why it's best to take control of your memory management into your own hands.

The easiest way to free up RAM space is to use a RAM cleaner app. You can find many different ones online for free. I strongly recommend going for the most lightweight solution that won't try to sell you a premium plan or consume even more memory, as that would be counterintuitive. I've had success with Igor Mundstein's WinMemoryCleaner and Koshy John's Memory Cleaner, both of which use Windows' built-in function, but you can use whichever app you trust.

Once you download the app, place the EXE file in an easily accessible location, such as your desktop, and open it. Next, simply press the "Optimize" (or the equivalent) button and watch your RAM free up in real time on the memory indicator. This won't close any of your currently opened apps.

WinMemoryCleaner has a few additional options that you can use. For instance, I've enabled it to run on startup and set it to free memory when it's below 15% so that I never run out of RAM when gaming. Once you set the app up, you'll never have to interact with it again.

Note that these apps won't automatically "optimize" your memory; they simply provide an easy way to fix memory leaks when apps don't release allocated memory. For instance, I use my PC for work, and if I turn on a game after a couple of hours of using Chrome, I sometimes notice micro stutters and freezes caused by a memory leak. In those situations, a quick click of the "Optimize" button resolves the performance issue instantly.

It's a shame that Windows can't do a better job at managing RAM, but at least we have an easy workaround that'll make sure your PC never runs out of RAM. Say goodbye to interruptions and keep your system running like new.