Users of Windows 11 may have noticed slow-downs, or unresponsiveness on their computers since they upgraded. If this has happened to you, then you may be suffering from a Windows 11 File Explorer memory leak problem. Of course, it may be ahrd to know if that's the case. Or what to do about it. Which is why we've put together this article, to tell you what you need to know in terms of identifying a potential memory leak, and then what you can do about it. Imagine we wrote this in a pair of red dungarees, while sporting unfashionable facial hair and speaking in an exaggerated Italian accent. Let's get into it.
How To Fix Windows 11 File Explorer Memory Leak
The first thing to do is establish whether you are indeed suffering from a memory leak. To do this, start by opening the Resource Monitor app in Windows 11. This will tell you how much RAM is being used by different processes.
Once this has opened, switch to the Memory tab, the sort this by highest Commit (kb). This will then rank the processes in order of the most physical memory being used. Next, find explorer.exe, and make a note of how much memory it is using. Then right-click on it and click on End Task. Closing this should see a reduction in the memory being used. If not, then this strongly points towards a File Explorer memory leak. But what can you do about it?
Read More: Should I Upgrade To Windows 11?
The quickest, and most direct way to deal with this is to start by manually closing the File Explorer app to free up RAM. To do this:
- Open Task Manager.
- Under Processes, find Windows Explorer.
- Right-click on it, and select Restart.
You can also restart your computer, which will ordinarily reset the system resources.
Finally, if this problem persists, consider reverting to a previous version of Windows:
- Go to Settings and click on System.
- Click on Recovery, and go to Previous version of Windows.
- Click on Go Back.
- Choose whatever reason you want for reverting to an earlier build.
- Press Next, then No, thanks. Continue working through these screens, until finally you will see an option marked Go back to earlier build.
Once you've returned to an earlier version, wait for a newer version to become available before attempting to update again. If nothing is working to remedy this, then try contacting Microsoft for additional support.
What Is The Memory Leak Issue?
The Windows 11 File Explorer Memory Leak issue is currently affecting what seems to be a relatively small number of users. But, given the number of people who are yet to upgrade to Windows 11, there is a possibility that we will see this number grow significantly.
The issue itself seems to occur when users open and then close File Explorer. At this point, the memory that was allocated to File Explorer doesn't get released. This means that precious memory capacity is being taken. Over a period, this can result in system slow down, unresponsiveness, or system crashes. It's a particularly big problem for users who don't have a lot of RAM to begin with.
Read More: How To Fix Windows 11: Error Code 0xC1900101 Upgrading To Windows 11
Microsoft are yet to acknowledge this is a problem, but ther is enough evidence out there to suggest that people are genuinely suffering from it. So try the solutions we recommended earlier. And soon, that leak will be a thing of the past.