Windows 11 is almost here, but will File Explorer keep eating up your RAM?
Many Windows users have been suffering from memory leaks for a long time. Memory leaks happen when a program uses more memory than it’s supposed to. However, if you upgrade to Windows 11 tomorrow, File Explorer might leak memory because it’s in the OS.
If you don’t know what memory leaks are, they’re when a process on your computer takes up too much space. Even if you close the window, RAM doesn’t always free up. This can happen because it’s used for a lot of stuff and can slow down your computer or make it stop working.
One user has discovered a memory leak in Windows 11 File Explorer. They posted about it on the Windows 11 subreddit. Lots of people had the same problem. The RAM usage was high even when they closed one Windows File Explorer.
Here is the version we are using on the test bench. I’ve been able to reproduce the bug a few times now. Even after waiting half an hour, the RAM usage still isn’t freed up.
You can check if this is a problem with your Windows 11 version by opening Task Manager and looking at the process that uses the most memory. After you close all computer programs called Explorer, you’ll notice that Explorer always appears at the top of your list. Check to see if you can use more memory after you close them.
No one has acknowledged this issue, and there is no news about a fix. You should report it to Microsoft if you find it so they know the problem is widespread.
Sometimes, Windows File Explorer has a lot of files in its cache. If the cache fills up too much, new programs will not be able to access them. If you restart the program, it will solve the problem and allow you to open more downloads or programs at the same time.
Users with low RAM sizes and those who don’t restart their computers often could experience some serious problems if the problem with File Explorer’s RAM usage isn’t resolved.
