Memory Leaks in Windows: Why the Computer Slows Down by Evening but Flies Again After a Restart

It's a typical picture: in the morning after switching on the computer runs briskly, but by midday it starts to slow down — windows switch with a delay, the browser reloads tabs and a low-memory warning appears. Task Manager shows RAM 90–100% used, even though not much is open. A restart helps — until the next evening. It looks very much like a memory leak. Let's look at what that is, how it differs from simply not having enough memory, and how to find the culprit.

What a memory leak is

Every program and driver requests RAM from Windows while it works and should give it back when it's finished. A leak is a bug where a program takes memory but doesn't return it. Over time more and more memory is "held", and there's no room left for other programs. Windows starts leaning heavily on the page file on the drive, which is dozens of times slower — hence the slowdown.

A leak, or just not enough memory

It's important not to confuse the two. If you have 4–8 GB of memory and keep a browser with twenty tabs, messengers, Office and a video call open at once, the memory simply runs out — that's normal and solved by adding more. The signs of an actual leak:

• memory fills up gradually even when you don't open new programs;
• closing all programs doesn't free the memory;
• one program or system process takes more and more memory every hour;
• the problem disappears after a restart and comes back some time later.

Common sources of leaks

Drivers

Bugs in network card, Wi-Fi, graphics and sound card drivers, as well as antivirus and VPN software, often show up as growth in the system's non-paged memory pool. In Task Manager it looks as if memory is taken up by "nothing" — no process shows heavy use.

Browsers and extensions

Individual tabs running heavy web apps or online games, as well as browser extensions, can gradually accumulate memory. It's especially noticeable if the browser isn't closed for weeks.

Messengers and programs built on web technology

Many modern desktop apps, including messengers and work chats, are built on a browser engine and can take up gigabytes when left running for a long time.

Background utilities

RGB lighting programs, temperature monitors and manufacturer utilities for laptops and peripherals sometimes have bugs that make them slowly but surely "eat" memory.

Malware

Cryptominers and adware can disguise themselves as system processes and consume resources.

Bugs in Windows itself

Leaks are sometimes caused by bugs in specific Windows updates; Microsoft fixes them in later updates.

Why a leak is a problem

As well as slowing things down, a memory leak can lead to freezes, programs crashing with unsaved work lost, and blue screens. Constant heavy use of the page file adds wear to an SSD and makes working on an HDD almost impossible.

Why "memory cleaners" don't help

Programs that promise to "free up RAM with one click" at best force data out into the page file — after which programs run even more slowly. They don't fix the cause of the leak. Some of them run constantly and use resources themselves, and some contain adverts.

How the culprit is found

A specialist watches memory use by individual processes and the system pools over time, uses tools that show which driver is holding on to memory, and checks the error logs. Once the source is found, the driver is updated or rolled back, and the problem program is updated, replaced or removed. If it turns out there's no leak and you simply don't have enough memory for your work, the technician will choose compatible memory modules.

It helps to note down a few details before the visit: roughly how long after switching on the slowdown begins, which programs are usually open, and whether anything was installed or updated around the time it started. Information like this often narrows the search from dozens of suspects to two or three, which shortens the diagnosis considerably.

What our technician does

1. Analyses memory use by processes, services and the system pools.
2. Finds the leaking driver or program and updates, rolls back or replaces it.
3. Checks the system for miners and adware and removes "memory cleaners".
4. Configures the page file and startup items.
5. If memory is genuinely short, selects and fits extra modules.

A real example

In the accounts department of a logistics company in Didube, the computers would slow down so badly by lunchtime that 1C took minutes to open. Memory was almost full, but no process showed heavy use. Analysis showed the non-paged pool growing because of an old network card driver combined with the corporate VPN client. Our technician updated the network driver and the VPN client, removed a "memory booster" one of the staff had installed and added 8 GB of memory to the two busiest computers. The slowdowns stopped, and the computers now run for weeks without a restart.

Call a technician

If your computer's memory keeps filling up and only a restart helps, we'll come to any district of Tbilisi around the clock. Learn more on our computer diagnostics, component upgrades and driver installation pages.