I've got a pretty outdated PC with a 5th gen Intel i5 processor and just 8GB of RAM. Lately, I've been facing a lot of performance issues; even with only a few applications running, I keep getting the 'application is not responding' message. When I check my RAM usage, it shows that only around 2GB is in use, but the total usage is at 60%. How does that even make sense? I'm wondering if there's some malware causing this issue or something else going on.
1 Answer
This is a common situation! What you're seeing is likely due to how Windows manages memory. It uses caching, which can show a higher percentage of memory usage without directly indicating it's being used by active applications. With just 8GB, you're hitting the limits for modern multitasking, but 60% usage with some caching is actually pretty normal. Just because it’s showing 2GB in use now doesn't mean the system isn't preparing for future tasks.
So if the RAM isn't the issue, what else could be causing the apps to freeze?