0

I have a memory leak in the process svchost.exe on a Windows 7 machine. There are several of those process running with the same name of course. When I look at the services running there are 6:

  • Com+ Event System
  • Windows Font Cache
  • Network list
  • Network Store Interface
  • Secure socket tunneling Protocol
  • Diagnostic Service Host

I'm installing the hotfixes suggested in another post but I want to know if there is a way to find the service causing the issue in the future. I have been restarting them all but that doesn't help me figure out which one caused it.

Bonus!: Is there a way to free up all that Ram once it's been "eaten" up without restarting?

|improve this question
  • There are numerous ways to determine which process is using memory. What have you tried so far? Related. Programs that "free" up consumed memory can do more harm then good. Those programs exist, but its a great deal easier to solve the memory leak itself, then use a program that runs continuously to free up memory. Keep in mind that unused memory is not useful, so Windows will use memory, when it can and that is the appropriate behavior. – Ramhound Feb 22 '16 at 17:10
  • I think you see the Windows Update memory bug. Install this update to fix it: superuser.com/a/996072/174557 – magicandre1981 Feb 22 '16 at 17:12
  • 3
    Note that a Memory Leak is a very specific concept, which most people confuse with "my process is taking more ram than I think it should". How is it that you have confirmed that this is a "leak" and not just the service needing to accumulate more data and thus take more memory? as for clearing ram, just restart the process/service using it. – Frank Thomas Feb 22 '16 at 17:12
0

The only way I can think of is to split the shared services into their own container by running sc.exe config ServiceName type= own (replacing ServiceName with the name of the service), restarting the services, and then find out which svchost.exe container still exhibits the memory leak. The service hosted through that svchost.exe container is the culprit.

Note that this does NOT mean there is a "memory leak". It could be that the service is legitimately increasing its resource usage. But this will identify that service, and AFAIK there is no real downside to splitting services into their own service host container other than slightly increased memory usage (someone keep me honest here).

|improve this answer
-2

Follow this guide here to solve the memory leak from svchost.exe. I suggest starting with solution two first.

Overview of Solution 2:

  1. Open Task Manager
  2. Go to processes tab and click 'Show processes from all users'
  3. Find svchost.exe, right-click and at the bottom choose 'Go to service(s)'
  4. Find highlighted services, figure out which are hogging your memory by stopping the service (Possibly dangerous) or Googling the service itself to see if it is critical to your PC (Safer)
  5. See if memory usage goes down to an acceptable amount
|improve this answer
  • This "solution" does not really tell anyone more then what has already been suggested in the related question. In fact I dare say the suggest solution, is not helpful in the slightest, it basically says kill services that consume memory. – Ramhound Feb 22 '16 at 17:47
  • @Ramhound Yes but if you went to the link I posted there is another part to disable the consuming service on startup. – Gabe Zimbric Feb 22 '16 at 18:51
  • I shouldn't have to go to a third-party website to get the answer to a question. I personally know how to disable services, so there is nothing on that website, I don't already know. – Ramhound Feb 22 '16 at 21:36
  • My point is that the author linked to a related question in their question that already covers what you provided in your answer. – Ramhound Feb 22 '16 at 21:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.