How can I free up memory on my slow PC?

QMy Windows 10 PC has only 2GB of RAM, which means my system often slows to a crawl when I have several programs running and I often see a warning message that ‘Your computer is low on memory’. Other than upgrading my RAM, is there any software I can use to boost my memory?

AWindows 10 should manage system memory automatically and use ‘virtual memory’ to temporarily store data when there isn’t enough RAM available to cope with it. To check this feature is working, open Settings, choose System, then About and select ‘Advanced system settings’. When the System Properties box opens, click the Settings button in the Performance section, then the Advanced tab and click the Change button under ‘Virtual memory’. Ensure the option ‘Automatically manage paging files size for all drives’ is selected, then click OK.

If that doesn’t help, you can try a tiny free tool called Mem Reduct, which works with every version of Windows from XP to 11. Download it from www.snipca.com/41131 – choose the ‘setup.exe’ file in the Download section halfway down the page – and run the program. It will tell you the percentage of physical (and virtual) memory you’re currently using and the amount available. If you’re near your limit, click the ‘Clean memory’ button (see screenshot), choose Yes to confirm and Mem Reduct will close non-essential processes to free up RAM and hopefully speed up your PC.

To save you having to open the tool each time you’re running out of RAM, right-click its icon in your system tray and select ‘Clean memory’ (click the ‘Show hidden icons’ arrow if you don’t see this icon). It’s worth setting Mem Reduct to run automatically with Windows by clicking its Settings menu and choosing ‘Load on system start-up’.

Do you need our advice on what software to use? Just email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk