Windows memory usage and page file usage

Can someone explain to me why minifying a Windows application will significantly reduce memory usage?

For example, I start Visual Studio showing 800MB memory usage in Task Manager, then I minimize the Visual Studio application window and now the memory usage only shows 50MB in Task Manager. This is similar to all winforms applications.

+2


source to share


2 answers


From here :

Which Task Manager shows that an application's memory usage is actually its working set. Windows shrinks the application's working set when it is minified, so this figure goes down. The working set is not an accurate representation of how much memory an application is using.



In Windows Vista, Microsoft changed the Task Manager to display private bytes instead (which is a much more useful figure), so this phenomenon no longer occurs.

+4


source


This is normal for applications that are not as aggressive in returning memory to the system. A computer doesn't run faster with a lot of unused memory, so it's best to keep cleaning up work until you need it.



When you minimize the program, the system sends a signal to it to return as much memory to the system as possible, so the program performs garbage collection and frees all the memory it can.

0


source







All Articles