Like every operating system, Windows also stores different kinds of cache files on the hard drive. In simple words, cache files are temporary files that are stored on the memory to make it easier for you to access frequently used data. The cache data utilize lots of hard drive space of your computer. Deleting cache files is necessary for the smooth running of the system. Cache memory is responsible for various kinds of computer problems, including slow processing speed, slow startup, lag or hang, application responding, and many others. If you don't know how to clear memory cache on your Windows computer then, the solution to your problem is here. Here in this post, we will talk about How to clear memory cache on Windows computers.
5 Ways to Clear Memory Cache on Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP
It is necessary to clear cache the memory to fully utilize your CPU power. Cache memory causes lots of problems by occupying a huge amount of computer RAM (Random Access Memory). That's why it is always recommended to clearing memory cache from your Windows computer to get optimum performance. Cache memory is something that is really useful to give you better performance. It helps the application to load faster as compared to load the app without cache data. Here below are some methods that will help you to clear memory cache in Windows 10/8/7/Vista/ and XP.
Clear different types of Memory Cache on your Acer computer, such as deleting browser cache and removing DNS cache in CMD. Use lighter applications. If you find that your PC struggles with an app, you can consider replacing it with a lighter one that is better at managing RAM. Clear cache files. Another way to free up RAM on Mac is to clear it of cache files. Of course, it won’t save you gigabytes of space, but deleting cache regularly, you can help your Mac run faster and avoid system issues. So, to remove cache files on your Mac, you need to: Open Finder. From the Go menu, select Go to Folder.
Method 1: Create Clear Memory Cache Shortcut
This is one of the easiest solutions to clear memory cache on the Windows operating system. This method is completely free; you don't have to install any third-party paid tool to clear the memory cache. Below are some steps to clear memory cache on Windows.
Step 1: First of all, you have to turn on your computer and right-click on the desktop.
Step 2: Here, you will have a couple of options. Click on 'Shortcut' under the New option.
Step 3: Create a Shortcut wizard will appear, you have to click Browse to locate the directory. Or you can simply type '%windir%system32rundll32.exe advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks' without quotes on the text field of 'Type the location of the item'.
Step 4: Once the above process is completed, you have to click on 'Next' button to proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Now, you have to type a name for this shortcut. Here, we are typing 'Clear Unused RAM' and hit on the 'Next' button.
Once the shortcut is created, switch to the desktop and double-click on the shortcut to clear memory cache on Windows.
Method 2: Clear General Cache
Disk Cleanup is an integrated feature of Microsoft Windows that enables the user to clean unwanted files. Getting engaging with this feature, you can remove temporary files, unwanted files, preview windows installation files, and much more. You just have to choose the disk and start the deleting process. Here below are steps to clear the memory cache using disk cleanup.
Step 1: At the first step, you have to click on the 'Start' button and type 'disk cleanup' in the search field and hit the 'Enter' button.
Step 2: Now, Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection dialog box will appear. You have to choose the drive from where you would like to clear the memory cache.
Step 3: Now, click on the 'OK' button. It will start the scanning process and shows you how much space is occupied by the cache.
Step 4: You have to tick the checkbox which you would like to clean. If you want to clean system files then, you can click on the 'Clean up system files' otherwise, hit on the 'OK' button at the bottom of the window.
Step 5: Once the above process is completed, you can click on 'Delete Files' if prompted. It will start deleting cache files from places including recycling bin, Thumbnails, and many other places.
Method 3: Clear App Data File to Clear Memory Cache
Step 1: At the first step, you have to click on the 'Start' button or hit on the 'Windows' key and click on 'Computers' to open My Computer.
Step 2: My Computer window will appear; if you don't see My Computer, then manually type 'My Computer' in the start and hit the 'Enter' button.
Step 3: Once the above process is completed, you have to click on the 'Organize' tab in the top left corner of the window.
Step 4: Then, choose 'Folder and search options' under the organize drop-down menu.
Step 5: a Folder options dialog box will appear with 3 tabs; click on the view tab.
Step 6: Now, you have to click on 'Show Hidden files, folder, and drives' radio button under the 'Hidden files and folders'.
Step 7: Click on the 'OK' button at the button of the window.
Step 8: Once the above process is successfully completed, you have to open the hard disk where windows are installed.
Step 9: Now, you have to open the 'Users' folder by double-clicking on it. Then, click on the folder with an administrator account.
Step 10: You have to locate the 'AppData' folder and open it by double-clicking and open the 'Local' folder.
Olive telecom driver download for windows. Step 11: Now, you have to select the 'Temp' folder and open it.
Step 12: Remove the read-only permissions from the Temp folder.
Step 13: You have to select all files that are placed in the Temp folder. You can press 'Ctrl' + 'A' to select all files.
Step 14: Once the files are selected, Press 'Shift' + 'Delete' button simultaneously to permanently delete all temp files.
Method 4: Delete Internet Explorer Files to Clear Memory Cache
Step 1: First of all, click on the 'Start' button and type 'Internet Explorer' in the text field and press the 'Enter' button.
Step 2: Internet Explorer web browser window will appear, you have to click on the 'General' tab at the top of the window.
Step 3: Now, you have to click on the 'Settings' under the browsing history section.
Step 4: Then, click on 'View files' at the screen's bottom right side. Once the above process is completed, a new window will appear with all cached files created by Internet Explorer.
Step 5: You have to press the 'Ctrl' + 'A' button simultaneously to select all the cache files.
Step 6: Now, you have to press the 'Shift' + 'Delete' button to remove all cached files permanently.
Method 5: Clear the DNS Cache
Step 1: Initially, you have to click on the 'Start' menu by clicking on the Start button at the bottom left of the screen.
Step 2: Now, type command prompt and hit the Enter button to launch. You can also open a command prompt by right click on Command prompt and run as administrator.
Step 3: On the command prompt, you have to type 'ipconfig /flushdns' without quotes and press the'Enter' button.
Step 4: You have to wait for a couple of seconds and be notified when completed. Once it is successfully completed, you have to restart your computer to makes changes.
“No matter what I do, my Mac is still slow”, an average tech-consultant hears this phrase multiple times a day. Give a person even the most powerful computer, and pretty soon it will be cluttered with apps, extensions, and things that are too much for it to handle. To reverse it, one has to go back and сlean up the mess, removing memory agents one by one. Prepare for a fight — every byte of memory is at stake. So let’s put your Mac on a diet and get it more free RAM to breathe freely.
First, remove desktop clutter. Get a combination of Setapp apps that clear away unneeded desktop files.
Download Declutter Free“Your system has run out of application memory”
How do you know your Mac is low on memory? Floating “rainbow wheels” aside, you may notice your Mac now takes ages to load. You’ll also see many browser applications crashing. You’ll be also thrown warning messages as “Your system has run out of application memory”. To help it, you should first visit the Activity monitor to see memory usage on Mac.
How to check RAM usage on Mac
Go to Applications and type in Activity Monitor in the search bar. This invokes a good old Activity Monitor that should tell how much free memory you’ve got left.
A shortcut to open Activity Monitor:
Press F4 and start typing Activity Monitor in the search bar.
I’ve attached a screenshot from my Mac and as you can see my memory usage almost reached full capacity. Here’s what it all means:
App memory: taken by apps and processes
Wired memory: reserved by apps, can’t be freed up
Compressed: inactive, can be used by other apps
Swap used: memory used by macOS
Cached files: memory you can really use
Notice the colored graph under Memory Pressure. If your graph is all but red and yellow, your Mac is really gasping for fresh memory. It seems counter-intuitive, but “available memory” your Activity Monitor is not that important after all. In fact, it’s a system intended behavior to use all memory resources when available. On the contrary, the Memory Pressure graph is much more telling, so grow a habit to check this graph in the Activity Monitor every now and then.
How to check CPU usage on Mac
Open the CPU tab in Activity Monitor to keep in check CPU-heavy processes. Normally an app would be using 0-4% of CPU. If it takes abnormally more than that, go inside that particular item in the list and press the Quit button.
How to free up memory on Mac
Ram Memory Cache Clearance
Tip # 1. Remove Login Items to lower Mac memory usage
Login items are programs that load automatically upon Mac startup. Some of them covertly add themselves to the list and this is no good. If you’re looking to free up RAM, they are the first candidates for deletion. Don’t worry, you’re not deleting the app itself, you just stop it from auto-launching every time.
So, to remove Login Items and at the same time reduce your memory usage of your Mac, you need to:
- Open System Preferences and select Users & Groups.
- Click your nickname on the left.
- Select the Login Items tab.
- Check programs you don’t want to load as your Mac starts.
- Press the “–” sign below.
Now, you won’t see these apps pop up the moment you turn on your Mac. Although this method doesn’t require some superpowers of yours, some special Mac optimization and memory cleaner tools may do the job faster and ensure the smooth performance of your Mac. CleanMyMac X is an excellent example of such software. Here’s how to disable Login Items with CleanMyMac X:
- Download it for free and go to the Optimization tab.
- Check Login Items to see the list of apps that get opened when you start your Mac.
- Click Remove.
As you’ve already come to the Optimization module of CleanMyMac, you can also fix hung apps and heavy memory consumers there. In this way, you’ll free up the solid amount of RAM on Mac — 100% free of charge.
Tip # 2. Free up disk space if Mac is low on memory
The available space on your Mac’s drive translates into virtual memory. This comes to save you when you’ve run out of physical RAM. Windows 10 2004 release. So now your computer relies on your hard drive space to keep your apps going.
The classic geek rule of thumb holds it that you should keep at least 20% of disk space on your startup drive. Not only this potentially reduces your future spending on iCloud storage but it also keeps your Mac speedier.
What to delete to free up space:
- Large unused files, like movies
- Old downloads
- Rarely used applications
- System junk
But here’s a simpler solution to save your time — clean up your drive with CleanMyMac X— the app I’ve mentioned above. Many users recommend it as an excellent way to free up more space because it searches for large & old files, useless system files, Photo junk, mail attachments and shows everything you can safely delete. Interestingly, it finds about 74 GB of junk on an average computer.
Extra trick: How to free up RAM on Mac with CleanMyMac X
If you have downloaded CleanMyMac, you may also take advantage of its amazing feature — the ability to free up RAM in a few seconds. Try this next time you see “Your system has run out of application memory” message.
- Go to the Maintenance tab on the left.
- Click Free Up RAM.
- Click Run.
As simple as that!
And you can do it even if you download a free version of the app.
Tip # 3. Clean up your Desktop
This tip always comes at the bottom of instructions and unfairly so as it is quite effective. Without even looking at your Desktop I would assume it’s cluttered with mountains of icons. Thing is, your macOS was designed in a way that it treats every Desktop icon as a little active window. The more icons, the heavier memory usage on Mac. So in order to release available memory resources, it’s recommended to keep your Desktop clean.
You don’t have to do it all by yourself. With apps like Declutter and Spotless, every desktop cleaning session will be scheduled in advance and executed automatically. Your only job is to define the rules on how your files should be organized.
Tip #4. Clear cache files
Another way to free up RAM on Mac is to clear it of cache files. Of course, it won’t save you gigabytes of space, but deleting cache regularly, you can help your Mac run faster and avoid system issues.
So, to remove cache files on your Mac, you need to:
- Open Finder.
- From the Go menu, select Go to Folder.
- Type ~/Library/Caches in the field and press Go.
- In the window that appears, you will see all your cache files.
- Press Command+A to select all files or delete files one by one.
- Enter your user name and password to confirm.
If you find some files still in the folder after you emptied it, maybe you have some windows open on your Mac. Just like that, you can save up some space on your Mac. Don’t forget to empty the bin afterward.
Ram Memory Cache Clearing
Tip # 5. Tune up Chrome’s Task Manager
Although Google Chrome is not the one to blame for massive memory usage, it can indeed affect your Mac's performance. If you use Chrome as your primary browser, you probably have many windows opened there. Chrome runs a lot of processes to ensure a fast browsing experience for you. So, it uses your RAM for storing your tabs, plugins, and extensions. Look at how many entries Google Chrome has in Activity Monitor:
The question then arises, 'Why does Chrome use so much RAM?' The thing is that each process is responsible for a separate plugin or extension of your browser. For example, when a tab unexpectedly falls, you need to refresh it to continue your work there. If one process were responsible for all tabs and extensions, you would need to restart the whole browser instead. Can you imagine how many times would you do that? That’s the proper answer to why Chrome uses so much RAM.
I’ve been using Chrome for some years only to discover (recently) that Chrome had a task manager of its own. You can use it to force quit memory-heavy processes in the browser. It’s a handy tool because it lets you see how a page weighs on CPU usage on a Mac.
- Go to Chrome settings (dotted icon in the top right corner)
- Click More tools -> Task Manager
To free up even more RAM, close the GPU process. The GPU Process, though helpful in theory to accelerate pages, eats up a considerable amount of memory. Click to end it to free up RAM on your Mac.
Tip # 6. Manage RAM usage with CleanMyMac X menu
CleanMyMac X has another useful and convenient feature for managing your Mac’s performance and memory usage. As you install CleanMyMac X and start it for the first time, it’s icon will appear in your menu bar. Click the icon to open the CleanMyMac X menu. Here you can find updates on the current condition of your Mac and perform quick tweaks to increase your Mac's speed. Whenever you feel like your Mac underperforms, open the CleanMyMac X menu to check how much RAM is available and free it up as well.
Tip # 7. Close Finder windows
Okay, suppose you’re still asking yourself, how do I clear RAM on my MacBook Pro/MacBook Air. The next trick is as magical (you’ll see for yourself) as it is time-saving. It’s no secret that each window in the Finder eats up RAM. But how many open windows are there? Some of them are collapsed or stacked in some blind spot on your screen. This Finder command merges all your windows into one. See how to do it:
Click on Finder > Window > Merge All Windows
Now you can manage Finder windows more effectively and free up memory on MacBook.
What else you can do to minimize memory usage on Mac
I’ve saved the easiest tips for the end, as long as these ones are self-explanatory.
- Replace AdBlock (very memory-demanding) with a lighter extension
- Keep fewer opened tabs in the browser
- Restart your Mac more often to free up RAM
- Close all hung-up print queues
That was my take on how to make your Mac a bit speedier to use. If you’re looking for more guidance, check simple ways to speed up your Mac.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to check application memory on Mac?
To check RAM usage on your Mac, go to Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities). In the Memory tab, you will see all the active processes that are using your Mac’s RAM. At the end of the window, there is a Memory Used graph, which indicates how much application memory is used.
How to find out whether your Mac needs more RAM?
Your Mac may be using almost all its RAM, but you don’t need more if it’s using it efficiently. Open Activity Monitor and go to the Memory tab. The Memory Pressure graph shows the current condition of your RAM: green color means your Mac’s using RAM effectively, while yellow is a sign that some application or process is using too much of application memory. The red memory pressure signals that your Mac needs more RAM.
How to quickly free up RAM on your MacBook?
To free up RAM on your Mac, firstly, you should find out what app uses so much of your memory. The memory-heavy programs are listed in Activity Monitor, Memory tab. If there is an app you aren’t using at the moment, click it and press the “X” sign to quit it. This will, in turn, free some of the application memory.