How to Clear Random Access Memory (RAM) in Windows

Random Access Memory (RAM) is a crucial component for storing open programs on your computer. Somewhat like a hard drive, only much faster and with much less memory space, RAM basically holds any program open in your taskbar or on your screen. After much use in a single login session, computer RAM can often bog down. Many people think the only way to clear RAM is by restarting the computer (which will work), but there is a much faster way that will accomplish the same thing.

Things You'll Need

• Computer running Windows

Instructions

1. Create a shortcut to the Windows "Clear RAM" command. To do this, right-click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut from the context menu. In the "Create Shortcut" dialog box that opens up, input "%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks" into the location field.

2. Press "Next," then type in a title for the shortcut (e.g. "Clear RAM" or "Clear Memory"). Press "Finish" to save your shortcut to the desktop.

3. Double-click on the shortcut you created in steps one and two. Your RAM memory will be restored to fresh boot condition without restarting your computer.

References

• Jaystech.com - Clearing RAM