Hey everyone!
I’m a new member here, but I’ve been using Windows for years. I encountered a maddening problem on my Windows 11 PC and wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone else!
The Problem: Memory Leak Madness
I recently noticed my computer getting painfully slow, even just with a few apps open! Checking Task Manager, I saw my RAM usage was through the roof, even though I wasn’t running any heavy software. How could a simple web browsing session cripple my machine?
First Steps: Fouled by the Usual Suspects
Restarting: Of course, the first thing I did was restart. No improvement.
Task Manager Investigation: I checked all the running processes. Nothing stood out as a memory hog, just the usual suspects like Chrome and the occasional Teams call.
Disabling Startup Programs: I disabled some startup programs I didn’t need right away (using Task Manager > startup tab). It provided a tiny improvement, but the problem persisted after some time.
Updating Drivers: I made sure all my device drivers were up-to-date, thinking maybe it was a hardware communication issue. Still no luck.
Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool: I ran this tool, hoping it might catch a hardware problem with my RAM, but everything came back fine.
The Breakthrough: Accidental Discovery
After several frustrating days, I stumbled on a forum post from someone who mentioned Stuttering Graphics Service (sgservice.exe) as a hidden resource gobbler. Short on better ideas, I decided to look for it.
Disabling Superfluous Services: I used services.msc to review running services. When I found “SysMain” (formerly known as Superfetch) and “Connected Devices Platform Service” running, I learned they were unnecessary for my setup.
I expanded my tweak by opening the Command Prompt (with admin rights) and ran:
sc stop "SysMain"
sc config "SysMain" start=disabled
sc config "CDPUserSvc" start=disabled
After rebooting, my memory usage normalized! It turns out that “Connected Devices Platform Service” was the unexpected culprit creating a memory leak in my case.
My Takeaways & Tips for You
Don’t Overlook the Unfamiliar: Often, we focus on familiar software as the source of issues. Digging deeper into lesser-known services can reveal solutions.
Tread Carefully with Services: Remember, disabling services can impact system functionality, so research each service before changing its status.
Community Wisdom is Golden: Sometimes the golden fix comes from user experiences rather than official advice. Don’t hesitate to probe deeper into forums and tech communities, even if the solution seems odd or unrelated.
I hope my tale helps some of you battling similar annoyances. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help or if you have any other questions!
Happy computing!
