What is RAM-MEMORY-LEAK-SYSTEM?
RAM_MEMORY_LEAK_SYSTEM is a high-severity system memory (RAM) problem. The system kernel's non-paged memory pool expands continuously without releasing memory, consuming all physical RAM and causing severe freezes, micro-stutters, and eventual crash/BSOD. The usual suspects are faulty third-party network driver (e.g. Killer Network Control), leak in virtualization helper driver and outdated hardware monitoring software. The steps below are ordered to resolve this efficiently.
Common Causes
- Faulty third-party network driver (e.g. Killer Network Control)
- Leak in virtualization helper driver
- Outdated hardware monitoring software
Step-by-Step Fix Guide
-
1
Disable Windows Network Data Usage monitoring service (NDU)
Disabling NDU prevents a well-known Windows leak in the network data tracker service.
-
2
Update motherboard network drivers
Updating drivers ensures any hardware vendor-specific pool leaks are patched.
-
3
Run Poolmon tool to trace the leaking driver
This step, "Run Poolmon tool to trace the leaking driver", specifically rules out faulty third-party network driver (e.g. Killer Network Control).
Commands & Diagnostics
reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Ndu /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 /f
Frequently Asked Questions
Faulty third-party network driver (e.g. Killer Network Control) accounts for the majority of RAM-MEMORY-LEAK-SYSTEM reports; leak in virtualization helper driver and outdated hardware monitoring software come up less often but are documented.
Most RAM-MEMORY-LEAK-SYSTEM reports resolve after "Disable Windows Network Data Usage monitoring service (NDU)". The rest of the guide above is there for the cases that don't.
Rated high severity — RAM-MEMORY-LEAK-SYSTEM isn't immediately destructive, but recurring instances are a sign to fix it sooner rather than later.
Usually. RAM-MEMORY-LEAK-SYSTEM is fixable with the steps above; a full Windows reinstall is rarely necessary unless everything else has failed.
MemTest86 is strongly recommended if RAM-MEMORY-LEAK-SYSTEM occurs repeatedly. It runs overnight and tests all RAM slots independently. Even a few errors in MemTest indicate faulty RAM that should be replaced.
Still Need Help?
Search our full database of 535+ documented PC errors for more solutions and step-by-step repair guides.
Search Error Database