Metro apps in Windows 8 often can cause issues with PCs running just enough RAM to get by. If this is your current setup or even if you just notice Windows is running slow, the new Runtime Broker may be able to tell you where the problem lies.
Windows 8 introduced a process called Runtime Broker that is utilized whenever you use Metro apps. This helps monitor the RAM associated with running those apps. If the RAM use is high, it’s possible you have an app causing issues. This can be a tool to narrow down memory leaks in Windows 8.
How to use Runtime Broker in Windows 8
Once you launch an app in Windows 8, Runtime Broker automatically starts itself and can be found in your Task Manager Processes or Services tabs.
Runtime Broker was introduced by Microsoft to help identify issues where RAM is set aside for use with a Metro app but then that memory never gets released back into the pool. If this RAM isn’t released back into the system, the RAM grows in size until your system slows to a stop in some cases. Microsoft is aware of the issue but has yet to find a fix for it.
In the meantime, you can open your Task Manager to check out how much RAM Runtime Broker is using.
If it’s using a lot of memory, more than 15% on its own, you have an issue with apps controlling your RAM on your PC.
From there, you can end the Runtime Broker process and restart your computer to release the RAM back into the memory pool.
Unfortunately, for the time being, this is the only fix until Microsoft does something official about it.
When will Microsoft fix the issue in Windows 8?
RAM issues can severely limit what you can do on your computer when running Windows 8. Runtime Broker is a way to narrow down what apps could be contributing to memory leaks. When you’re having issues with RAM in Windows 8, you want to use multiple tools to narrow down the true cause so you can fix it and regain control over your PC.
