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Sophiaop's avatar
Sophiaop
Copper Contributor
Jul 10, 2026

The system slows down or crashes when too many applications are open

I'm experiencing significant system slowdowns and occasional crashes on Windows 11 whenever I have multiple applications open simultaneously. The performance degrades rapidly as I add more programs, ...
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Jamony's avatar
Jamony
MCT
Jul 10, 2026

Hi — that pattern often means memory pressure, but the Task Manager numbers will tell us more.

 

Open Task Manager > Performance while the system is slowing down and check Memory committed, available RAM, disk active time, and GPU memory. Leave the Windows page file set to System managed; disabling it can turn a slowdown into a crash. Sort Processes by Memory, disable unneeded Startup apps, and confirm the system drive has at least 15–20% free space.

 

If the PC actually crashes rather than only becoming slow, run Windows Memory Diagnostic (or the manufacturer’s extended memory test) and check Reliability Monitor for the failing app or hardware error. Avoid “RAM cleaner” utilities—they usually make performance worse. How much RAM is installed, and what do Memory and Disk show just before the problem?