Mem Reduct for Windows

Mem Reduct 3.5.2 is a free, open-source memory monitor and cleaner for Windows by Henry++. You download Mem Reduct to see RAM usage at a glance in the system tray and to free up memory with a click when a PC with little RAM starts to slow down.

Specifications

What Mem Reduct does

Windows keeps a lot of data in memory in case it is needed again: file caches, the standby list, parts of programs that are not active right now. Usually this is a good thing, but on a machine with little RAM, or after a long gaming or browsing session, it can leave very little truly free memory. Mem Reduct uses documented Windows functions to clear the working sets of processes, the system file cache, the standby and modified page lists. The result is visible immediately in its tray icon, which shows the current memory load as a percentage and changes colour as usage grows. You can clean manually, by a hotkey, when usage passes a threshold you choose, or on a timer. The program is tiny, portable if you want it to be, and has no ads. It will not add memory you do not have, but it can help a weak PC recover faster after heavy tasks.

Main settings

• Choice of memory areas to clean.
• Automatic cleaning by usage threshold or interval.
• Global hotkey for instant cleaning.
• Tray icon with colour warnings.
• Portable mode with settings stored next to the program.

How to install

1. Open the releases page on GitHub and download the setup file or the portable archive.
2. Run the installer or unpack the archive.
3. Start Mem Reduct; it may ask for administrator rights to clean system memory.
4. Open settings and choose the areas to clean and the auto-clean rules.

Is it safe?

The source code is public on GitHub. Download only from the official repository, because cleaners are a popular disguise for malware. Cleaning the standby list can make recently used programs open a little slower for a moment, since Windows has to read them from disk again.

Price

Mem Reduct is completely free.

When it helps and when it does not

The tool makes the most sense on laptops and older desktops with little memory, where a browser with many tabs pushes the system into heavy use of the page file. On a modern PC with plenty of RAM, Windows manages memory well on its own, and constant cleaning brings no visible gain. Close unused programs first; clean memory second.

Pros and cons

• Pro: very small and light.
• Pro: open source, no ads.
• Pro: flexible automatic cleaning.
• Con: effect is temporary.
• Con: little benefit on PCs with plenty of RAM.
• Con: aggressive cleaning can briefly slow apps.

Alternatives

Other maintenance tools on our site include CCleaner and Advanced SystemCare Free for general cleanup, Timer Resolution for gamers, and TCP Optimizer for network tuning.