How do I free up "Cached Memory" what is it and is it safe to remove?

[jdc20181]

I have been experiencing a lot of issues with my computer shutting off because (its now obvious) there is something going on. I have 4GB of RAM. - it says I have over 1GB in Use and and around 1GB available. But down below this it says I have 1.5 GB Cached? What is this, how do I safely reduce this, what is the purpose, what is the consequences of removing this?

Can someone explain to me what this stuff is for, and how I can "boost" my computer a little?

(oh and it only happens when i play games - I understand the RAM requirements of these games which is why I am worried. I should have enough available to play. )

[Steve R Jones]

Roboot will clear it up

One EXAMPLE: If you print something...the print drivers etc get "cached" incase you print again in the near future...thus speeding up printing... After a certain point, Windows will auto uncache the info to free ram up for other things.

[Tanner_H]

Hi jdc20181. Cached memory is a good thing. When RAM is tight, you want cached memory to be at (or near) the free memory limit.

Like OS X and Linux, Windows tries to guess which files running programs may try to access. It caches ("pre-loads") these files into memory to make accessing them much faster.

If a program needs more memory than is currently available, the system will steal memory from the cached pool. You don't need to worry about this.

Here's a good article that describes why empty memory isn't a meaningful measurement on modern operating systems.

Anyway, this is a long of saying that your random shutdowns are being caused by something else. Are you in a position to upgrade this PC to Windows 10? That would make it much easier to troubleshoot.

[jdc20181]

No I know its caused by this only occurs when I am using a lot of memory (generally games)

No I refuse to use Windows 10. And missed the window to upgrade for free due to my internet changing we went about 2 weeks before we got internet. Because unfortunately people aren't dependable anymore.

[topshot]

A system won't "shut off" because of high memory usage. It will just slow down a lot (sometimes appearing to be hung) as it is swapping to the page file on the drive. Perhaps being "hung" is what you meant by "shut off"?

To "boost" your system, add another 4GB SODIMM in your second slot.

[jdc20181]

It Reboots. Litterally. I know it wasn't just that game because it is happening with others.

It ONLY HAPPENS when there is a lot of memory or DISK usage. I did a experiment to see what was causing it. Its clearing something tied to it.

[dilettante]

Maybe a failing memory module or memory controller in the chipset.

Isn't that one of those AMD "overclocked at the factory" el cheapo processor chipsets?

[topshot]

You either have some bad memory or bad program then. Of course, it's Windows, too, so who knows. I have a brand new high end Win 7 desktop and 3 times in the past year it has literally turned off, once when I wasn't even doing anything. It hasn't been enough to bother to look to see if there are any kind of dump files, but considering how immediate it is I would doubt it.