What Is This Vmmem Program That Is Using Up All My CPU And ...

Skip to main content

• Dev Blogs
• The Old New Thing
• What is this vmmem program that is using up all my CPU and memory?

Raymond Chen Show more

Say you’re minding your own business and you discover that this process called vmmem is using up all your memory and CPU. What is this guy and how do you make him stop?

The vmmem process is a virtual process that the system synthesizes to represent the memory and CPU resources consumed by your virtual machines. In other words, if you see vmmem consuming a lot of memory and CPU resources, then that means your virtual machines are consuming a lot of memory and CPU resources.

If you want to make it stop, shut down your virtual machines.

Bonus chatter: Strictly speaking, what it actually represents is the resources of the other virtual machines, since Windows itself is running in a virtual machine under the hypervisor. You may not be explicitly using the hypervisor, but some other features are built on top of the hypervisor.

13 0 0

• Share on Facebook
• Share on X
• Share on Linkedin

CategoryOld New ThingTopicsTips/Support Share

Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

0 comments

Discussion is closed.

Code of Conduct

Read next

September 21, 2018

Why is regsvr32 exiting with code 3?

Raymond Chen September 25, 2018

How do I prevent my program’s temporary documents from appearing in Search?

Raymond Chen

Stay informed

Get notified when new posts are published. Email * Country/Region * Select...United StatesAfghanistanÅland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaireBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo (DRC)Cook IslandsCosta RicaCôte dIvoireCroatiaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong Kong SARHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJan MayenJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKoreaKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacau SARMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian AuthorityPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandsPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRwandaSabaSaint BarthélemySaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PríncipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint EustatiusSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSt HelenaAscensionTristan da CunhaSurinameSvalbardSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Outlying IslandsU.S. Virgin IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamWallis and FutunaYemenZambiaZimbabwe I would like to receive the The Old New Thing Newsletter. Privacy Statement. Subscribe Follow this blog Are you sure you wish to delete this comment? OK Cancel Sign in Theme Insert/edit link Close

Enter the destination URL

URL Link Text Open link in a new tab

Or link to existing content

Search No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item. Cancel

Code Block

× Paste your code snippet Ok Cancel