Paged Pool is using all the memory

Question

I manage a park of about 60 Windows Server 2019 virtual machines, each with various applications installed. I regularly experience memory leaks that require a reboot. Over days\weeks the memeory keep usage keeps increasing until the server become unaccessible and, if no action is taken, ends up crashing.

The servers are running Win2019 version 1809 OS build 17763

Is there a way to resolve this memory usage without rebooting the server everytime? Can I also simply set up a limit of memory that can be use by Paged pool?

Answer 1

Hello

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

Addressing memory leaks in Windows Server 2019 can be a complex issue, but there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the problem without rebooting the server each time.

1. Identify the Cause of Memory Leaks:

• Utilize tools like Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) and Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) to capture and analyze memory usage over time. This can help identify which processes or drivers are causing the memory leak.
• Consider using the RAMMap tool from Sysinternals to get a detailed view of how different types of memory are being used on the system.

2. Apply Updates and Patches:

• Ensure that your servers are up-to-date with the latest patches and updates from Microsoft, as these may contain fixes for known memory leak issues.

3. Adjust System Configuration:

• If the memory leak is related to the paged pool, you can try adjusting the paged pool size limit. The SystemPtesLimit setting in the registry can be used to set the maximum size of specific memory pools to limit their growth.
• For non-paged pool memory leaks, you might need to investigate kernel-mode drivers that could be improperly allocating memory.

4. Use Workarounds:

• If a specific update is known to cause memory leaks, such as the LSASS memory leak issue, you can use the Known Issue Rollback (KIR) feature to mitigate the problem until a permanent fix is available.

5. Monitor System Performance:

• Regularly monitor the system's performance counters for paged and non-paged pool usage to detect any abnormal behavior early on.

Best Regards,

Wesley Li

Answer 2

This seems to have started for us 2 weeks ago on all our windows servers. All our servers are fully patched as far as I can see. Did you get a solution?

Answer 3

Same here. Win Server 2019 SM00 driver eating up paged memory. I can go about 3-4 days before resources are exhausted and I have to restart 1 of our dc's. This is an azure virtual server, so I don't quite get how SM00 (researching shows that it has to do with hyper-v) would be used in a virtual server.

Answer 4

Just an update on my issue. Applying the January 2025 cumulative updates and stack update resolved the growing paged pool issue. Now sitting at 18% for days on end. Thank you Microsoft for NOT replying.