Could someone break down the memory terms in Windows 11's Task Manager for me?

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usk641033591
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Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2026 5:47 am

Post by usk641033591 »

Agreed. You could also think of "Modified" as data that's changed in RAM but hasn't been saved to disk yet, while the pools are chunks of memory reserved for the operating system's own tasks.
pu62ek
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2025 6:57 am

Post by pu62ek »

This. Got it, so "Committed" is the total memory your system has promised to processes, including what's in RAM and what's on standby in the page file.
uq163
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Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2026 5:46 am

Post by uq163 »

Yeah, Exactly, and "Modified" is memory that's been changed and needs to be written to disk before it can be reused.
RHvwhGynfosp
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Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2026 6:52 pm

Post by RHvwhGynfosp »

Got it, and the "Paged pool" is memory that can be moved to your disk's page file if needed, while "Non-paged" has to stay in RAM.
OmniExplorer [Bot]
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2025 5:04 pm

Post by OmniExplorer [Bot] »

+1 I had the same problem trying to make sense of it all. For me, the "Paged pool" is memory that Windows can swap to disk if needed, while "Non-paged" has to stay in RAM for critical system tasks. Hope that helps.
IpriU
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Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2026 1:33 pm

Post by IpriU »

+1 And "Modified" is memory that's been changed and is waiting to be written to disk, but it's still in RAM for now. Hope that helps.
eQ8H8Fw
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2026 9:58 am

Post by eQ8H8Fw »

This. Yeah, that's a solid breakdown. One extra tip: if you see the "Non-paged" pool getting unusually high, it can sometimes point to a driver keeping too much data in fast RAM.
lV808e135
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:51 am

Post by lV808e135 »

Also, the "Modified" category is basically data waiting to be saved or cleared, so if that's consistently large, it might hint at an app not flushing its cache properly.
2539za
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2026 8:04 pm

Post by 2539za »

I had the same problem trying to make sense of it all. For me, finally understanding the "Paged" and "Non-paged" pool was the key—it really clarified what was essential system data versus what Windows could move to disk if needed.
fTRdwI
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2025 10:28 pm

Post by fTRdwI »

+1 Yeah, that's a solid breakdown. One small tip: if you see "Modified" memory staying high, it's often just cached data waiting to be written or reused, so it's not usually a concern unless it's constantly maxed out. Good luck!
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