Let’s face it:   Google Chrome can be a huge consumer of computer memory!  I am sure not many of us know this, but it’s a fact that has managed to surface of late.  However, there is a solution for this problem!

There is no doubt that Chrome is an efficient browser when it comes to productivity, but the same efficiency goes for a toss when it is the matter of memory management.

The Dire Need To Purge Memory

When you open your Chrome browser, you must have noticed that many times, several tabs get opened from the last session, which means multiple tabs running at a time while browsing.  Even if this is not happening, you yourself will end up opening too many tabs while researching or browsing a lot.

Further, when you start your browser, several extensions that you have added begin to consume the memory irrespective of whether you are using them or not.  So, the problem arises when 20+ tabs are kept open for too long or when too many extensions are installed for your work, which you cannot uninstall.   This can decelerate the speed of your browser to make it sluggish.   However, today’s browsers are such that they can efficiently manage this problem. So, why not Chrome?

I have read online that Chrome seriously has some grave issue when it comes to memory control.  Again keep in mind, this problem creeps when the tab limit exceeds just like in Firefox or when several extensions run together.  In short, the conclusion is that the more time you spend on your browser, the more memory your browser will eat. And on top of this, just imagine the situation if you have a slow Internet connection.

See How Much Memory Is Being Eaten Up Before Purging

Just like the Windows Task Manager, Chrome has a handy, built-in Task Manager that you can access via  the Wrench –> Tools (upper right corner) or through the shortcut key, Shift + Esc.  When you open it, you will see that several extensions are consuming a whooping amount of memory.

Controlling Memory Usage From Chrome’s Task Manager

It is quite easy for you to control memory from the Task Manager by selecting a page/process and clicking the End process button.  This is a good way of saving memory without restarting or crashing the browser.  Moreover, it is useful for ending an unresponsive process that consumes a lot of memory.

However, the latest Chromium version has given you an easier and quicker option, Purge memory.

Purging Memory In The Latest Chromium Build

To enable purging in the latest version of Chrome, you need to right click on the desktop Shortcut, select properties and open the Shortcut Tab.  In the Target field, add the following to the end of the target path:  –purge-memory-button preceded by single space.

Your Target path should look exactly like this at the end: \Application\chrome.exe –purge-memory-button

The beginning portion of the target path is hidden in the picture below; what is important is the space after “.exe”, the two dashes before the word purge and the dash between the last three words

That’s it!  Now close your browser and reopen it (you may have to reboot). Return to the Wrench ->Tools -> Task Manager and you can now see the “Purge Memory” button at the bottom of the Task Manager before the End process button as shown below.

Now, just click this button and you will see a drastic reduction in the amount of memory being consumed for each page/process.  This eliminates the need to select each process one at a time and click End process! Isn’t that cool?

Information credited to  http://www.geekhowtos.com