Cortana Uses Too Much Memory Windows 10

by

Usually, the resource usage of Cortana is quite reasonable but if Cortana uses too much memory on your PC, it must be bugging out. Once it comes to Cortana bugs, the best solution for most of the time is to disable and re-enable Cortana. If the issue persists, you could uninstall and reinstall Cortana, get rid of SearchUI.exe, etc. Read to the end to learn what must be done to optimize the distribution of resources, especially memory, on your computer. 

What Must Be Done

Disable And Re-enable Cortana

  • Step 1: Press Windows key, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open Local Group Policy Editor.
  • Step 2: Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.
  • Step 3: Right-click Allow Cortana, pick Edit and tick the Disabled circle.
  • Step 4: Select Apply, choose OK and restart your computer.
  • Step 5: When the screen comes back on, open Local Group Policy Editor, make your way to Search in Computer Configuration, right-click Allow Cortana, pick Edit and tick the Enabled circle. After you finish, restart your computer and see how things turn out. 

Alternatively, 

  • Step 1: Press Windows key, type Regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor. 
  • Step 2: Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\ Windows\Windows Search.
  • Step 3: Locate AllowCortana, right-click it and pick Edit. 
  • Step 4: Set the value as 0, hit OK and restart your computer. 
  • Step 5: Proceed to open Registry Editor, head to Windows Search in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, right-click Allow Cortana, pick Edit and set the value as 1. Next, hit OK, restart your computer and witness the result.

Uninstall And Reinstall Cortana

  • Step 1: Press Windows key, type PowerShell and hit Run as administrator. 
  • Step 2: In Windows PowerShell (Admin), run the command Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.549981C3F5F10* | Remove-AppxPackage to uninstall Cortana.
  • Step 3: Restart your computer.
  • Step 4: Open Store, search for Cortana and hit get to reinstall it. 
  • Step 5: Restart your computer and determine whether the issue persists.

Get Rid Of SearchUI.exe

  • Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings, navigate to Cortana and toggle off the switches next to Let Cortana respond to Hey Cortana and Let Cortana listen for my commands when I press the Windows logo key + C. 
  • Step 2: Press Windows + E to open File Explorer then make your way to C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy
  • Step 3: Locate SearchUI.exe, right-click it and pick Properties.
  • Step 4: Head to Security tab, select Advanced and choose Change next to Owner. 
  • Step 5: Type your username in Enter the object name to select then hit OK.
  • Step 6: Select Add, choose Select a principal, type your username and hit OK.
  • Step 7: Check all the checkboxes under Basic permissions, select OK, choose Apply and hit OK. 
  • Step 8: Right-click an empty space on the taskbar then pick Task Manager.
  • Step 9: Go to the Details tab, right-click SearchUI.exe and pick End task.
  • Step 10: Back to File Explorer, right-click SearchUI.exe and pick Delete. Last but not least, restart your computer. 

Using Cortana On Windows 10: Advice

  • Tired of getting irrelevant results as you search for items on your PC? Then you should know that Cortana allows you to perform specific search queries. All you have to do is to use the search phrase “Category – colon – term” (for instance, Apps: Adobe). 
  • If you don’t know your way around Windows 10, Cortana could assist you. Press Windows + C to open Cortana then type in your question e.g How do I update Windows?
  • Instead of opening your browser to translate a word, let Cortana do it for you. Launch Cortana, type Translate then enter the word as well as the language you want it to be translated and hit Enter. Here is an example: Translate bye into French.

Cortana Keep Popping Up: Troubleshooting

  • Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings, select Apps and choose Cortana in Apps & feature.
  • Step 2: Click Advanced options then pick Reset. 
  • Step 3: Determine whether the issue persists.

Leave a Comment