4 Ways to Fix Microsoft Edge High Memory and CPU Usage

Quick Tips

• Before proceeding with any complex solutions, close all unused tabs and update the Microsoft Edge browser.
• You may consider updating Efficiency Mode, Startup Boost, and other performance settings.

Basic Fixes

• Restart the Microsoft Edge browser – You should restart the browser as it may fix minor bugs and glitches that trigger the problem.
• Clear browser cookies and cache – Outdated cookies, cache, and other website data can also cause Microsoft Edge to utilize more CPU than usual on your Windows 11 computer. You should clear cookies and cache.
• Scan for malware – Active malware may cause a sudden increase in memory or CPU usage. Before implementing any new fixes, run a comprehensive malware scan.

Fix 1: Adjust System and Performance Settings in Edge for Reduced CPU Usage

Microsoft Edge has many performance settings you should go through and disable the ones that you suspect may be gulping system resources. Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Launch Microsoft Edge.

Step 2: Click on the System and performance tab on the right, then on the left, you may do the following:

• Disable Startup Boost.
• Toggle off Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed.
• Update Preferred method of video enhancement.
• Enable Efficiency Mode.
• Enable Save resources with sleeping tabs.
• Enable Fade sleeping tabs.
• Reduce the value for Put inactive tabs to sleep after the specified amount of time.
• Enable Performance detector.

Fix 2: Use Microsoft Edge’s Task Manager to Close Unwanted Tabs

To start, use Microsoft Edge’s built-in task manager to identify resource-hungry tabs and close them. If it’s nothing major, this may drastically reduce Edge’s memory usage.

Step 1: Launch the browser and press Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open the Browser Task Manager.

Step 2: Click on the Memory column to sort tabs based on their RAM usage. Select unwanted tabs and use the End process button to close them.

Fix 3: Disable Collections

This feature allows you to follow content creators and save videos and multimedia to your Collections. However, it may be resource-intensive. When you disable it, you minimize the CPU power required by your browser.

Step 1: Launch the Microsoft Edge browser, type the path below in the address bar, and hit Enter.

edge://settings/searchServices

Step 2: Toggle off the option for Show Collections and follow content creators in Microsoft Edge.

Fix 4: Disable Microsoft Defender SmartScreen

If none of the previous solutions helped fix Microsoft Edge’s high CPU usage, the last thing you can do is disable Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. Though the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Microsoft Edge is a useful security feature, it requires your computer to constantly monitor each site you visit or the files you download, which can increase the overall CPU usage.

Note: Disabling Microsoft Defender SmartScreen makes your computer vulnerable to threats and malware. Therefore, be careful about the sites you visit and the content you download from the Internet.

Step 1: Launch Microsoft Edge.

Step 2: Type the below URL in the address bar and hit Enter.

edge://settings/privacy

Step 3: Scroll down to the Security section and disable the toggle for Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.

If the problem persists, ensure it it not a general high CPU problem in the computer.