Memory compression is a memory management technique that stores more memory on your primary storage than it otherwise could, which directly impacts the performance of your PC positively and allows it to handle tasks more efficiently.

Basically put, compressing memory helps in reducing the number of ‘read/ write’ requests resulting in fewer page file operations.

For example, if you have a system that has 8 GB of RAM and your system requires 9 GB of RAM to operate as per the currently opened apps and processes, the system will store that additional 1 GB on your secondary storage instead of storing it on primary, and access it as and when the need arises.

Though it is definitely better than pushing apps and process in and out RAM, the secondary storage is way too slow when compared to the speed of RAM in the computer. Hence, this arrangement of memory results in slower performance of your PC.

When memory compression is enabled, the system shrinks it down to accommodate all the required memory on the RAM. However, the compression and uncompression of memory takes a significant chunk of CPU resources but is definitely worth trading.

Check the Current Status of Memory Compression

Before you proceed to enable or disable the Memory Compression on your system, it is recommended that you know its current status.

To do so, open the Start Menu and type Task Manager. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Task Manager’ tile to open it. Alternatively, you can also press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together on your keyboard to open it.

Next, on the Task Manager window, click on the ‘Performance’ tab. Then, click on the ‘Memory’ option present on the left sidebar. After that, locate the ‘In Use’ memory option; you will be able to see the currently ‘Compressed’ memory inside the parenthesis if enabled.

Another way to check if the memory compression is is enabled or not is by using the Terminal app on your Windows machine.

To check the status of memory compression by using Terminal, open the Start Menu and type Terminal. Then, from the search results, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the context menu to open it.

Next, on the Terminal window type the below-mentioned command and hit Enter on your keyboard to execute it. 

Get-MMAgent

After that, locate the ‘Memory Compression’ option from the results on the Terminal window; if the fields display ‘True’ the compression is enabled, if it displays ‘False’ the compression is not enabled.

Now that you have identified the current status of Memory Compression on your system, it is now time to enable or disable it.

Use Terminal app to Enable or Disable Memory Compression

The Memory Compression feature can be quickly turned on or off by executing a single command using the Terminal app.

To do so, first, open the Start Menu and type Terminal to search for it. Then, from the search results, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the context menu to launch it.

If you are here to enable Memory Compression on your system, type the below-mentioned command and hit Enter on your keyboard to execute the command.

Enable-MMAgent -mc

Then, restart your PC from the Start Menu to apply the changes.

If you are here to disable Memory Compression on your system, type the below-mentioned command hit Enter on your keyboard to execute the command.

Disable-MMAgent -mc

Next, restart your PC from the Start Menu to apply the changes.

Memory Compression should only be disabled when your system is not using more than 60 percent of RAM even when multi-tasking but the CPU usage is closer to 100%. The system is around