what is runtime broker, and why does it use so much memory?

I also have this problem but much worse - runtime broker was using 2.97 GB of memory when I checked so I killed the process (And yes, that amount of memory usage is definitely a problem!). According to articles I have read, it is supposed to have a very small memory footprint... I'd really like to know when this issue is going to be addressed by Microsoft.  

As far as I am aware, I was not even running any Windows Runtime apps at the time, I was on the desktop using Word, Excel, Mozilla Thunderbird, VLC, Skype, Opera and Explorer. Normal physical memory usage for Windows 7 under similar conditions was around 2.5 GB at most, now it's nearly 6 GB and half of that was taken by Runtime Broker.

Hello again,

You are right. This has become a great problem now. I have done further research and have found that runtime broker and its memory related issues are due to apps with faulty codes that result in memory leaks. The source of memory leaks are very difficult to find. However since my windows installation is relatively new, I have tried uninstalling my apps one by one, and have zeroed in on my antivirus software (Bitdefender total security 2013). I uninstalled it and the runtime broker's memory usage improved immensely (it held at a max memory of 60 mb).

I reinstalled it and almost immediately RUNTIME BROKER's memory usage kept rising. Therefore I guess it is safe to assume that it is my antivirus software which is causing the problem. However since I have already purchased this product, I have no option but to report this problem.

I hope this helps to an extent. What antivirus solution do you use?

Hi,

I'm using Norton Internet Security and I have 500 days left on my subscription so I really hope you're not right!

So the runtime broker manages memory for applications that do not target the Windows Runtime as well as those that do? I thought it was only for new apps that ran in the metro interface...

I will see if removing NIS makes any difference on my machine but like you, I'll just have to live with it if it does.

I have had some other issues with metro-style apps not starting and reverting to the start menu when I open them but that's probably unrelated to this issue so I won't go into details here. I guess we have to expect a few teething problems although having said that, these kind of problems should have been ironed out before it was RTM'd.

Unless we are all running the same application, the fault could lie with the Windows Runtime and the way that it releases resources / frees memory....or it could be one of the WinRT apps that comes with Windows 8 (or it could be something completely different!), either way I think that it's down to Microsoft to investigate the problem.

I haven't posted in here before - do MS developers ever answer our cries for help or do they leave us to moan to each other about our problems and just hope that we go away? :)

Well, I monitored the memory usage for an hour or so and it stayed at around 75MB with Norton Internet Security running. Given that, I don't think that uninstalling it would have made it easy to spot any difference in performance unless I left myself without any antivirus for a couple of days to see if it stopped the problem. I did try running a scan and runtime broker did not move from 75mb.

Later on today it started to go up again though and is currently at just over 1.1GB.

I upgraded my Windows 7 installation using the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade disk that went on sale on the 26th October, not using the RTM version either. Whilst I've been typing this I've decided to be a daredevil and uninstall Norton. I will observe runtime broker tomorrow and see if it makes any difference.