Increasing Available RAM

Overview

Proctorio requires at least 2 GB of free RAM to support a stable exam experience. For example, a device with 4 GB of RAM should have 2 GB available during the exam. Insufficient RAM may cause incomplete page loading, freezing, or unexpected browser crashes.

Proctorio will alert test-takers on the Before You Begin page if their device memory is low: "It looks like your computer is pretty busy right now. You can still proceed with your exam, but we recommend that you close all open tabs and any application you have running in the background and try again."

The image displays a system alert informing the user that their computer is currently under heavy load and is only running on battery power at 61%. It advises the user to close any unnecessary applications and tabs before proceeding with their exam, and recommends plugging in the device to ensure stable performance. The Continue button at the bottom allows the user to proceed with the exam setup.

Caution: Test-takers who disregard this warning and choose to proceed may experience degraded exam performance. Insufficient RAM during an exam may lead to page loading errors, freezing, or unexpected browser crashes.

Quick Fix

Try these quick steps before an exam to free up RAM on your device:

  1. Close/quit all unneeded open applications.
  2. Restart your device.
  3. Try a different supported browser (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, or Brave).

Advanced Troubleshooting

To free up additional RAM, refer to the operating system instructions below to manage and close background applications.

Note: If you are using a managed device provided by your school or employer, you may not have permission to modify some device settings. Please contact your IT team for further assistance.

Mac

Mac users can view and close active applications using Activity Monitor.

  1. Open Activity Monitor from Launchpad.
  2. Double click on any application and select Quit.

For additional information, please refer to the following article.

Windows

Windows users can view and close active applications using Task Manager.

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc or enter \u201cTask Manager\u201d in the Windows Start Search.
  2. Right click on any application and select End task.

Please refer to the following articles for instructions on how to permanently prevent an application from running in the background.

Chrome

ChromeOS users can view and close active applications using Task Manager.

  1. Press Search+Esc.
  2. Select any application and click Quit.
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