If you experience your computer running slowly or programs crashing, the culprit could be the amount of memory and processing usage that your computer is using. Programs, processes and services all use memory and resources. Programs hogging your system resources can affect other parts of your computer. However, you can improve your computer's performance and properly manage memory and CPU usage.
Instructions
1. Monitor your computer memory and CPU usage using the Task Manager. Access the Task Manager by holding down the "CTRL," "ALT" and "DEL" keys. Select "Start Task Manager" from the list. The Windows Task Manager pane is displayed.
2. Click the "Performance" tab. The CPU Usage graph on the top left displays the percentage of CPU usage and the Memory graph on the bottom left indicates memory usage. Make a note of these usage levels and click the "Processes" tab.
3. Sort the processes by clicking the "User Name" tab. Unless there are multiple user accounts logged onto your computer, the only processes listed are those with your user name and "System." Don't end the processes that are labeled "System" as they are often essential services that the operating system utilizes.
4. Navigate to "Start" and type "msconfig" into the search box. If you're using a non-administrator account, the User Account Control dialog may prompt you to type an administrator password. If so, type an administrator password and click "Yes." The System Configuration window appears.
5. Click the "Startup" tab. System Configuration subsequently displays a list of non-Microsoft processes and programs that automatically start up when your computer boots. If you've never accessed the System Configuration utility before, you will probably see many different programs listed.
6. Uncheck the boxes next to programs that you don't recognize, have previously uninstalled or don't want running when your computer starts up. In most cases, you can safely uncheck all of the programs in this list. The only exceptions are for anti-virus software and network utilities that must run in the background. After unchecking the selected startup items, click "Apply" and "OK." Click "Restart Later."
7. Perform routine maintenance tasks on your computer using the Windows Disk Cleanup and Windows Disk Defragmenter tools by clicking "Start," "All Programs," "Accessories" and the "System Tools" folder. The programs within the System Tools folder can clean up temporary files, defragment your hard drive for better data access and empty your Recycle Bin.
8. Navigate to "Start" then "Control Panel." The Control Panel is displayed. Display the Icon View by selecting "Small icons" from the drop-down menu in the upper-right corner. Select "Performance Information and Tools." The Performance Information and Tools dialog is displayed. Click "Adjust Visual Effects" from the left side panel. The Performance Options dialog is displayed. Select the "Adjust for Best Performance" radio button to remove the visual effects from Windows. Windows visual effects require a lot of processing power and memory so reducing those should boost your computer's performance. Click "OK" when done.
Tags: your computer, Task Manager, memory usage, System Configuration, administrator password, computer performance, computer using