1. Uninstall or Disable Unused Software: Review the list of applications installed on your computer, and uninstall any applications that you don’t use. You can also disable applications that are running in the background but no longer serve a purpose.
2. Adjust Windows Start-up Settings: Many programs are designed to start automatically when Windows starts. You can prevent these applications from starting up by accessing Windows Task Manager (right click on the taskbar and select Task Manager) and selecting the Startup tab. From here, you can disable any programs listed that you do not need.
3. Disable All Unnecessary Services: Windows services are processes that run in the background to help manage the operating system. To disable unnecessary services, open the command prompt, type “services.msc” and press enter. A list of services will be displayed. Right click on any service that you don’t need and select Stop.
4. Use a Startup Manager: If you don’t want to manually disable each application or service, you can use a startup manager to automate this process. Popular startup managers include CCleaner and Autoruns.
5. Update Your Operating System: Make sure that your computer is running the latest version of Windows. Microsoft regularly releases patches and updates to fix security issues and improve performance. Installing the latest updates will help reduce the amount of background applications running on your PC.