Being a Windows user, you might have experienced your PC getting slow. This is so common with Windows and no doubt very annoying. In a Windows machine several programs start functioning in the background automatically, consuming crucial memory space. To avoid this, I would advise you to check the Startup section by opening the Task Manager.

Most of the PC users select the auto-startup option while installing Windows programs, without even realizing that it may hamper their machines’ efficiency.

Following are the steps you should follow to understand which applications are running without your knowledge and how to close them down. I’ll pen down the tutorial for Windows 8 first and then we will talk about Window 7.

Manage Your Startup Applications

Type ‘start up’ at the Start screen on your Windows 8 computer; once the search results appear on the right side of the screen, click on ‘See which processes start up automatically’ before you are taken to the desktop mode, while a Task Manager window will appear in the Startup tab.

You can now see and make changes to the applications running in the background. On the left column, the application’s name is visible, while its status, which would be either enabled or disabled, can be seen on the right column. The Startup Impact, which shows how severe an application is affecting the performance of your device, can also be noticed.

If you want to turn off some unwanted background programs, highlight the desired applications and click on the ‘Disable’ button, which appears on the bottom right of the window. Once this is done, the disabled programs won’t run in the background, without your approval, the next time you turn on your machine.

The Programs You Need to Disable

You may want to keep the programs that offer synchronizing features to monitor some folders such as Google Drive and Google Music Manager. However, running applications such as uTorrent and Adobe Reader do not make any sense, unless you are downloading something.

Disable Unwanted Backgroun Application in Windows 7 Computer

If you’re a Windows 7 user, the procedure is a bit different to close down the background applications. Having clicked the Start button from the desktop menu, type ‘MSCONFIG’ in the search bar before pressing Enter. The Task Manager window will appear, go to the Startup option to easily switch-off (uncheck) the applications you wish to disable at startup, and then press OK.

Having closed down unwanted background applications, you will surely witness a visible improvement in the performance of your system.

So here you have it folks! If you feel any trouble in following the tutorial, write us back and we’ll help you out.