How to clean and free the RAM of my Windows 10 computer

Is your computer slower than normal? Does your screen freeze more often? If you’re experiencing any of these, there could be a problem with your computer’s Random Access Memory (RAM).

RAM is the main memory of your computer which contains the programs currently running on your device. If your computer is running slower than usual, the programs you’re using may be taking up more space than your RAM can handle. When this happens, your device experiences performance issues.

By freeing up RAM, you can bring your computer’s performance back to ideal levels. Here are some simple tips on how to free up RAM in Windows 10.

1. Reboot your PC

This is a tip you’re probably familiar with for troubleshooting other issues, but it’s popular for a reason.

Restart your PC it will also completely clear the contents of RAM and restart all running processes. While this obviously won’t increase the maximum RAM you have available, it will clean up any processes running in the background that might be eating up your memory.

You should restart your computer regularly to prevent it from getting stuck, especially if you use it all the time. If you haven’t rebooted in a week and your PC feels sluggish, it’s time to do so.

2. Check RAM usage with Windows tools

Windows provides tools to show you. To get started, open Task Manager by searching for it in the Start menu or use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Supr.

Click on More details to expand to full view, if necessary. Then in the tab Processes, click the Memory heading to sort all processes from highest to lowest RAM usage.

For more information, switch to the tab Performance. In the section Memory , you’ll see a graph of your RAM usage over time. Click on Open resource monitor at the bottom and you can get more details in the tab Memory of this utility.

The graph at the bottom will show you how much free RAM you have. order by Commit (KB) in the top list to see which programs use the most RAM.

3.Disable startup programs you don’t need

If you’ve used your computer for at least a few years, you’ve probably downloaded a fair amount of software that you forgot about or no longer use. After the processes tab tells you which programs are using the most space, you’ll want to maneuver over to the startup tab to stop the ones you no longer need.

To disable startup programs:

  • Select the “Startup” tab in Task Manager.
  • Click “Startup Impact” to arrange programs from high to low usage.
  • Right click to disable any programs you don’t need.

Startup programs are those that are activated when the computer starts. When these programs are started, each one occupies a bit of RAM in the background without your consent. Make sure the ones you don’t need are disabled.

4. Uninstall unnecessary software

Now that you’ve seen which apps use the most RAM on your system, think about whether you actually use them. An easy way to reduce RAM usage is to prevent programs you never use anyway from consuming it.

Apps that you haven’t opened in months but are still running in the background are just wasting resources on your computer, so you need to remove them. Do it by navigating to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features and clicking on uninstall in any app you want to remove.

5. Locate and remove malware

Even if you are very careful about what you download, malware can find its way onto your device. This can put your personal information at risk of theft, but it can also steal your RAM. Try downloading reliable antivirus software to check for malware and get rid of it on your device. (I)

Source: Eluniverso

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