Ways to disable background programs in Windows

Undoubtedly, you have already encountered a problem when the computer immediately began to slow down after loading: slow to execute requests, demonstrate a rotating blue circle at the cursor, delay in sound playback, etc. Probably, you had the feeling that the PC is busy Someone else, although you did not load it with a mass of tasks. And you will be right - some programs still at the installation stage require you to allow them to run in the background. What it leads to and how to deal with this phenomenon, we will tell further.

Disable background applications in Windows.

What are background applications?

When you turn on the computer, other programs are launched along with the system and load the Task Manager with their own processes - this is what those background applications are. Because the PC receives several commands at once, it starts to slow down and prioritize the execution sequence, so you can wait a long time for the response to your request. As we have already mentioned, when installing or first launching, some applications ask for permissions to be activated along with the OS, or simply notify the user. Most often the following programs do this:

  1. Messengers: Skype, ICQ, Viber (PC version), etc. They aim to inform you in time about incoming calls and messages.
  2. Antivirus - to immediately ensure the safety of your computer.
  3. Download managers, such as Torrent.
  4. Various advertising utilities that go to appendix to free programs, such as "Online Games", "Disk Cleanup", etc.
  5. Virus software that seeks to control all processes on the computer.

If after loading the system a window of some program opens, for example, Skype, it means that the application is running in the background. Some utilities can automatically start and function without advertising their activities, but this is displayed in the Task Manager. Of course, a lot of background processes running almost at once, lead to an overload of RAM and CPU and the system hangs.

Ways to identify background programs

Let's see how to find and view a list of background applications in Windows 10 and 7. Let's start with the "dozens":

  1. Open the Start menu, find the image of the cog wheel and click on it.
  2. A window with settings will appear, select "Privacy", there will be a tab "Background Applications".
  3. Here you can easily disable the launch of all unnecessary by moving the slider to the appropriate position, but we do not recommend removing the antivirus from the list.

Now we find the same in the "seven":

  1. Open "Start" - "All Programs" - "Startup".
  2. Select the application name and click on it with the right button to remove it from autorun. Do not worry, this does not mean complete removal of the program from the PC - you simply disable the software activation function along with the system.

Also, a list of running applications can be seen on the taskbar on the right. Expand the icons hidden under the arrow pointing up. Of course, this way you can only find correct and harmless programs - the rest are hidden in the “Task Manager”. To call it, press Ctrl + Alt + Del, go to the tab "Startup".

How to disable unnecessary applications

From the previous chapter, you already know how to disable background programs in Windows 7 and how to disable background processes in Windows 10 if they honestly declare their activities. Now consider a more complex option, when the software is hidden, but runs with the system and absorbs resources. So, open “Startup” again in the Task manager, select the name of the software or process, click on it RMB and delete through the appropriate option.

And now the most difficult option for adware, which in no way wants to obey commands and stubbornly runs along with the system, and the antivirus at the same time reports that the program is completely harmless. It is better to remove such applications from the PC completely, but first you need to exclude them from the background run so that the computer does not hang. In this case, we act through the registry - be careful not to damage important entries.

  1. Click Win + R and in the appeared window type the command “regedit” (without quotes).
  2. In the registry, locate the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder on the left and open it in sequence: SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Run.
  3. Now you see a list of programs in autorun - right-click to remove.
  4. Restart the computer.

Disabled background applications will no longer run with the system - this method is valid for both Windows 10 and 7 in any build.

How to close Windows background processes

If you do not want to disable the autorun application for good, but you need to temporarily remove the background operation of the application, then look at how to close the current service:

  1. Call the Task Manager again.
  2. Open the tabs: "Processes" - "Background".
  3. Check the ones you need and right-click, then select either “End Process” or “End Process Tree” to remove them from the Task manager. The latter is suitable when you see many services running on the same program.

This can be done on Windows 10, 8 and 7.