If we notice that our Windows PC is blocked and no longer responds to commands the problem could derive from a non-normal and abnormal use of the CPU or a saturation of the RAM memory by a process or a program that does not work correctly.Other times the cause may be a virus or there may be a problem with corrupted system files or with some running service that tends to saturate all available resources.
If you reflect yourself in this scenario, you are in the right guide: here we will show you in fact what to do if your PC uses too much memory and CPU and freezesintervening on the Windows settings and carrying out all the necessary scans to restore the lost performance.
READ ALSO: How to check system resources on Windows PC in real time
1) RAM memory is full
There may not be enough RAM memory to run all the programs and processes used on your PC. This scenario is rare but the memory could be full due to a virus or because some application to identify is malfunctioning by stealing all the memory.
So first of all it is recommended Safe boot your PC and scan the whole system with a program like Malwarebytesso as to remove any threat present in the system.
Ascertained that there is no malware hidden inside Windows, it is necessary to identify it the program that is occupying too much memory due to an error; it can in fact happen that a software goes into a loop and is unable to finish the job as it should, executing it indefinitely until all the RAM memory is exhausted.
To detect high memory peaks, press the key combination “Ctrl+Shift+Esc” to access the system process managerclick on the tab Processes and sort them by occupied memory by clicking on the header of the corresponding column. From the numbers you can easily see if any process is using too much memory and just click on it with the right mouse button to use the “End Process“.
You should then see if the problem still occurs and if so, uninstall that program. For more details on RAM consumptionwe can also use the tool RAMMapwhich shows how your computer uses RAM memory.
In another article, more explanations on how unlock windows if your pc freezes or if your computer runs slow, using the Task manager.
2) The PC is slow since I installed the antivirus
If we notice a conspicuous slowdown of the PC after installing an antivirus it is not said that the fault lies with the antivirus itself! The slowdown can be caused by:
- The computer is running slowly because a second antivirus program was installed above another already present. In this case we uninstall one of the two, so as to prevent them from occupying too many resources and analyzing the same files twice;
- we installed a fake antivirus: these are the so-called Rogue Antivirus who pretend to always find non-existent malware and infections and who often ask for money to buy the cure, as seen in our guide eliminate fake antivirus;
- We have installed a antivirus that is very heavy or that has many security modules: in this case the computer will be slower in the first phase (where the antivirus scans the whole system in the background), becoming faster after a few hours or after a few days.
If we are looking for the lightest antivirus ever, we advise you to try it CASE NOD32the only one capable of effectively protecting the system and occupying less than 50 MB of RAM memory.
Other lightweight antiviruses can be found in the ai guide best lightweight Antivirus, free and without ads and useless components.
3) Computer crashes suddenly
This scenario usually happens when a program is taking up a significant portion of the processor’s memory or processing powerespecially if you have a processor that is a few years old.
To check the problem immediately, press Ctrl+ Shift+ Esc on the keyboard, we open the process manager and check if, in the tab Processesprocessor or RAM is close to 100% of available resources.
The first solution to try involves restarting the system, so as to be able to interrupt any blocked activity; if upon restarting we still notice severe slowdowns we must access the screen as soon as possible autostarting applicationsas seen in the how-to guide control the launch of programs when the PC is turned on.
In another article we have seen how to fix the Windows slowdowns with CPU at 100%. Always on the same topic we can read our guides on how speed up programs by managing process priority and how to makeanalyzing Svchost.exe if it uses 99% or 100% CPU.
In another article instead the possible solutions if theHigh CPU usage is caused by System Interrupts.
4) How to fix the “application or program is not responding” error
If a program is using too much processor or too much memory the Windows error may appear that the program is not responding and crashes. In these cases, it is advisable to press on immediately Please wait to see if it unlocks itself or on Ends and then restart it and see if it was a random error.
If the error occurs often, we advise you to immediately read our guide on what to do If a program crashes and becomes unresponsivewhere I have reported some programs to make diagnostics and understand the reasons for these blocks.
5) How to fix the “Windows Explorer has stopped working” error
If Windows Explorer stops working we will no longer be able to open PC folders and it will also skip the entire graphical interface (actually only the background will remain).
The quickest way to fix the problem right away is to press Ctrl+ Shift+ Esc on the keyboard, press on the item Run new task (also on the menu File on Windows 10 and older versions of Windows 11) and type explorer.exeso as to restart this very important process.
For more information, you can read our guide on solutions if Windows Explorer stops working and Windows freezes (explorer.exe).
If the error occurs often we will have to try to correct errors in the system files, as seen in the guides on how to fix corrupted system files on windows 11 and 10 and how to use theDISM interface to clean and repair Windows.
Conclusions
If the PC uses too much memory and CPU and crashes now we will know what to do: first of all a good antivirus check to exclude harmful malware, then we must always check that there is not some process or application that occupies too many system resources (especially if the program has been designed badly).
If instead the problems concern windows processes it is always better to proceed with SFC and DISMin order to repair Windows without proceeding with system recovery and formatting.
Did none of the suggestions above help solve the problem? Then there is nothing left to do but reset Windows, as seen in our guides on how to reset windows 11 without losing data come on how to reset windows 10 (Reset PC).
