When the computer is turned on, it still works and performs activities in the background : even if we don't see it, many activities are carried out away from our eyes. Knowing what these programs or tools are is important, especially when the RAM memory starts to fill up or we need the full power of the computer to perform a particularly demanding task (a video conversion, a 3D rendering, the start of a video game). Among the background activities we therefore find programs in automatic execution, scheduled operations and Windows services, among which malware or non-essential processes that cause slowdowns to the computer can also hide. In this guide we will show you how to control Windows background activity with the integrated tools and using small free tools, which greatly facilitate the task.
See all Windows background tasks
To monitor the background activities of Windows we can use some menus and tools integrated within the operating system, so as not to install anything on our computer. If instead we look for more details, we will also show you the best free tools that we can use for the purpose.Check running activities
To check the active programs in memory, simply right-click on the taskbar (below) and select Task Manager . The old "task manager" is available in two formats: the simple manager (where only active programs are present) and the advanced manager (with the list of active and background programs).
To switch from one manager to another, just press on the item More details or Less details, present in the lower left corner of the window. The Processes tab will show the active applications and the background processes, but we can also order the various activities based on the consumption of a specific component: by pressing on the CPU column, the processes with the greatest load on the processor will be shown first, while pressing one of the other columns ( RAM, Disk, Network and GPU ) we will be able to sort the activities and processes based on the heaviness in RAM memory, based on disk usage and on the GPU load of the video card.
To learn more about the operation of the Task Manager, we recommend you read our in-depth study How many things the task manager does on a Windows 10 PC .
Check background apps
On Windows 10 there are apps (called App Modern ) that start together with the operating system to be immediately available when we open them but also to show notifications and to animate the panes within the Start menu (if positioned). To control the launch of these Modern apps, we open the Start menu at the bottom left, open the Settings app then go to the Privacy -> App in the background path.
We will see all the default apps in Windows 10 and the apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store; to prevent startup in the background, simply remove the check mark next to the desired app (from Activated to Deactivated ) and restart the computer; from the next start the app will not open by itself in memory if we don't click on its icon or on its Start pane.
READ ALSO: How to disable background apps in Windows 10
Check programs in auto-start
If we fear that a very heavy program will start automatically together with Windows, slowing down the entire PC in this delicate phase, we can check it immediately by opening Task Manager and going to the Start tab.
We press on the Startup Impact column to immediately see the heavier programs that have set themselves in auto-start (they will have High value). To prevent a program from automatically starting with Windows, simply select it with the left mouse click and press the Disable button in the lower right corner of the window.
Alternatively we can right click on the activity and use the Disable button from the context menu.
Check active Windows services
If, on the other hand, we have noticed that some Windows features have not started, we can check the active services by opening the Start menu at the bottom left, typing Services and opening the homonymous tool.
Pressing on the Startup type column we can immediately display the services in automatic start, followed by the servos in delayed automatic start and the services with manual start; by pressing instead on the Status column we can view the active and stopped services.
To learn more about the individual items of the services on Windows, we recommend reading our article on Which Windows Services can be disabled to speed up your PC .
Check the planned activities
Many programs perform regular checks on updates, system maintenance or virus scans: these scheduled tasks are visible by opening the Start menu and looking for the Scheduler program.
From this window we will be able to view the planned activities and modify the execution times, the execution methods, remove the activities that do not interest us or create new ones. To find out how to use this powerful program, we invite you to read our two guides on how to schedule shutdown or restart of the PC at a specific time and how to plan maintenance activities of the Windows PC by automating operations .
Programs to monitor Windows activity
In addition to the tools integrated within the Microsoft operating system, we can get help from some simple free programs to monitor all Windows background activities.WhatInStartup
To check the programs in automatic execution we can use the free tool WhatInStartup.
With this small portable tool you can control the programs and processes that start themselves every time you turn on your PC. These programs then remain in the background occupying memory so it is important to verify that they are actually useful, otherwise it is better to disable them with the Startup management tool. To disable or remove a program, just right-click on it and use the items Disable Selected Items or Delete Selected Items .
Task Scheduler Viewer
Scheduled tasks can be monitored with the free, simple and comprehensive TaskSchedulerView tool.
From the list of the viewer you will find several surprises, update programs from Google, Dropbox, Office and other programs installed on the PC and many internal Windows activities such as disk defrag and validation of the Windows license. For each activity the date of the last execution is written, the date of the next one, the status and the trigger that is the cause that triggers the operation. With a double click opens a tab with all the details, including the program that is run. If the tool runs with administrator rights, you can disable some scheduled operations if you don't want to. In general, it is advisable to order the activities by "last run" and check that there are no external programs that no longer exist or are not recognized.
ServiWin
To manage the Windows services and drivers currently active on your computer, simply use the ServiWin portable tool.
This program shows the list of services in a simple list and allows you to automate them or stop / start them. With the same application we can show the drivers currently active on Windows, so that we can block a driver that is blocked or impossible to uninstall; in this regard, we invite you to read our guide on how to remove and uninstall hidden drivers or old hardware devices .
Conclusions
Using the tools provided by Windows and the free programs recommended in the final chapter of this guide, we will be able to manage all the background activities of Windows without too many worries, deactivating or blocking what does not interest us with a few mouse clicks.
Still on the same topic we can read the guide to Check what hard drives and CPUs do and what they are used for, so that you can immediately understand what is slowing down your computer.
To carry out thorough PC cleaning, we recommend using one of the programs indicated in our article Best free PC cleaning programs to eliminate unnecessary files (Windows), so as to be able to optimize the performance of our desktop or laptop after many years of 'use.
