How to free up PC memory

The latest versions of Windows and macOS are capable of handling RAM very efficiently. However, it may happen that some programs continue to take up space on the memory, unnecessarily, even after being closed. Such a situation can make work on the computer particularly slow and tiring, especially if it has a low amount of RAM and therefore begins to use the page / swap file to copy part of the information that should be on the hard drive to the hard drive. RAM.

In such cases, to try to improve the situation, it may be useful to learn how to free the PC memory by putting into practice some small tricks and using some command line functions of Windows and macOS. What precautions do I refer to? Read this tutorial of mine and you will find out. However, don't worry: it's nothing particularly complex or out of your reach.

Staying on the subject of memory, then, in the final part of the guide I will also show you how to "free" the hard disk (hard disk or SSD that is) by removing "junk" files and other unnecessary elements on it. But now just chat and let's take action: below you will find explained everything you need to do. Happy reading and good luck for everything!

Index

•             How to free up your PC's RAM memory

•             Shut down processes that consume more resources

•             Disable unnecessary software at startup

•             Use the Windows Command Prompt

•             Use the macOS Terminal

•             Reboot the system

•             How to free up the C memory of the PC

•             Disk Cleanup (Windows)

•             Space management (macOS)

•             CCleaner (Windows / macOS)

How to free up your PC's RAM memory

Would you like to understand how to free up the PC memory by acting on the RAM but you don't know how to do it? Whether you have a Windows PC  or a  Mac , you can do everything by putting into practice some simple tricks and using special functions accessible from the command line.

Before going into the following steps, however, I would like to clarify the fact that freeing the RAM is not a strictly necessary operation . Considering, as I have already mentioned, that modern operating systems already manage memory optimally, such an operation is useful only in extreme cases.

To this must be added the fact that, when the operating system and the software use all the available RAM, it is not always a bad thing : they simply use the resources to the maximum to offer the best performance.

For all these reasons, I strongly suggest that you stay away from those programs that claim to be able to clear RAM, since they do nothing but occupy resources that could be used by processes and, consequently, instead of improving the situation they could even make it worse!

Shut down processes that consume more resources

The first operation to free the PC memory that I want to invite you to do is to close the processes that consume more resources .

If you use Windows , then start the Task Manager tool (using the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del  and clicking on the Task Manager item in the window that appears): once its main window is displayed, click on the More details item  at the bottom of right and then on the wording Memory (top right).

At this point, identify the processes that are taking up the most memory of your computer and close them, right-clicking on them and selecting the item End task from the menu that opens.

If you are using a Mac , on the other hand, to close the processes that take up the most system resources, open the Activity Monitor utility by clicking on its icon in the Other folder of the Launchpad or call the tool via  Spotlight , Siri or the Applications folder of macOS. Once the relevant on-screen window is displayed, click on the Memory tab .

Then press on the wording Memory ⌵ (at the top) to sort the processes according to their use of RAM and close the most "demanding" ones, selecting them and clicking on the [x] button  located at the top left. Then confirm the execution of the operation, pressing the Exit button or the Forced exit button (if the process is not interrupted), and you're done.

Note: both in the case of Windows and macOS, I recommend, do not interrupt the system processes, otherwise you risk compromising the correct functioning of the OS. If you don't know what a certain process is, do a Google search .

Disable unnecessary software at startup

Another operation that can be useful to free up the PC memory is to deactivate unnecessary software when the system is started, therefore the programs that start automatically when the PC is turned on and then remain running occupying RAM, often unnecessarily. How you do it? I'll explain it to you right away.

If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 8 / 8.1 , always open the Task Manager tool  using the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del and clicking on the Task Manager item in the window that appears. Then press on the item More details  at the bottom right in the new window shown on the screen and go to the Start tab .

At this point, locate the programs you do not want to start with Windows, select them (one at a time) and click on the corresponding Disable button . In doing this, I recommend that you do not disable the automatic start of antivirus and other useful software to protect the OS from any cyber threats. If you don't know what a certain process is, google it .

As for  Windows 7 or previous versions of the Microsoft operating system, the procedure to be implemented is different from the one we have just seen together: to find out in detail how to proceed, I refer you to reading my guide dedicated to the subject .

On macOS , on the other hand, to disable applications that are not useful when starting the system, proceed as follows: click on the System Preferences icon   located on the Dock bar (the gear) and select the Users and Groups icon in the window that opens. Subsequently, presses on your username in the left sidebar and click on the Login elements tab , located at the top right.

Finally, find in the list of programs that you are shown the ones you want to disable from automatic start, select them (one at a time) and click on the [-] button located at the bottom left, to get rid of them.

Use the Windows Command Prompt

If you are using Windows , I inform you that another system you have on your side to free up the memory of the PC is to take advantage of the Command Prompt , going to issue a command specifically used for the purpose through the latter.

So, all you have do is click on the Start button (the one with the Windows flag on the taskbar ), type "command prompt" in the search field and select the relevant result in the list. In the window that opens on the desktop, then type the command DIR / s and press the Enter key on the computer keyboard. Done!

This command forces Windows to create a list of the files and folders on the PC, a very cumbersome process, which frees the memory previously occupied by other processes. You will notice the difference in the use of RAM between before and after the command execution, by starting the Resource Monitor / Activity Monitor tool and going to the Memory tab  of the latter.

Use the macOS Terminal

Even if you are using macOS  you can carry out a procedure similar to that seen in the previous step for Windows but, in this case, you have to act from the  Terminal , practically the counterpart for Mac of the Command Prompt.

So all you have to do is call up the Terminal by clicking on its icon located in the Other folder of the Launchpad . Alternatively, launch it via Spotlight , Siri, or from the macOS Applications folder . In the window that opens, then type the command sudo purge and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

Now, type the password for your user account on macOS, press the Enter key on your keyboard again, type the command exit and press the Enter key again . Done!

You will be able to realize the amount of free and committed RAM memory before and after the command (which serves, precisely, to free the memory from the data present in it) by calling the Activity Monitor tool from the Other folder of the Launchpad or even from Spotlight , Siri or from the Applications folder , and selecting the Memory tab from the window that opens.

Reboot the system

It will probably seem trivial to you but ... rebooting the system is the most effective operation to free up the RAM. In doing so, in fact, all the information present in the memory is cleared and, consequently, the residual data of the programs that were running on the PC are downloaded.

To do this on Windows , just press the Start button (the one with the Windows flag on the  taskbar ), select the item Stop / Shut down the system from the menu that opens and click on the item Restart / Restart the system .

To restart macOS , instead, click on the apple symbol located in the upper left part of the menu bar and select the item Restart from the menu that opens. In the window that appears on the screen, then confirm your intentions by clicking on the Restart button .

If you need more details, refer, in the case of Windows, to my guide on how to restart the PC , while in the case of macOS you can read my tutorial on how to restart the Mac .

How to free up the C memory of the PC

As anticipated at the beginning of the guide, now let's move on to the hard disk, then to the hard disk and SSD, and let's see  how to free the PC memory by intervening on the storage space of disk C  (or on any other unit).

Disk Cleanup (Windows)

The Windows operating systems integrate a practical tool, called  Disk Cleanup , thanks to which, as the name implies, it is possible to identify and remove the no longer useful data on the hard disk, all in a very simple and fast way.

To use it, click on the Start button (the one with the Windows flag ) on the taskbar, type “disk cleanup utility” in the search field of the menu that opens and click on the relevant suggestion.

In the window that will open on the screen, select, using the appropriate drop-down menu, the unit for which you wish to intervene (eg C :) and click on the OK button . Next, select the items relating to the items you want to delete (eg Temporary Internet files , Recycle Bin, etc.) and click the OK button to start the cleaning procedure.

Furthermore, by clicking on the Clean up system files button  at the bottom you can possibly remove system files that are no longer useful (e.g. those residuals of Windows updates). But if you don't know where to put your hands, forget it, to avoid causing damage.

Space management (macOS)

Even if you are using macOS you can take advantage of a tool already included in the system to free up the hard disk memory: it is  Space Management , a tool included in all Macs starting from macOS Sierra, which allows you to find and delete unnecessary files on your computer.

To use it, click on the apple icon located on the menu bar (top left) and select the About this Mac item from the menu that opens. In the window that at this point appears on the desktop, select the Storage tab and click on the Manage button located next to the Mac hard disk icon .

In the new window that appears, choose the operations you want to perform: by going to the Recommendations tab , you will find the recommended operations to optimize disk space (e.g. you can enable optimization of the iTunes library, you can move files to iCloud etc. ); by clicking on the Trash tab you can view the contents of the trash and empty it; by going to the Documents tab you can identify the documents that take up the most space and remove them, and so on. For more information, read my tutorial dedicated to cleaning your Mac .

CCleaner (Windows / macOS)

Won't the solutions already included in Windows and macOS convince you? Would you prefer to turn to some alternative tool? Said, done: try CCleaner . In case you have never heard of it, let me tell you that it is an all-in-one solution useful for clearing temporary files, clearing the internet cache, deleting the download history and much more. It can be downloaded and used for free, but it is also available in a paid version (with a base cost of € 19.95) with extra features, such as automatic monitoring of unnecessary files.

CCleaner

If you are using macOS , on the other hand, after visiting the CCleaner website, press the Download button located under the Free column . Once the download is complete, open the .dmg package obtained, drag the program icon to the macOS Applications folder  , right click on it and select the Open item from the menu that appears, in order to circumvent the limitations imposed by Apple to applications from non-certified developers (operation that must be performed only at the first start).

Now that you see the CCleaner window, to delete all temporary and / or superfluous files on the hard disk of your computer, go to the Cleaning / Cleaner tab and press the Analyze / Analyze button to start a scan of the hard disk.

Once the analysis procedure is complete, you will be able to view the list of all the files no longer useful found by the program and the amount of space occupied by them: to get rid of them, first click on the Start cleaning / Run Cleaner button and then on the  OK button .

I also point out that, by going in advance in the Windows / Mac OS X and Applications / Applications tabs located in the left part of the CCleaner window, you can choose which temporary files to find. If you're not sure where to put your hands, however, leave the default items selected. For more information about how CCleaner works, read my dedicated guide .

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