too many applications running

[Guest]

I own a Gateway laptop with 1G of memory. Recently I downloaded I-tunes, and
I have been having problems running it, as it freezes up and runs very very
slow. I checked my application and processes box, and the number "53" was
visible, which I'm told is way too high for this computer. Best Buy wants
money to "tune up" my laptop, and to get rid of useless applications that are
running. Can I do this myself? And how do I know which applications to shut
down? Or should I just buy more memory? Thanks for any thoughts on this.
cathi

 

[Ted Zieglar]

If you have 53 applications open at the same time, that may be a world
record.

If you have 53 processes running you should know that the number 53 by
itself is meaningless. What matters is what those 53 processes do. There is
no 'correct' number for processes.

You absolutely can and should learn how to maintain and tune your computer.
A PC is like anything else: It needs maintenance. Your only real problem is
that there is so much good information on the internet about maintaining a
PC that you're going to feel overwhelmed. The other problem is that there is
a great deal of misunderstanding as well, and you will come across plenty of
advice that's silly at best and damaging to your computer at worst.

The very first thing every computer needs to learn is how to backup theirr
data, so that when problems happen, you'll never lose your data.

The next thing every computer user needs to learn is how to protect their
computer from the dangers of the internet. There are worse places to start
than Microsoft's own web site:

"Protect Your PC"
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

Then you can learn about maintaining your PC, about which there are many
opinions. So instead of listening to a crackpot like me who you don't know
from Adam, get yourself to the web sites of the major PC magazines and
follow the advice of the professionals. You could start with PC Magazine
(www.pcmag.com) or CNet (www.cnet.com).