Thread: Is the computer really busy?

On checking Task manager, I found that the CPU column showed '00' for all items except the very last item labelled System Idle Process. This was very active and was frequently listed as 99. Is there anything wrong?

There is nothing wrong, even though it looks like the sums don't add up. The System Idle Process is what the processor does when there are no other jobs to do. It does not count towards the CPU column because it is not really a task. If the computer is still slow, the problem is elsewhere, most likely with the hard disk, so make sure that it has been defragmented and that at least 10 per cent of the disk's capacity is free.

The other important figure on Task Manager is Commit Charge, this is shown on the right of the bottom status bar in Task Manager. It shows the amount of memory in use and how much is available, for example 846M12441M. If the first figure is close to the second, the computer is running out of memory. Shut down any running programs that you are not using to free up memory. This can also happen when there are too many tabs open in an internet browser.