If our computer does not stand out, precisely, because it is the latest generation and it is increasingly difficult for it to run, and the budget does not contemplate a short-term renovation, we must fine-tune all the Windows configuration options to the maximum to avoid wasting resources that we can allocate to other tasks or to the system itself.
All browsers, once we stop using them by clicking on X of the application, always remain in the background waiting to be invoked again. By remaining in the background, they reduce response time, creating the false sensation of being very fast in their execution.
How many resources do they consume?
Any application that runs in the background is consuming resources, resources that can be very valuable in computers where the specifications are fair and necessary to be able to move the operating system with ease.
If we do not close the applications that we have stopped using, whether they are browsers or other applications, the device’s RAM memory fills up until a time comes when the computer must use the storage unit to use it as virtual memory.
If we have a hard drive, the computer will slow down, since the reading and writing speed of hard drives is much lower than that found in SSDs. In addition, the applications will not work as smoothly as when using only the device’s RAM memory.
Stop Chrome from running in the background
Despite the fact that Chrome is the most widely used browser in the world, it has always been characterized by being a devourer of resources with practically no limits, especially when the number of open tabs is very high and regardless of whether it is in the first place. or background running on your computer.
Google, like other browsers, starts every time we start our computer, in order to reduce the waiting time for the user when they request its services by clicking on its icon or on a link if this is the default Windows browser.
When we close Chrome from the corresponding X, located at the top right of the application, the browser does not really close, but rather reduces resource consumption by staying in memory waiting to meet the needs of users. Fortunately, Google allows us to completely remove the application from the list of processes that are running in the background.
We can carry out this process directly through the browser configuration options or by accessing the Task Manager.
From the configuration options
First of all, we open Chrome and go to the browser settings by typing the following command in the address bar
chrome://settings
Next, we look for the System section, located in the left column and deactivate the switch Keep running applications in the background when I close Google Chrome.
Via Task Manager
Closing Chrome completely from the task manager is the best method to ensure that the application has really stopped working in the background, since it disappears from the list of applications that are currently running and that are shown in the Windows processes .
To access the Task Manager, press the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys and in the blue window that appears, click on Task Manager. In the window shown below, within the Processes tab, we hover the mouse over Chrome and finally, click on the End task button located in the lower right corner.
with a script
The fastest method to completely close Chrome is by creating a script that we can run from both the taskbar and the desktop. To create this script we are going to use the Notepad application and we will save the file with the name we want (it doesn’t matter) but with the extension “.bat” without the quotes.
Inside this file, we must write
taskkill /F /IM chrome.exe
Completely close Firefox when you stop using it
If we want to completely close Firefox and prevent it from running in the background, we have three options to carry out this process, options that we show you below.
Using Task Manager
First of all, we must access the Task Manager, press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys (there are other methods, but this is the fastest). In the blue window that appears, click on Task Manager.
Next, in the window that appears, within the Processes tab, we place the mouse over Firefox and click on the End task button located in the lower right corner to prevent it from running in the background.
with a script
Just like we can use a script to close Chrome, we can also use it to close Firefox. We will use notepad to create a document that we will save with a .bat extension and that will include the following text.
taskkill /F /IM firefox.exe
We can also run the command from CMD by opening it with Administrator permissions and running it.
Reduce resource consumption by closing Edge completely
Edge is the default Windows browser, but it’s so much more, as it’s also the system foundation of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Fortunately, Microsoft allows users to separate how it works, when it’s operating as a browser and as a system foundation, in this way, it offers the option to completely close the browser functionality.
Edge is based on Chromium, so like Chrome, it also continues to run in the background despite closing it by clicking on the X of the program. Like to close Chrome, we have three different options, to close Edge, we can use the same ones.
From the browser
Once we have opened the browser, click on the 3 horizontal points located in the upper right corner and access the configuration options. Next, in the left column, click on System. In the section on the right, we turn off the switch Keep running extensions and apps in the background when Microsoft Edge is closed.
With Task Manager
To ensure that Edge closes completely, the easiest and safest option is to use the Task Manager, which we can access using the Control + Shift + Delete key combination and in the window that appears, click on Task Manager.
Next, in the Processes tab, we select Edge with the mouse and finally click the End task button located in the lower corner of that window to close Edge and all its background activity.
Using a script
Another method that we have available to quickly close Edge and remove it from background processes is to use the command by running CMD with administrator permissions.
taskkill /F /IM edge.exe
We can create an executable file with this command using notepad and save it with any name, but using the “.bat” extension without the quotes. Next, we can create a taskbar or desktop shortcut so that we can close Edge with two mouse clicks.
