Chrome

[KYBH4Life]

I have 35 processes running but a lot more, 4x more, services running. Right now only 2 tabs open.

It DOES NOT like to multi-task where I have a couple windows open, Word, and Excel, then it's mind-numbing slow

[drakeshooter]

...Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm hearing you either have Vista or IE8, not both. Like I said, I'm not sure. I'm all ears if you have any suggestions

Vista, like 98, ME, 2000, XP, Windows 8, etc., is an operating system. IE8, like Chrome, Firefox, etc., is a web browser. Yes, you can run Internet Explorer on Vista, as far as I know and would assume thats the setup recommended by MS for the Vista OS. I prefer Firefox for my web browser and XP for my OS.

[120+]

I have 35 processes running but a lot more, 4x more, services running. Right now only 2 tabs open.

It DOES NOT like to multi-task where I have a couple windows open, Word, and Excel, then it's mind-numbing slow

35 isn't bad at all. How much memory do you have?

[AteUp]

ram is one of the easiest things to upgrade on your computer, even for a noob.

[KYBH4Life]

35 isn't bad at all. How much memory do you have?

I checked that number again and I have 32 running at the moment but if I click on "Show processes from all users", I have 85 processes running

4 GB memory "DDR2", whatever that means

640 GB hard drive

[120+]

I checked that number again and I have 32 running at the moment but if I click on "Show processes from all users", I have 85 processes running

4 GB memory "DDR2", whatever that means

640 GB hard drive

I should have told you to click that box but didn't think about it since you are a single user.

85 is high and likely the reason you are lagging. You might want to give the services and startup another look under msconfig. You have to have some nonessential programs running.

[ptbrauch]

With that much memory, you shouldn't need a new computer. You've got something on there that's slowing you down.

[keith meador]

What should system idle process be? Mine shows 99....and what is system idle process?

[120+]

What should system idle process be? Mine shows 99....and what is system idle process?

That basically means your processor is 99% free. That's normal when you aren't doing anything.
Open a program while watching the processor in task manager. You'll see a spike in use while it's opening.

Sometimes, or I should say most of the time, it's the memory use that really drags you down.

[DRS]

I tried "Chrome" once and found it much slower than Windows 7, which is what I use. Also Chrome was harder to use & I heard rumors that if you use Chrome then Google can monitor which websites you visit.