Many games and media editing programs will take 100% of your CPU while running. This is normal behavior, as these programs are designed to be the only thing you’re using while it’s running.

In Windows 8, you will be able to see the full program name instead of the process’s system name. This will make determining what it is much easier.

In Windows 8, the button is End task. Force-quitting a program will cause any unsaved work in the program to be lost. Force quitting a system process may cause your computer to not work until it is rebooted. There is no need to force-quit “System Idle Process”. If this is the process taking up your CPU, it is not actually using it. When System Idle Process is using a lot of CPU, it actually means that your computer has a lot of processing power available. If you are having difficulty force-quitting a program, click here for more advanced methods.

In Windows 8, the button is End task. Force-quitting a program will cause any unsaved work in the program to be lost. Force quitting a system process may cause your computer to not work until it is rebooted. There is no need to force-quit “System Idle Process”. If this is the process taking up your CPU, it is not actually using it. When System Idle Process is using a lot of CPU, it actually means that your computer has a lot of processing power available. If you are having difficulty force-quitting a program, click here for more advanced methods.

Uninstall - If the program isn’t a necessary one, uninstalling it may be the easiest way to keep it from bogging down your system. Reinstall or update - Sometimes a bug in the program is causing it to take up all of your CPU. Reinstalling the program or applying an update from the developer may fix the problems you are experiencing. Remove the program from your startup sequence - If the program is causing your computer to boot slowly, but you need it installed, you can prevent it from starting when your computer does. Run virus and malware scans - If your research shows that the program is malicious, you may need to remove it using an antivirus or antimalware program. This can be a complicated process and you may not be able to remove the virus without reinstalling Windows. Click here for instructions on removing viruses, and click here for instructions on removing malware and adware. [2] X Research source

Open the Control Panel and select “Power Options”. If you don’t see this option, click “Hardware and Sound” and then select “Power Options”. Click the “Show additional plans” option to expand the list. Select “High performance”. Your processor’s entire capability will be unlocked if it wasn’t already.

Click here for instructions on upgrading your RAM. Adding RAM can take some of the stress off of your processor. Click here for instructions on upgrading your processor.

The Activity Monitor displays all of the processes currently running on your Mac.

A lot of media editing programs will take 100% of your CPU while they are running, especially if you are encoding, recording, or rendering. This is normal behavior, as these programs are designed to take full advantage of your processor.

Force-quitting a program will cause any unsaved work in the program to be lost. Force quitting a system process may cause your computer to not work until it is rebooted. If you are having difficulty ending the process, click here for more advanced methods.

Uninstall - If the program isn’t a necessary one, uninstalling it may be the easiest way to keep it from bogging down your system. Reinstall or update - Sometimes a bug in the program is causing it to take up all of your CPU. Reinstalling the program or applying an update from the developer may fix the problems you are experiencing. Remove the program from your startup sequence - If the program is causing your computer to boot slowly, but you need it installed, you can prevent it from starting when your computer does. Run virus and malware scans - If your research shows that the program is malicious, you may need to remove it using an antivirus or antimalware program. Viruses aren’t very common for Macs, but they do exist. Adware is a much more common problem, and these programs can put a big strain on your processor. One of the best anti-adware tools is AdWare Medic, which you can get for free from adwaremedic. com.

Click here for instructions on upgrading your RAM. Adding RAM can take some of the stress off of your processor.