Hello everyone,

The other day I was doing some diagnostics on an older AMD dual core laptop. I was checking out the memory using MemTest 86 ( great little memory testing tool), when I noticed that only one core was being used. Dual-core processors include two CPU’s on one die and can, in some cases, double your system’s processing power. However, if you have a dual-core CPU, you must ensure that Windows is utilizing both cores to enable the system to run at its optimal speed. Here is the fix:

1. Press “Windows+R” to open a Run dialogue box. Type “msconfig” in the “Open” field and press “Enter.” The System Configuration window opens.
2. Click the “Boot” tab, then click the “Advanced Options” button. The BOOT Advanced Options window opens.
3. Click the check box labeled “Number of processors” to place a check mark inside it.
4. Click the drop-down list below the “Number of processors” label, then select “2.”
5. Click “OK” to close the BOOT Advanced Options window, then click “OK” again to close the System Configuration window.
6. Exit all applications, then restart the computer. After you restart the PC, you should notice that Windows boots and opens applications faster.
7. Tip
   • You can use the System Configuration window to enable all the cores in quad-core processors as well. Simply select “4” in the “Number of processors” drop-down list instead of “2” if configuring Windows for use with a quad-core processor.

   Warning

   • If you set the “Number of processors” value to a number higher than the actual number of cores in your CPU, Windows may freeze or lock up upon restart.

Best wishes,
Randy The Tech Professor