Photo: Wachiwit (Shutterstock)
Normally we frown upon “PC cleaner” apps like CCleaner because they tend to do little more than help you find the same cleanup options already built into your computer (sometimes for a fee). However, we can make an exception for PC Manager, because it’s built by Microsoft itself, and it works really well.
PC Manager is in beta right now, but you can check it out early to see if it does the job for your computer. It runs on Windows 10 1809 and newer versions of the operating system. Fair warning: its download page is in Mandarin, but the installer and app both automatically default to English. The app appears to be targeted at the PC market in China, but it works perfectly well no matter where you’re located, and it is indeed legit.
Screenshot: Pranay Parab
PC Manager offers a simple UI to help you find and fix common issues slowing down your computer. For instance: Click the Startup apps button to stop some apps from launching when your computer starts. The Process management option lets you check the memory usage of running apps, and allows you to quit these apps in one click.
The most useful option is Boost, which immediately frees up RAM and clears temporary files from your computer. In our test, RAM usage reduced from 62% to 45% after clicking this button, while Firefox’s memory usage went from 1.9GB to 412MB. This is a good, if temporary, fix to speed up your computer.
The app also has a Storage Manager option that lets you find and remove large files or junk files, linking to Windows’ built-in uninstaller and Storage Sense features, while the Security tab lets you quickly check for Windows updates and run a malware scan. Yes, these options are available in various other places on Windows, but PC Manager makes it easy to find them all at once.
The app isn’t perfect—it could use a couple of extra features, such as the option to remove the leftover files that linger even after you’ve uninstalled certain apps. Nevertheless, it’s a good (free) option to speed up your slow computer or help troubleshoot a family member’s machine. Most importantly, it comes from a developer you can trust, which means it’s unlikely to shove ads and malware onto your PC.
