How to Activate a Second Processor
- 1). Enter your account password, if your computer is password protected, then press "Enter". Password protecting your computer is heavily recommended if this is your work computer or if your personal computer is in a shared space.
- 2). Left-click on the "Start" button in the lower lefthand of the screen. There is a search box in your Start menu, near the bottom. The search bar looks just like the search bar in your browser. Type "Run" in that text box and then press "Enter". This brings up a command line interface that allows you to access some of the deeper functions of the Windows operating system. Type "msconfig" in the text entry area and then press "Enter" again. Left-click on the boot tab at the top of the menu, then left-click on the "Advanced Options" button.
- 3). Locate the "Number of Processors" box in the menu. Left-click on the empty box to check it and then turn the number from "1" to "2" in the menu next to it. Your second processor is now activated but cannot be "seen" by the computer, and used, until you restart the computer.
- 4). Restart your computer to allow for the new hardware to be "seen" by the computer. The boot time should even speed up as the two processors will be able to process all the initial startup routines twice as quickly.