@ Dertien
A simplest way is to use FS Autostart... You can leave your PC setup as it is, FS Autostart will stop all programs and services (you define once for all what you want to stop) and will defrag memory. You usually free around 100 megs RAM in the process.
Once you exit the game, it will restart all the progs and services and you're back with your usual config.
I use it for all my games and it's very useful (and free...

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