In this article, I hope to compile a
complete list of all the different
methods and tricks that I’ve used
to get the last bit of juice out of a
slow PC. Whether you are using an
old PC or the latest and greatest
in hardware, you can still use some
of these to make your PC run
faster.
1.Run a Disk Defragment.
This will reconfigure the
way the hard drive stores
information for maximum
efficiency. Go to My
Computer , right-click the
Hard Drive and select
Properties , then go to the
Tools tab and click
Defragment Now.
2.Disk Clean Up
Simply follow these simple
instructions.
1. Double-click on My
Computer.
2. Right-click on one of your
disk drives.
3. Select properties.
4. Select Disk Cleanup
When you click this, a small
box should pop up that tells
you that it's calculating the
amount of disk space it can
clean up. This can take
several minutes depending
on how much clutter you
have on your computer.
It would be
advisable to do this about
once a month.
3. Check your hard disk space.
As a rule, you want
to keep at least 15% of
the hard disk space free to
keep the computer running
smoothly. Simply go to
My Computer , right-click
on Hard Drive , and go to
Properties . There you’ll
see a pie chart of your free
versus used space. If it’s
mostly full, you’ll want to
start by removing
unnecessary programs and
files; it it’s not, you
probably want to tackle
the actual way your
computer operates.
4.CCleaner
If your computer is anything like everyone elses, it's full of
useless junk. Your computer
automatically accumulates
it, whether you want it to or
not. Unused file fragments,
useless files and folders, old
registry files, old shortcuts,
the list goes on and on.
Although you may think you
have to go through and get
rid of it all by hand, there is
a program to do it for you.
Instead of having a cleaning
option built in to your
computer, you'll have to
download a special
program. But don't worry,
it's incredibly lightweight
(doesn't take up a lot of
space), simple-to-use, and
(best of all), virus-free. I
myself have been using it
for many years and haven't
had any problems yet.
Simply download CCleaner
and run the program.
Once you have run it, open
the program and select "Run
CCleaner." It should take a
minute or two to process
your files and see which
ones to get rid of, and then
it will delete them, clean
and simple.
Also in the program is a
registry cleaner. On the
side-bar, select the registry
cleaner and select the
cleaning button. When it
asks you if you'd like to
back up your registry files,
I'd select "yes." You can
never be too safe when it
comes to messing with your
registry, as one wrong move
will ruin your computer for
good. Run the program,
clean up all your problems,
and you'll be set!
If you want a more
professional registry cleaner,
I'd highly suggest these
registry cleaners .
Frequency: As often as you
like. I use it about once a
week and it cleans up a
good amount every time.
5. Clear your Prefetch folder.
Windows saves a file of
the program you are using
to make it start up faster.
After years of use, this
folder gets stuffed with
irrelevant programs.
Open Notepad and
type:
del C:\Windows
\Prefetch\*.* /Q
Rundll32.exe
advapi32.dll,
ProcessIdleTasks
(Copy and paste this
text to ensure you don’t
make any mistakes.)
Save as faster.bat
(the .bat extension will
run it as a batch file).
Run it! Simply double-
click the file to
initialize. In a few
moments, the
command prompt will
disappear and your
programs should run
more smoothly.
6. Bootvis
When you start up your
computer, chances are it
takes a while. What it's
doing while it's loading is
taking all of your files and
folders and putting them in
order before starting up your
computer. In order to get
these files in order and keep
them in order, download
Microsoft Bootvis and run
the program. Restart your
computer. You should see a
separate screen for the
program putting your files in
order. This will
SIGNIFICANTLY decrease
your start-up time and
make for a much faster
boot.
Frequency: Only once, it
runs by itself after you
install it.
7.Antivirus
If you search the internet,
there's a pretty high chance
that viruses are trying to
break into your computer.
This might be by "too-
good-to-be-true"
downloads, free music, or
just an average page
viewing. To protect you and
your computer, you'll need
an anti-virus. Although
there are a lot of good anti-
viruses out there, a lot of
them cost some money. If
you're willing to drop a few
bucks, check these anti-
viruses out. If not, though,
there's a great alternative.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
Download
This will cover all your anti-
virus needs, which includes
protecting you from
infection, finding infections,
and getting rid of infections.
This will GREATLY increase
the speed of your computer
if you had any viruses and
will also protect you from
any major damage.
Frequency: Only one
download, but run regular
scans.
8. Delete files you don't need .
Unless you have
very little storage space
on your computer or
simply have an abundance
of unnecessary documents,
deleting small files won’t
make much of an impact
on your computer’s
overall function. However,
any large files like movies
you never watch, photos
you don’t need, or songs
you never listen to can
really gum up the works
and should definitely be
removed.
Don’t forget to empty
your recycling bin.
9. Remove any programs you
do not use.
Go to Control
Panel > Add or Remove
Programs (or Uninstall a
Program , depending on
your operating system) to
find a master list of
programs installed on
your computer. Some
things will strike you as
useless immediately, in
which case you can
remove them right away.
Others won’t look familiar
to you and may require
you some research.
It may help to see how
often you use the
program. If you right-
click one of the column
titles above your
program list (ex. Name,
Publisher, Size,
Installed On, etc.), you
should be able to add
additional
characteristics by
which to judge your
programs. For example,
find Last Used On on
the list of options and
check it; a column
displaying the last time
you used each program
will now appear and
can also be used to
sort your programs.
Some programs will not
have been used in
years and may be
candidates for deletion.
When in doubt, don’t
remove anything you
don’t recognize; it may
be critical to the
function of your
computer – and if you
delete twelve different
things only to discover
that your computer no
longer works properly,
it will be very difficult
to determine where
exactly you went
wrong.
10. Startup Programs
running programs under the
hood that you don't need to
be running. These programs
automatically start up when
you turn your computer on
and keep running until your
computer gets turned off.
Some of these programs are
necessary, some aren't,
some are viruses that slow
your computer down. To get
to your start-up list:
1. Click on the Start menu
2. Select "Run"
3. Type in "msconfig"
without the quotes. This will
take you to what's called
your System Utility
Configuration.
4. Select the Start-up tab
and deselect any KNOWN
programs that you don't
want running in the
background.
5. For all programs you
don't know about, or aren't
sure about, go here:
Startup List
Simply type in one of your
start-up programs and read
about it and whether or not
you need it. This will help
you out significantly,
especially if you have a
virus that may be slowing
down your computer.
Frequency: I suggest doing
this once a year, or
whenever you notice an
inexplicable and sudden
decrease in computer speed.
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