It appears that the longer you own your computer, the slower it gets! A lot of folks will keep their pc until it gets so slow that they feel they want a newer, quicker model. Some feel like the reason it's getting slower is simply because it is getting older, when which is just not the case. Your computer should run just as quickly as the day you brought it residence should you follow these 10 Easy Actions to Speed Up Your Computer just like the pros at computer repair business.
Empty the Temp directory regularly. Each time you launch a program, it creates a temporary file, until you either save or close the file. The reason it does this is in case your program crashes or gets turned off (just before saving the file), it'll be feasible to recover the unsaved file you had been working on. This is really a great idea, but rarely works. Each time your system crashes, locks up, or gets turned off although you've open files, these temp files get created and just sit there inside the Temp directory. Then, each and every time you launch a program, it looks via all of the temp files (to see if 1 requirements to be recovered) and slows the open method, and in some rare circumstances, even locks up when attempting to launch. In any event, the launch method is slowed.Other methods of getting unneeded temp files is by installing programs. Most programs that get installed extract temp files (needed throughout the installation) to the temp directory, but a lot of times don't get deleted when the installation is total.Windows also uses the temp directory for its temp files, for recovery purposes and ongoing use.Following a short whilst, the temp directory fills up with hundreds (and I've even observed thousands) of temp files that always get scanned over when Windows starts up and when programs launch. This slows every thing down immensely.Rule of thumb for Temp Files: If you don't have any programs open (and absolutely nothing minimized inside the bar below), then you shouldn't have ANY temp files within your temp directory. In the event you do, delete them.To delete Temp files, make certain NO programs are open, and…
In Windows 95, 98 or Me, go to C:\Windows\Temp and delete every thing inside the Temp folder.
In Windows 2000 or XP, it really is a bit trickier. Very first, make sure that you can see hidden folders. Double-click My Computer. Click on the Tools pull-down menu, and then on Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Scroll down and click on Show Hidden Files and Folders. Click Ok. Now you'll be able to go to the C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp folder. Delete every thing here. Also, look within the C:\Windows(or Winnt)\Temp or Tmp folders. Delete every thing here, too. Note: this assumes that your logon ID is Administrator. If the principal account is not Administrator, or if there are a lot more than one account, substitute “Administrator" for the account names, and delete the temp files from all of the C:\Documents and Settings\(account name)\Local Settings\Temp folders.
Empty the Temporary World wide web Files frequently. This is comparable to the Temp directory, but for images and cookies whilst browsing internet sites. Each time you go to a site, your browser will look by means of your list of temporary Web files, to see when you have all of the images necessary to view your requested internet page. If it's a extremely lengthy list, it'll delay your view time. Nevertheless, if you have a dial-up, this is the lesser of two evils. In the event you already have the needed images, it really is quicker (for a dial-up) to look by means of your temporary World wide web files, than to download new images each time you visit a site.On the other hand, if you have a broadband World wide web connection (highspeed CableModem, DSL, Wireless, etc.), and you want a bit a lot more snap within your surfing, then you need to delete your Temporary World wide web Files on a normal basis, and select to Check for Newer Images on Each Visit to a web page.To empty Temporary Web Files, go to your Control Panel, by click on the Start\Settings\Control Panel (or in Windows XP, just Start\Control Panel) and double-click the web Choices icon. Pick to Delete Cookies, and to Delete Files. This can clear all of your Temporary Web Files.To have Internet Explorer usually check for new images and content on each go to to a internet page, to the correct of the Delete Files button, is the Settings button. Click this button and select Each Visit to the Internet Page. This alternative by no means has Web Explorer look by means of your Temporary World wide web Files to see should you already have the images required. This way, Web Explorer will just automatically download every image, each time, without looking by means of a list. When you have a good World wide web connection, this is the far better way to go. Do not forget to delete your Temporary Web Files every when in a while (see above).
Check your difficult disks for issues. You will find two different kinds of disk checks: 1 is a file check, which checks the state of your operating system, checks all of your files, your file structure, and other software checks. If you'll find software program difficulties (like a corrupt FAT (file allocation table), etc., this check will attempt to fix it. The other is a physical hardware disk check. This checks the surface of your difficult disks, to see if you will find poor sectors (sections) of your hard drive, to see if your drive is physically experiencing issues. This disk check will attempt to repair the poor sectors, but if it can't, it will mark the sector as poor and attempt to move the file(s) or file “pieces" to a good sector(s) of the disk. By marking the sector as bad, it knows not to write any future files to this section of the difficult drive.To run a disk check (or scan disk), here are the steps:
For Windows 95, 98, or Me, double-click My Pc. Right-click the C-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to check the pc for issues. Should you select to do a Thorough Scan, this can do the hardware check for physical disk damage or sector damage. Otherwise, the Standard Scan does the software file check. In either case, you'll be able to choose to have the scan automatically fix any errors it finds. The Thorough Scan does take very a bit longer. You may wish to let this run over night. Only do the Thorough Scan once you think there might be a issue with your drive itself, or in the event you haven't run it in a few months, otherwise, run the Standard Scan once a week or so.
For Windows 2000 and XP, double-click My Pc. Right-click the C-drive and click Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose to check the computer for issues. Click on Check Now. You'll then have two check boxes. The top choice is for the file check, as well as the second alternative is for the hardware (physical disk) check. Check either 1, or both. At the very least check the leading one. Once more, in the event you believe you could be having issues with the hard disk itself, then check the second 1, also. And just like the Windows 98 Thorough Scan, this may take quite a bit longer to run, so let it run over night. One thing, although: For Windows 2000 and XP, you won't have the ability to run the check correct then. Following clicking the Start button (once the check boxes are checked), you will have to reboot to run the disk check. It'll ask you if you want the system to run the CHKDSK on reboot. Choose Yes and reboot. Just just before getting back into Windows, the program will do its CHKDSK, and depending on which alternatives you chose, will take either a few minutes, and occasionally up to an hour or so, to run. Let it run.
An even more thorough disk check (and tune-up), could be to make use of a 3rd party utility (a stand-alone program outside of Windows) to check everything for you, automatically. 1 of my favorites is TuneUp Utilities 2004. It expenses $39.99, but they do provide a Free of charge download trial of 15 days, to check it out to see if it speeds up your personal computer and/or fixes any issues. This program does a actually excellent job of not only checking your computer's file structure, master boot record, file allocation table, and files, but also an incredibly excellent job of detecting and fixing poor sectors of your physical disk drives. And not only that, it also tunes up your program for increased speed, checks and cleans your registry, adjusts memory for you, tweaks your Internet settings for faster downloads and browsing (whether you use a dial-up or broadband), and streamlines your operating program for peak performance. I extremely advise this program. If you don't have it, you can download it HERE.
In the event you do not desire to get the TuneUp Utilities 2004, you can do a couple of of the performance tweaks yourself, for those who have Windows XP. By default, Everything is turned on in Windows XP. It is not extremely streamlined for performance, but rather for appearance. You'll be able to turn off several of the unnecessary attributes, and Windows will still work just fine, and possibly just a little faster.To do this, right-click on My Personal computer and click on Properties. Click on the Advanced tab. Under the Performance section, click on the Settings button. On the Visual Effects tab, you'll see a list of check boxes. By default, these are all on. You actually don't require any of them. If you choose one of the radio buttons at the leading, say, Adjust for Finest Performance, then all the check boxes will turn off. This will noticeably speed up your personal computer. You are able to go by means of the check boxes one by 1, and figure out which ones you'll be able to and can't live without having. The one that will make the biggest effect is the really last one in the list. This is the Themes. In the event you turn it off, it'll totally free up lots of program resources and give you very a bit more memory to work with, but Windows XP will look more like Windows 2000. For most people, this is not a issue. It's all eye-candy, anyway. Your fairly green pasture picture will disappear your pretty green and blue buttons and job bar will go to a gray. Should you can live with these issues, then you'll have much much more performance. You will find that menus open up much a lot more quickly and everything responds much more instantly.
Turn off Active Desktop. Active Desktop turns your desktop into a internet page, and enables you to have points like a real-time calendar, and up-to-the-minute weather or stocks. These things are actually neat, but your program takes a performance hit when they are running within the background all the time. And even in the event you do not use Active Desktop for anything, just having it active can trigger a performance decrease. Turn it off.
In Windows 95, 98 and Me, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, select Active Desktop. Inside that alternative, uncheck Active Desktop. If there's no check next to it, then it is not on. Don't choose it. Instead, just click the desktop once more to get out of the menu.
In Windows 2000, right-click on the desktop and inside the pop-up menu, choose Active Desktop. Inside that alternative, uncheck Show Internet Content. Again, if there's no check next to it, then it is not on. Do not check it.
In Windows XP, right-click on the desktop and within the pop-up menu, pick Properties. On the Desktop tab, choose Customize Desktop. Now, on the Internet tab, ensure that there are no internet sites chosen here. If there aren't any, then Active Desktop isn't on. Cancel and go back to the desktop.
Install and run an excellent AntiVirus program (regularly) to keep out viruses and Trojan horses that may take over your system. For those who have a virus(s), your program performance could be dramatically decreased. Viruses can do all kinds of nasty points to your pc. They can take over your pc, erase your hard drive, use your pc as a server, provide you with a bunch of illegal music or programs and tell all of their friends to download it all from you leaving you holding the bag and supplying the computer space and bandwidth for their hobby. So, safeguard yourself with a excellent AntiVirus program. One of my favorites is AVG. It is not only a actually great AntiVirus program, however it is also Totally free! Should you do not have any AntiVirus software on your personal computer, get AVG AntiVirus NOW by downloading HERE. If you already have an AntiVirus program, and you need to use AVG instead, don't install AVG. First, uninstall your existing AntiVirus program, reboot and install AVG. You do not wish to have two AntiVirus programs installed at the exact same time. They are going to work against each other and can trigger difficulties.
Get rid of Spyware. A lot of personal computer users have Spyware and don't even know they've it, much much less the best way to get rid of it. If your pc has been taking you to websites that you don't want to go to, or should you get pop-ups when you are not even online, or if your personal computer has been running extremely slowly lately, for no reason, you probably have Spyware.On all the computers that I setup, I install two various AntiSpyware programs: AdAware SE and SpyBot. These two programs are extremely recommended by TechTV (G4) as well as other personal computer authorities (such as my own study on Spyware) and work very well together. They compliment one another and catch Spyware that the other misses, but together, do a really excellent job.SpyBot isn't only an excellent program for obtaining rid of Spyware, but also as a preventative Spyware-catcher. It sits there and looks for recognized Spyware coming into your program, in addition to suspicious-looking content. In the event you use the Tea-Timer feature, it could be just a little annoying, but ANY suspicious-looking program, attempting to be installed on your system, is flagged and your permission is asked for it to be installed (now and always). Should you do not have this program installed on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE. Download all updates and run the Immunize option a couple of times (for preventative purposes). Scan with it every day if you can.AdAware SE has just a little much better Spyware database in it, but is not setup as a preventative AntiSpyware program. It does do a great job whenever you maintain up on the updates and manually scan your system with AdAware. Should you don't have this program on your pc, get it NOW by downloading HERE. Download all updates and run the Intelligent Scan every day (if not, a minimum of weekly).If, after downloading and installing, updating, and running both of these AntiSpyware program, you still cannot get rid of your Spyware, you might must enlist the services of a professional. Some Spyware is so intelligent that it looks to see if AntiSpyware programs delete the Spyware part of its programming and, if it is gone, reinserts it back in location. This can be extremely frustrating for the user (and in some instances, even for the expert). You'll find stronger measures that will be taken to get rid of the Spyware, in cases like this, but can be extremely devastating to the user's pc, if not handled perfectly. At this point, leave it to the professional. Call a neighborhood computer repair business and have them come out to your house or company and get rid of the Spyware for you.In some cases, when the Spyware has become too entwined into your system, even a computer repair technician cannot get rid of the Spyware. At this point, it really is better to just backup only what you'll need and have the operating program reinstalled. Think me, when your pc gets to this point, you don't desire to just put a “band-aid" on it. Just begin from scratch having a clean program. It's the very best way to go.
Streamline MSCONFIG. One thing that actually causes a Massive performance decrease would be to have unnecessary programs running within the background. Some of these programs may be observed in your System Tray (located next to the clock, within the lower-right corner of your screen). These are tiny programs which are robbing you of memory and processing power. Some of them you need, while most you do not. A few of the programs you Don't want are printer icons, CD burning icons, shortcuts to programs (such as video settings), AOL, any Instant Messaging Programs, etc. Just because these programs aren't usually running, does not mean that you still cannot print, burn CDs or Instant Message. They can be run whenever you require them, from a shortcut.You'll be able to use a utility, known as MSCONFIG, to turn OFF unnecessary Begin Up items.
In Windows 98, Me, and XP, click on Start\Run and kind msconfig. Click on the Startup tab. This can be a list of every thing that's running in the background, some of which show up inside the Program Tray. Now, be careful, some of these you do require. Some items to keep are Ctfmon.exe (XP), Scan Registry (Win98, Me), Job Monitor (Win98, Me), System Tray (Win98, Me), LoadPowerProfile (Win98, Me), Rundll.32, any AntiVirus programs (such as McAfee, Norton, or AVG). Other people, you are able to uncheck, like NeroCheck, ypager, qttask, AOL, and any other Instant Messaging programs, or printing programs. Bear in mind, if something does not work, simply because you turned it off, it can always be turned back on. You just need to reboot every time you make a alter here. But, as you uncheck the unnecessary programs that run in the background, you will see that Windows loads a lot faster, that you will find less icons in the System Tray, and that your program is a lot much more “snappy" and speedy to respond.
In Windows 2000, MSCONFIG wasn't supplied. You truly need to download and run an MSCONFIG utility. Here can be a website that will let you download the MSCONFIG utility. Click HERE to Download. And should you copy it into your C:\Windows(or Winnt)\System32 folder, you are able to access it the exact same way as Windows 98 or XP (by the Run command in the Start menu). Or, you'll be able to just double-click it and use it that way, too. See above for what to leave checked and unchecked.Following you reboot, you will have a window that says that the configuration utility was edited. Just check not to show that within the future, a check box at the bottom.This just indicates that there was a change made to the MSCONFIG.
Defragment your tough drives. If you have in no way carried out this, or it has been a few months because the last time, this step is among the most essential points that can give you more performance. As you use your personal computer, your drives become fragmented, by developing and deleting files. Just simply because a file is 10mb in size, doesn't mean that it's sitting there on the drive (all 10mb) all in 1 spot on the drive. It fills in from the inside of the drive, outward, as the drive finds room. So your one file may be in pieces, in a number of spots on the hard drive. Don't be concerned, your file allocation table keeps track of where the pieces are, however, it takes longer to access a file that is in pieces (fragmented), than a file that is all in one spot on the difficult drive. This is where defragmenting comes in. When you defragment your difficult drive, this method copies all the pieces to temporary spots on the tough drive, and then fills in all of the files (in their entirety) from the inside, out, to ensure that no files are split into pieces. This significantly speeds up the seek time, in addition to speeds up the use of your files and programs. NOTE: to efficiently defragment a tough drive, it likes to have 25% free space. It can still do the defragmentation with only 15% totally free space, but it takes quite a bit longer. If you can, delete any unnecessary files before degramenting your drives.
To defragment your tough drives (in any Windows operating program), double-click on My Computer. Right-click on the c-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose the bottom button, to Defragment Now… Click on the proper drive, and then on Defragment. This can take some time. Depending on your processing power, the amount of RAM you've got available, the size and speed of your drive, along with a few other things, this process can take 20 minutes, or hours. It really is finest to let this one run over night, as well, however it is well worth it.
