One of the main reasons why people buy new computers is because they feel that their old one is acting a little sluggish. Usually the slowness can be corrected with a few tweaks and cleanup procedures. The tips below can help keep your machine running smoothly and may also help you save on energy and repair costs.
1. Remove unnecessary programs from Windows startup.
There are usually several software programs that load unnecessarily during startup taxes your memory and processing power. Use MSCONFIG to remove those programs and services from startup and you may see an increase in performance.
For more details on how to use MSCONFIG, go to http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/index.html. WARNING: Use these recommendations at your own risk!
2. Defragment your hard drive.
Over time and use, the data on your computer's hard drive will become fragmented. Simply explained, your data becomes "scattered" all over the hard drive which causes the system to run slower because it has to spend more time finding the data that you asked it to work with. Defragging your hard drive can speed your system up by organizing that data on the hard drive in a way that is more quickly accessed.
For Windows XP Users, the most common method of defragging your hard drive is as follows:
1. Open My Computer.
2. Right-click the local disk volume that you want to defragment, and then click Properties.
3. On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now.
4. Click Defragment.
3. Clear out the old stuff.
Just as your garage can accumulate a lot of junk so can your PC. Your hard drive can get loaded down with a lot of stuff, such as old downloads, old programs or games that you rarely, if ever use, temporary internet files, etc. It's time to have a Technology "Garage Sale" and clean out that stuff and make some more room. If you never use that game or program, uninstall it. Delete old downloads; you may try sorting your files by size to see what is taking up the most room. And please clear out your temporary internet files. Here are the Internet Explorer instructions
1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. The Internet Options box should open to the General tab.
2. On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button.
(In Windows Vista and Windows 7 it should be under Browsing History under the General tab.
John Davison is the owner of
Fort Worth Technology Services which specializes in assisting Small Businesses with IT Consulting needs. Fort Worth Technology Services also offers
Computer Repair, Network Design and Installation and Microsoft Small Business Server solutions.
