Slow Computers Can Cause Stress - Try Seven Ways to Speed Up Your PC

Slow computers can cause stress and frustration in the fast-paced business world. Did you know that very soon after you start using your computer it begins to slow down and loses that responsive, "fresh out of the box" sort of feel.

You've just started up your new super-speed, top of the range computer. You start surfing the internet, downloading a few new programs to try out and then a few weeks later you're working away and you notice it just doesn't seem as fast as it was before.

If that's ever happened to you, then there are a few things you should know which I'll be covering in this article that will get the pep back into your PC. Seven Steps to Sharpen up your PC:

Step 1: Clean up any Adware and scumware
Free programs on the internet are not always what they seem. Often the sting in the tail is, the behind the scenes, installing of Adware or Scumware as it's sometimes known. This usually consists of programs that run in the background and serve popup adverts with various offerings which can be targeted to match your surfing preferences. These programs take up valuable system resources and should be cleaned out. The complete article with instructions is available for free download here. http://www.pcsandthings.com/new-seven-steps.htm

Step Two: Clean out your start-up files
Nearly every program you load on your computer wants to be top dog. By that I mean when you install the program it usually sets itself up in your startup list so that it supposedly makes it quicker for you to access the program when you need it.

This means that whenever you start up your computer the programs installs itself automatically into main memory whether you are going to use it or not and just takes up valuable resources that could be better utilised by programs you are using right now.

It may be ok if it was one or two programs running but when you have a large number things become numbingly slow. The more you have running that you are not using, the more memory will be taken up and the slower and less stable the system will be. You will notice a definite improvement in start-up speed and general running when these are removed.

Step Three: Uninstall any old programs that are no longer used
Windows registry is the section of windows that contains all the information relating to your system and software. As time goes by it can get extremely bloated and even if you are not using the old programs anymore, the time taken to search through registry is increased. Uninstalling the programs rather than just deleting the files will ensure that the entries in the registry are removed and this helps keep the registry size under control.

Step Four: Invest in a good antivirus program
Invest in a good antivirus program and keep it regularly updated. Having a virus on your system can not only play havoc with your system speed but can lead to more serious problems and data loss.

Step Five: Delete or uninstall unwanted fonts
When Windows loads it installs all available fonts. This not only takes up space but also valuable time. Deleting or uninstalling fonts that you will never use will help streamline things a bit more.

Step Six: Optimise your system
A few basic pointers such as optimising your hard drive, floppy disc, Internet explorer cache size etc will prove useful in the quest for a speed boost.

Step Seven: Defragment your hard drive regularly
De-what, my hard drive? I might hear you say. Sounds a bit severe but it's something that should be done fairly regularly. Your computer works efficiently when the data it takes from the hard drive to process in memory is all in one place and doesn't take very long to fetch. After using your computer for a while, related files get broken up into fragments and are scattered all over the disc. This happens in normal use and it can significantly increase the time it takes to collect it all up.

A bit like you going to another room to fetch your files from a filing cabinet and if they were all together it would be easy to collect them. If on the other hand they were in different cabinets all dotted around the room then you get the idea. Defragmenting is best done last after the other steps above as removing files and clutter will leave gaps that can then be put back together for normal use.

Carrying out the above actions will help keep your PC running faster, more stable and hopefully less crashes causing you less stress and frustration from lost work. So get started now and clean up your PC and make it a habit to do it regularly and keep your system running at peak performance. And don't forget one of the most cost effective upgrades you can do to your PC at the moment is to add some more Memory (RAM).

The full article is available here. http://www.pcsandthings.com/new-seven-steps.htm

Dave Fraser makes it easy for beginners to learn about their computers in less technical terms. For more Free tips and tricks to make your computing experience better, visit http://www.pcsandthings.com and sign up for our free newsletter.

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