Having your computer go from ‘new and speedy’ to ‘old and slow’ is a transition that everyone has experienced, probably more than once. It’s amazing how in a couple years your computer’s performance can deteriorate so rapidly. While it’s easy to blame the speed of technology, most people (me included) simply forget or aren’t aware that your computer needs ongoing maintenance. Like a car needs oil changes, tune-ups, and tire rotations, your computer needs similar servicing. While there are numerous ways to optimize your computer, here are my top five ways to get your PC running quickly again. 1) Speed up your startup: At one point I swear I could finish a cup of coffee by the time my computer booted up. This problem is twofold. The first problem is all of the programs that launch during start-up. This isn’t necessarily your computer’s fault, and is more likely all the programs you have installed that are set to automatically open when you start your computer. To fix this, simply download a tool called Auto-runs to easily disable certain programs during start-up. The second problem is all the registry keys that have built up in your system after many installs and uninstalls of different applications. Every time you install a program it places files called registry keys in your Windows registry which are needed for your operating system and applications to communicate. Unfortunately, every time you update or uninstall a program, old registry keys are left behind. Your system must sift through these keys upon start-up which can make for a painful process. Also make sure to check your task manager at start-up. If you are facing high memory usage while booting PC, then you might face Service Host Superfetch problem. 2) Clean your Windows registry: Not only can unused registry files slow down your start-up, they can also become corrupt and cause programs to stop working and error messages to appear. Chances are you have encountered error messages that would only make sense to the techies at Microsoft and Google. These errors are generally rooted in the Windows registry and luckily a simple scan can uncover corrupt files and either repair or remove them. We’ve tested many registry cleaners over the years and PC Accelerator remains our favorite to date. Other options like SpeedyPC and Registry Repair did not uncover as many junk registry files, and PC Accelerator has the added benefit of performing all of the tips we mention in this article. You may download a copy of PC Accelerator here, and run a free diagnostic to see how many registry issues your PC has. 3)Free Up Disk Space: Over time as you use your computer, different types of files build up on your hard drive causing your PC to slow down. This naturally takes place as you browse the web, download files and media from the internet, and install applications. Unfortunately, your computer doesn’t automatically check and remove these files and they must be removed manually. Here is a list of some of the files that should be removed regularly: Temporary internet files Downloaded program files, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets Empty the recycle bin,Windows temporary files, such as error reports Optional Windows components that you don’t use Installed programs you no longer use Unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore 4) Detect and repair disk errors: As you use your hard-drive, it can wear down and develop what are called ‘bad sectors.’ To use the car analogy again, think about how your tires wear down and develop bald spots over time. Well the same thing happens as your hard-drive rotates, and it rotates much faster than your tires! Bad sectors diminish your hard-drive’s performance and can make saving files difficult. Luckily you do not have to replace your hard-drive to return it to its original state. 5) Speed up access to data: As you add more and more files to your computer (music, movies, PDFs, programs, etc.) they become stored in different pieces on different parts of your hard-drive, called fragmentation. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. This is because your PC needs to work harder to find all the pieces and put them together before opening the file, making response time significantly longer. This can be solved by regularly running a disk defragmentation program; I suggest once a week.If you perform these tasks on a weekly basis you will soon start to realize their benefits. Your hardware and software will run smoothly, you will eliminate certain error messages, speed up boot time, create disk space and have a quicker and more stable computer. You can perform all these tasks manually with some sound knowledge of your system, although I do not recommend trying to clean your registry manually. For me, doing these tasks regularly worked well for a few weeks until I got lazy, reminiscent of going to the gym or sticking to a healthy eating plan. For those who want the added convenience of an optimized computer and no headache I recommend trying PC Accelerator. There are other applications on the market, but I find PC Accelerator the easiest to use and it also happens to be less expensive than many others I’ve tried. You can download it from the link at the bottom of this article. Keep tuned for more great PC Optimization tips!To run a free scan of your PC, you may download PC Accelerator here: Download
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October 2019
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