PC Performance

Introduction - PC Performance

Over time, Windows OS computers especially gets cluttered with various artifacts that slows things down a lot. You'd be surprised how many people think to themselves, 'my PC is getting too slow now, time to buy a new one.' - when they don't need to!

Here's a typical pattern:

- Bought a computer a couple of years ago.

- Been using it a lot, but it just 'gets slower'.

- Thinking that must be how computers work..

- Buys a new computer, works great for some time..

- And then the same deal all over again.

I'd like to offer you some insight on how to avoid this. This is meant to help out with Windows OS performance for those who aren't too tech savvy - easy and informative. Maybe even some old timers can learn something though.

I'm only going to recommend programs that I've tested myself and that I'm currently using.

The combination of all the things I'll present is what will give you real results.

I'll run you through a few steps.

- Step one - Defragmentation:

A primary source of computers slowing down over time is that the data on the disk gets fragmented. This means that whenever your computer wants to access data for whatever program you're using, it needs to sort of work in zig-zag in order to get it.

Windows has a built-in Defragmentation program, and you're free to use that of course. But I've come across an alternative that I think is just much better - search for "Smart Defrag" - it does the job and it's 100% free. It has a 'Deep Optimize' function which does a better job than the Windows built-in version of it. This is also one of the few programs I'd recommend for 'auto start' - that is, letting it load when Windows starts.

If you've downloaded it already:

- If you've never Defragmented your hard drive, it could take some time, even many hours the first time you run it. Might be a good idea to start it up right before you go to bed.

- Always choose the 'Deep Optimize' function instead of the 'Defrag Only' function.

- Go to 'Options' and check 'Load automatically at Windows Startup.

- Go to 'Auto Defrag' and check 'Enable Auto Defrag' and have a look at the settings there. It won't start unless the computer has been idle for some time, and if it does auto start, it'll pause the Defragmentation if you're using your computer and need the resources.

- Step two - Remove unnecessary programs:

Windows again has a built in function for removing programs, but again there are better options. For this we'll need a great program - search for "CCleaner" - it has numerous functions (more on that later) but what we're interested in right now is a function which you'll find under the 'Tools' tab - 'Remove Programs'. You should see a list of all currently installed programs. Please take some time to look through that list.

You may be surprised how much stuff you've got installed on your computer. Let's say you've got 50 programs there.. and you're using about half of them.. or less! Maybe you just kept the others because 'it seemed a good idea at the time'.... well there you have it. Remove all programs that you're not using. Seriously.. be harsh about it, too! Anything you don't really use - remove it! If you're unsure about what some of those things really are, all you need to do is do a google search for the title of the program in question.

It's really important that you do this. It plays a huge role in the combination of things we're doing here - all these cleanups combined are what will give you some real results.

- Step three - Registry Defrag:

If you followed the last step you'll now have CCleaner installed on your computer. Start it up and go to the tab which says 'Registry' - and then click 'Search for errors'. You'll see that the program starts collecting some data.. wait until it's done and then click 'Fix marked errors'. You'll get a couple of pop ups - just click through them. Answer 'Yes' to making a backup of your registry if the program asks for that.

Basically, the Registry is a reference point for all sorts of programs and functions - Windows gathers data from this mysterious place just about every time you do something. As time goes by, it fills up with invalid data and it's good to clean it out now and then.

- Step four - Antivirus:

No doubt you've heard about those pesky 'Viruses'.. and chances are you're probably using an Antivirus program already. If that's the case then I guess you can just continue using your program - remember to do some scans now and then!

But in my experience even those Antivirus programs are eating system resources to some extent. Not to mention that they start when you least expect it and live a life of their own.. even worse they often spam you with popup windows and all sorts of annoyances.

Well.. I'm surprised to hear myself saying this, but Microsoft has a great Antivirus program! It's called "Microsoft Security Essentials". I've been using many different Antivirus programs but I've landed on using this now. A few reasons why;

- It doesn't spam you.. really really important..

- It does the job as well as any other Antivirus program.

- It works 'naturally integrated' with Windows since it's Microsoft's own product.

So.. up to you. You can hold on to your old Antivirus program or check this out. Anyway, if you decide to install a new Antivirus program - make sure that you remove the old one first! The only thing worse than a spamming, resource-draining Antivirus program is - you guessed it - two of them running on your system at once.

- Step five - Advanced System Care:

This program - search for "Advanced System Care "- is 'full package' - It IS free - there's a 'paid' version and a 'free' version. If you for some reason landed on the 'paid' version, then please try this Google search - that should solve it.

Start up the program and have a good look at it. There are many settings and you should familiarize yourself with what this program does. It has the ability to fix a lot of issues and optimize certain settings. Click the 'Scan' and 'Repair' buttons wherever you find any.

I also recommend you go to the options tab and uncheck stuff like 'auto start' and 'auto update' if you can find such settings. That's just me - I like to have as few programs starting up automatically as possible. One exception is the 'Smart Defrag' program.

- Final words:

I hope you've read every step carefully and followed through with it. If you did, then you've hopefully followed my recommendation not to start up the 'Smart Defrag' program yet - make sure you run that process too and then reboot your computer.

All of these things combined should give you a noticeable boost in performance.

Thank you!

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