Three Easy Steps to Speed Up Your Computer
After awhile, your
computer can slow down even if you've been doing the same things with
your computer. The three steps below will get your computer running
faster and more efficiently. These steps are for Windows PCs and not
Macs (they have their own procedures.) Here they are:
- Delete Temporary Files.
The computer accumulates temporary files as various programs are run,
and these temporary files do not disappear when you close the program or
turn off your computer. There are Temp folders under each user
profile, as well as in the Windows folder. Any files in those Temp
folders that can be deleted, should be deleted. If you can't delete a
file, that's OK because the file is being used.
- Clean the Windows Registry. The Windows Registry is a set of files on your computer, like a database, that stores configuration settings and options on Windows
and all the programs. When you install or update a program, that
program adds information to the Windows Registry. When you delete that
program, the information may not be deleted from the Registry. CCleaner
is a free program from www.ccleaner.com.
It will safely remove unnecessary Registry entries, as well as delete
temporary files from other locations on your computer.
- Defragment the hard drive.
As you use the computer, the files on the computer may be split into
multiple fragments throughout the hard drive. This is a very efficient
storage method, but lots of fragments can slow down your computer. The
defragmenting process recombines the files and removes the fragments.
The Disk Defragmenter program is a part of Windows, and is necessary
only in Windows XP and Vista; Windows 7 does a good job of automatically
defragmenting on its own.
That's all there is to
it. If you have any questions or problems, please let me know. If
you'd rather we come out and take care of this for you, we would be
delighted. While these are the first three steps we follow when
cleaning a computer, we have a total of about 20 steps depending upon
your computer configuration. We support small businesses, home
businesses and home computer users in the Greater Houston area. Just
call Clerc Computer Consulting at 713-861-4183. We will save you time,
headaches, and a whole lot of frustration.