Maximising Your Computer

When your PC starts its steady decline into slow speeds, the first thing you’d love to do is head straight fancy new machine. The reality is there are easy changes you can make to speed up your computer. Below are some of the best tips for speeding up your PC.

1. Turn off Startup Programs

When you install a program in Windows, it may add itself up to the startup register and runs when Windows starts. After installing a lot of software, your boot up process could become considerably slow. If there are programs you don’t use much, they probably don’t need to start every time Windows does. You can disable startup programs manually or use the free tool CCleaner.

MSConfig can be used to configure startup programs and a few other settings. Just follow the steps in this article and you should be fine.

To run MSConfig, open the Start menu and type “msconfig.exe” (without the quotes) in the Search box. As you type, results display. When you see “msconfig.exe,” click on it or press Enter, if it is highlighted.

NOTE: You can open the Run dialog box from the Start menu, type “msconfig.exe” in the Open edit box, and click OK.

Click the Startup tab on the System Configuration main window. A list of all the startup programs displays with a check box next to each one. To prevent a program from starting up with Windows, select the checkbox next to the desired program so there is NO checkmark in the box. Click OK once you have made your choices.

A dialog box displays telling you that you may need to restart your computer for the changes to take affect. Click Restart to restart your computer immediately. If are not ready to restart your computer, click Exit without restart.

Disabling Startup Programs in Windows 8 or 8.1

Windows 8 and 8.1 make it really simple to disable startup applications. All you have to do is open up Task Manager by right-clicking on the Taskbar, or using the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC shortcut key, clicking “More Details”, switching to the Startup tab, and then using the Disable button.

It’s really that simple. If you aren’t seeing these options, make sure to click “More Details”, which is in the same place as the “Fewer details” that you see on this screenshot.

Additionally, use the services tab in the msconfig utility to disable the services you don’t you want to execute when the computer starts up. Be careful what you disable since you could prevent critical system programs from starting up. Check the “Hide Microsoft Services” before you disable the services.

2. Clean Up Unnecessary Files on Your Computer

As you use your computer, files collect in all kinds of places. Windows and programs running in Windows create temporary files and log files. Files you have deleted may collect in the Recycle Bin, if you don’t empty it often. When you browse the internet, browsers create temporary files, sites put cookies on your computer, and the download history and form history grows. CCleaner can help you clean up your computer. You can even set up CCleaner to automatically run on a schedule.

To clean your PC:

1. In CCleaner, click the Cleaner icon at left.
2. Choose the Windows features you want to clean by selecting their check boxes (you can clean everything under Internet Explorer, for example, by selecting the checkbox next to the heading). When you select or clear certain options, warning text will appear. Read the text and click OK to dismiss the dialog box.Click the Applications tab. The programs listed on this tab will depend on the software you have installed on the system.
3. Choose the applications or features you want to clean.
4. Click the Analyze button. CCleaner analyzes the files and Registry keys belonging to the Windows features and applications you have selected. This may take some time.
5. Once the analysis is complete, you can review which files will be deleted in the text window. To save the list of items to be deleted, right-click in the text window and then click Save to text file... To clean an item right from the analysis list, right-click the item and then click Clean.
6. Click Run Cleaner. You are warned that CCleaner is about to permanently remove files from the system. Click OK to proceed.
7. When the cleaning is complete, CCleaner displays a report of deleted files in the text window. To save the list, right-click in the text window and then click Save to text file...

NOTE: Click here to read more on how use CCleaner to clean up the junk in your PC. Stay away from other softwares that claim to boost and speed up your PC (e.g. Registry Cleaner).

3. Remove Malware, Spyware, and Adware

Malware, spyware, or adware are your computers worst enemy. They significantly affect its performance. Malware such as viruses eat up your RAM, replicate on your hard disk and utilizes a processor. Adwares and spywares make utilize the network resources and makes you internet. There are many utilities such as Malwarebytes, SpyBot AV and adwcleaner. My very favourite is Microsoft’s Free Microsoft Security Essentials which appears in Windows 8.x as Windows Defender.

4. Uninstall, Uninstall and Uninstall!

A clean machine is a fast machine. That means your best option is to uninstall all the programs you don't use. Delete things like trial software, limited-edition versions, and anything else you're never going to use.

To uninstall software:

• Click the Start button , and then click Control Panel.
• Under Programs, click Uninstall a program. (If you don't see this page, change the View by option in the upper-right corner to Category.)

• Click the program you want to delete, and then click Uninstall.

5. Use Portable Apps

We are used to installing every application we need to use in Windows. Sometimes, these apps clog up the registry and use a lot of disk space and memory. Using Portable Apps, you can install an app once, have all of the necessary files in one place, and even sync the app and its settings across different machines with Dropbox.

The idea is that you can run these portable apps from a flash drive, thus taking your favorite browser or password program with you without having to install it on a computer that isn't yours. This reduces the number of installed applications on your PC and boosts performance. Portable Apps include Firefox, Google Chrome, uTorrent, VLC and VirtualBox. You can grab your copy of portable apps here.

6. Thoroughly Clean Your Computer

The fan in your computer that draws in air to cool. Dirt clogging up in your system can block clean, cool air from circulating within the computer and this can cause your system to overheat and run sluggishly and maybe even eventually break down. It will be most advisable to take your PC to your nearest Tech Specialist for it to be cleaned up or if you feel you’re tech savvy enough, a few searches on Google will teach you how to do that.

Now, your Windows PC can be faster and more efficient when working or goofing off!