Help Your PC Run Faster

A new PC works with such amazing speed that a user feels so lucky to have made the purchase. Over time, performance slows down until eventually everything is proceeding at a snail's pace. This is most probably one of the most inconvenient things that can happen to anyone. Opening files, saving or exiting files would take forever to perform.

It is important to understand that slow PC performance is typically closely related to memory usage and installed applications. However, it could also be because of disk fragmentation and viruses. This means that the less free memory available, the slower the PC. Also, the more applications and clutter in the system, the slower the performance. So, what can be done about this? Here are a few tips:

Restart

Most of the time, PC performance improves by simply restarting. Sometimes, the system just needs a restart so that applications will be able to start and function correctly.

Uninstall

There are lots of pre-installed programs in a new PC. Over the course of usage, a lot more is added to the hard drive. The accumulations can slow down performance. They crowd the system and some keep running in the background without the user's knowledge.

Uninstall all programs that are not used for quite awhile, especially ones that has never been used. Follow these simple steps:

* Select the "START" button.

* Click "Control Panel" to expand the options.

* Choose "Programs and Features" to open a list of programs.

* Uninstall the programs that you never use.

Temporary Files

Temporary files are like packaging. They come from installed applications, some downloaded files, and Internet browsing history. These are often automatically placed in the Temp files. These are technically unimportant files that serve no other purpose than to clutter the system.

To remove these:

* Open the folder "My Computer".

* Select the main drive. This is often the "C:"

* Select the folder "Windows". In this folder, find one with the label "Temp".

* Right click the "Temp" folder to open an options list.

* Select "View" and then "Details". A list of files will be opened.

* Highlight all old files and delete them. Retain only those that have the current dates on them.

* After deleting, exit this window. Go to the "Recycle Bin" by clicking the icon on the desktop. Locate the "Empty Recycle Bin" option, often located at the menu bar.

Drives

Aside from programs that clutter the system, the drive also affects PC performance. There are 2 ways to improve the drive and help the PC to perform faster.

* Solid state drive

This uses a flash memory, more like a huge USB stick. It can read data much faster, which helps speed up the system.

* Hard drive memory

Improve the hard drive's storage capacity by adding more. Even with regular maintenance, de-cluttering and cleanup, the hard drive will fill up over time. Tasks that require much from the processor like things related to media and videos can seriously use up a lot of the hard drive. Add more hard drive storage by installing an external or internal one.

Start ups

On start up, the system runs a few programs in the background. Some are necessary, most are not. These unnecessary programs running in the background uses up computer memory and slow down PC performance. Disable programs that are unnecessary to make the PC run faster.

* Select "START" and type "RUN" in the text box at the bottom of the Start Menu. A small box will appear.

* Type "msconfig" to open a window with all the list of files used by the computer. On the tab listings, find and click "Startup". A list of all applications running at start up appears.

* Manually untick all the files that are not necessary. If there are a lot of files, just choose the "disable all" then tick the ones that are most important for system operations such as antivirus programs.

RAM

If the computer seems to slow down when using several applications at once, several windows are open, or browsing a few tabs, the problem may lie on the RAM. The computer uses RAM for running programs. Speed up the system by upgrading your computer memory module.

Disk Defragment

This is one of the more drastic measures to optimize system function.

* Click "My Computer".

* Right click on the computer's hard drive.

* Click on "Properties" from the menu.

* A "Tools" tab will appear. Look and click "Defragment Now".

These should solve most problems with slow PC performance. If the problem still persists, it may be time to check and change the hardware, or buy a new one especially if you are using your computer to run resource intensive applications.