How to Speed up your Computer

Is your computer running much slower than it once used to? This how-to article will describe a few simple steps that you can take to quickly speed up your computer back to the way it was when you first took it out of it's box.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A Microsoft-Based PC
• An Internet Connection

1. This is the In this step, we are going to remove unnecessary startup items from your computer. Many programs today have what are called "Background Processes" which are designed to speed up the program and improve program performance. However, if they are slowing down your computer, you do not want them running in the background.
   
   Please read the "Tips and Warnings" before continuing.
   
   To start this process, first go to the START button in the bottom left hand corner, click on "Run", type 'msconfig' and press "OK".
2. We will be using this utility to remove startup items. If you have followed STEP 1 properly, you should now have a window open titled "System Configuration Utility". This is a very powerful tool and should be used with care. To ensure that no data loss occurs, make sure that you have an up-to-date backup before continuing.
3. As you can see, I personally have a few startup items selected. Once you have opened the Windows Configuration utility, select the startup tab. Here we will be filtering through necessary and unnecessary startup items.
   
   It is important to know that the more you remove from your startup list, the faster your PC will perform. Therefore if you do not need any programs running from startup, you can select "Disable All" and you're finished with this part. If you would rather go through each entry individually to determine whether or not you need it, you can do so by quickly researching each startup entry using the following website's search bar: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/
   
   This website will quickly tell you whether or not you need the startup item. If you decide you do not need it, simply un-check it's box.
4. CCleaner Installation Options In this step we are going to use a utility to remove temporary files and errors that may slow down your computer.
   
   The utility is named CCleaner and can be found here: http://www.ccleaner.com/download/downloading
   
   Once you have downloaded the file, install it and be sure to un-select any installation options you may not want. I usually un-check all of the options except "Create Desktop Shortcut".
5. Once you have installed CCleaner, open the program using the shortcut that should now be on your desktop. Once the program opens, familiarize yourself with the interface. It it pretty user friendly and only has a few options we will use.
   
   Once you have familiarized yourself with the program, select "Run Cleaner" at the bottom-right hand side to begin cleanup. This may take a few minutes so please be patient.
   
   (If a warning message appears, dismiss it by selecting "OK")
6. After you have run CCleaner, we are going to search for errors in what is called your "Registry". These errors can often slow down the general performance of you system, as well as it's response time.
   
   To do this, find the "Registry" button on the left-hand pane of the main program window and click it.
7. Once you are in the "Registry" portion of the program, click on "Scan for Issues" to search for any errors that may reside in your registry. This scan may also take a few moments.
   
   Once the scan has completed, click on "Fix Selected Issues..."
   You will now be prompted with an option to Back Up your registry. Always click "Yes" and save in a location you can find.
   
   Now click "Fix All Selected Issues" and "Yes" to confirm. Once the process is complete, you may want to go through steps 6-7 again to catch any errors that were skipped in the first scan.
8. At this point, I would recommend that you save and close all open applications and restart your computer. Once your computer has restarted, a message will show notifying you that changes have been made to your startup. To prevent this from showing in the future, check the box and click "OK". Your computer should be noticeably faster after this cleanup.
9. If your computer is still slow, you may either have to little RAM (System Memory) or you could possibly have Spyware or a Virus. I will be working on a How-To on Spyware and Virus Cleanup!
   
   Please feel free to send me any questions or comments!

Tips & Warnings

• To create a restore point before following this how-to, simply go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and select "Create Restore Point".
• This is a precaution I Highly recommend.
• Always back up your system before optimization and temporary file cleanup
• You can reverse any changes by using the system restore utility and the restore point you created.