How to Tune Up A Computer For Free

Is your computer old or slow? Follow a few simple steps to keep it running like new.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Connection

1. Empty the recycle bin regularly Empty the recycle bin. Freeing up space on your hard drive is an easy first step to speed up your computer.
2. Clean out the crap Clean out the crap. Your temporary files, internet cache, and registry often become filled with unneeded files. Some expensive programs will do this for you. I use a free program called CCleaner.
3. Defragment Your Disks Defragment your hard drive. In Windows, the built in utility should be sufficient. It is located in the accessories -> system tools folder from the start menu.
4. Delete unused programs. Those unused programs take up a lot of space, deleting them can speed things up.
5. Clean up the registry Clean your registry. Doing this manually can break your computer unless you are an expert. Many programs will do the automatically, including CCleaner mentioned in step 2.
6. Clean out spyware. Nasty programs that are installed from the internet can seriously slow down your system. Free programs like AdAware will do this for you. In Windows Vista, Windows Defender will do this for you if enabled.
7. Windows Task Manager Close programs that you do not use. Using the task manager, you can see a list of running programs. Some needed, many are not. Closing and deleting unneeded programs will free memory, and allow the programs you are using to run faster.

Tips & Warnings

• Some expensive programs, such as Norton or McAfee, can do a better job, but free programs should be sufficient.
• Clean up often. You are gaining unnecessary files every day, delete the ones you do not need.
• You can do just as good of a job as professionals. Do not pay someone to do something you can do yourself!
• If in doubt, don't delete. You can accidentally cause damage that will result in a loss of all data on your computer.