Seven Tips To Keep Your Pc Running At Peak Performance.By Dave Fraser http://www.pcsandthings.com/ (c) Copyright 2004
Did you know that very soon after you start using your computer it begins to slow down and loses that responsive, "fresh out of
box" sort of feel.
You've just started up your new super-speed, top of range computer. You start surfing internet, downloading a few new programs to try out and then a few weeks later you're working away and you notice it just doesn't seem as fast as it was before.
If that's ever happened to you, then there are a few things you should know which I'll be covering in this article that will get pep back into your PC.
------- Seven Steps to Sharpen up your PC -------
******************************************************** Step one: Clean up any Adware and scumware ********************************************************
Free programs on internet are not always what they seem. Often sting in tail is, behind scenes, installing of Adware or Scumware as it's sometimes known. This usually consists of programs that run in background and advertise various offerings which can be targeted to match your preferences. These programs take up valuable system resources and should be cleaned out.
Programs such as Gator (form filler) and Kazza (music sharing) are well known examples of this but there are many others.
The solution to this, is for you to download one or both of these free programs.
Adaware 6.0 at http://www.tucows.com/preview/236049.html
or
Spybot search and Destroy at http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download
Use them to clean up your system regularly. I personally use them both once a week.
********************************************** Step Two: Clean out your start-up files **********************************************
Nearly every program you load on your computer wants to be top dog. By that I mean when you install program it usually sets itself up in your startup list.
This means that whenever you start up your computer programs installs itself automatically into main memory whether you are going to use it or not and just takes up valuable resources that could be better utilised by programs you are using right away.
If you hit Control-Alt-Delete keys once (if you do it twice you will reboot computer and lose any unsaved work) you will be able to see all programs that are running behing scenes.
The more you have running that you are not using, more memory will be taken up and slower and less stable system will be.
Things like Anti-Virus programs and "system tray" should be left running but many others can be removed.
To do this in windows 98/ME, hit "Start"-"Run"- and type in "msconfig" and enter, then choose right hand top tab marked "startup" Uncheck all programs that you aren't using all time. You will be able to run them normally at any time from your start menu so don't worry about that.
Most of programs can be identified by program names at right hand side, any that can't, you can always type it into google and see what comes up. Occasionally you find programs loaded here that are malicious programs such as Trojans or Browser hijackers that you definitely don't want. To get rid of them search for filename in Google and then see if it comes up as a nasty and then get info on how to remove from anti-virus website.
You will notice a definite improvement in start-up speed and general running when these are removed.
*********************************************************************** Step Three: uninstall any old programs that are no longer used ***********************************************************************
Windows registry is section of windows that contains all information relating to your system and software.
As time goes by it can get extremely bloated and even if you are not using old programs anymore, time taken to search through registry is increased.
Uninstalling programs rather than just deleting files will ensure that entries in registry are removed and this helps keep size under control.
Another little utility you might find useful is called "EasyCleaner" and it is great for cleaning out all these unwanted files and registry entries that were somehow left behind.
You can also use it to locate temporary files used by various programs that just clog up your hard drive and slow things down.
It's a free utility you can download from http://www.docsdownloads.com/easycleaner.htm
******************************************************* Step Four: Invest in a good antivirus program ******************************************************* Invest in a good antivirus program such as Shield-Antivirus or Panda anti-virus and keep it regularly updated. Having a virus on your system can not only wreak havoc with your system speed but can lead to more serious problems and data loss.
You can check out Shield at:- http://www.pcsandthings.com/shield-antivirus.htm and
Panda at:- http://www.pcsandthings.com/panda.htm
****************************************************** Step Five: Delete or uninstall unwanted fonts ****************************************************** When Windows loads it installs all available fonts. This not only takes up space but also valuable time. Deleting or uninstalling fonts that you will never use will help streamline things a bit more.
To view installed fonts, select Start, Run, type "fonts", and press Enter. To see what a font looks like, double-click its icon. You can delete a font by right-clicking it and selecting Delete, but it's safer to uninstall it by dragging it to another folder so you can always drag it back if you really need it.
