You don't have to be a computer professional to get more life out
of your creeping, crawling PC. You will need a basic knowledge of computers
though and be able to log in as an Administrator. You should be familiar with
the My Computer (Windows Explorer) program. Other than that, if you can read,
click on buttons and links and follow directions, then you can get your
computer running faster and more efficient, without spending hundreds of
dollars doing it. What you can do yourself, will save you the money of hiring a
professional.
There is no one program that will solve all of your computers
problems, so it will take a few different ones to get things working nicely.
Before you get started, there are a couple of things that will prevent these
procedures from working properly. First off, if your computer has a hardware
problem, then you're better off replacing the hardware or just getting a new
computer. Secondly, if your computer is loaded with Viruses and your Virus Protection
programs can't get rid of them, then you are better off reformatting your hard
drive and starting off from scratch. Both of those issues are beyond the scope
of this article and you will need to seek professional help to resolve them.
Having the proper tools to help you with these steps will
drastically effect how long it takes to complete the processes, but know that
this is a time consuming endeavor. It will take a few hours to completely clean
out your system, but the results with be most worth your time and effort. Now
don't let the following steps intimidate you. It sounds more complicated than
it really is. That is assuming that you have the proper software to do the job
and we will recommend the best tools that we have found for each step.
1. Clean Out the Registry
2. Uninstall Software that is Not Needed or Used
3. Delete Temporary and Non-Essential Files
4. Run Virus/Adware/Malware/Trojan Removal Software
5. Clean out the Registry - Yes, Again
6. Defragment Your Hard Drive
Step 1: Clean Out the Registry - WARNING: The Registry is the place
where Windows stores a list of all the hardware and software in your computer
and the default settings for them. It actually does more than this, but that is
the general idea. Messing around with the Registry is dangerous, if you don't
know what you are doing. That is why choosing the RIGHT software for this is
crucial. See the bottom of this Step for a link to a list of recommended
programs.
It is actually not necessary to perform this step first, but I
have found that this will immediately increase the performance enough to get
things moving quicker than if we didn't do it. The software that you use for
this step should automatically save the Registry in its current state before
ever making any changes. That way, if something does go wrong, it can be reset
to its former state. The program should be easy to use and be backed by a
Customer Support team that can help you if something should go wrong. Go ahead
and acquire one of the programs, in the recommended link above, if you don't
already have a program that can do this and that you trust. Install it and
follow the directions.
For a list of the top 5 Registry Cleaning programs that we have
reviewed, check out my blog entry for this same article at the link at the
bottom of this article.
Step 2: Uninstall Software that is Not Needed or Used - Over time, more
and more software gets installed onto your computer. You may use those programs
for a while and then they lose their appeal and just sit there unused and
taking up space on your hard drive and your Registry. If you no longer use
those programs, then they should be removed. By taking up space in your
Registry, they actually cause it to run slower and slower as more programs
cause it to bloat up. By uninstalling these programs, you will regain space and
increase the responsiveness of your computer. To uninstall the unneeded
programs, you will need to open up your computer's Control Panel. This can be
found by opening the My Computer (Windows Explorer) program and selecting it
from the Drive list on the left side of the screen. If you don't see the Drive
list, which just lists your computers hard drive(s), CD/DVD drive(s) and other
connected devices, then you can enable it by pressing on the Folders icon or by
clicking the View menu, selecting Explorer bar and choosing the Folders option.
Once you click on the Control Panel, you will be presented with many items in
the right pane of the screen. You will want to select the "Add or Remove Programs"
or the "Programs And Features" entry, depending on your Operating
System. This will open another window that will list the programs that are
installed on your computer.
WARNING: If a program listed here does not look familiar to you, then you
may want to leave it alone as it might be a needed program for your particular
system. Such as drivers for your graphics card or crucial Windows updates. Look
only for programs that you know of and no longer need. Select the program you
want to uninstall and click the Change/Remove button, then follow the default
prompts.