Making Your PC Faster

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Working with computers can be quite hard when everything works like in the 90’s. We see busy people working with computers everyday – Accountants, sellers, managers, doctors, even mechanics are using computers. Our society is based on computer technology. We must accept that.

So, having some trouble with your office PC? Or your home PC has trouble starting some programs or applications? Well, everything has explanation.

Every single business needs good, fast working systems. So this is the reason why we should use some useful tips. These are practical tips and will help you improve your work and speed.

It’s easy! Just follow these steps.

1. Knowing your PC configuration: nowadays this can be a task for no more than 20 seconds – most computers have their configuration on their case or box. Not having that is not a problem at all. There are many ways you can check how powerful your PC is – the most popular way to do so is to know how old your computer is. If your computer is older than 4 years, well, you have problem. Older computers are morally worn – for example, most of the computers from 2003 are having trouble with programs from 2009. That is normal, because their configuration can’t keep up with new applications.

The first step is: Find out what your PC is – how old is it, what is the configuration.

There are many programs that can do that instead of you – help software is available in the internet in every country. For example – How to Know My Computer Configuration using Dxdiag

So, if your PC is older than 4-5 years, than it’s time for change.

2. Second step is to know how advanced you are: we assume that you have done step one. Now we must know how advanced we are. Well, if you were a computer technician, you probably would not read this. So you are a regular person. Don’t try to do things you are not familiar with – it can only do damage to your PC. Computer knowledge comes with time, learning and experience. Do only the things you are sure for – you don’t want to make mistakes.

These two steps are recommended to start. Because if you are working with very old PC with weak configuration there is no chance of getting better performance with some moves or programs. Now it is time to get known with some helping programs and some operations. It will be easy if you read carefully and it will be even better if you can help yourself.

3. Disk cleanup – Disk Cleanup is a maintenance program, included in Windows. It is very useful to free the space of your computer’s hard disk. The program first searches and analyzes the hard disk drive for unused and unnecessary files, and removes the unnecessary files. There are quite a lot tasks that Disk Cleanup always perform:

Temporary Internet files clean up
Log files removal
Temporary Windows files removal
Recycle Bin clean up
Old files removal
Remove unused applications
Offline files removal

It is a simple operation you can do for a few seconds. You have your disk cleanup program in Start-> Programs-> Accessories-> System tools.

There you have Cleanup Disk – this program will help your hard drive lose some weight – it can free some space, in some cases big space.

Watching this may help you - Using The Disk Cleanup Utility To Keep A PC Running Smoothly

4. Disk defragmenter tools- defragmentation is the process that reduces the amount of fragmentation in file systems. It organizes the contents of the disk to get each file close together with other files of that category. It also attempts to create large partitions of free space . Again this is a simple one. But this time it may take some time – depends on system. Basically defragmenter tools find spots on your hard drive that are bad or just not in place. It corrects them and some errors, if there are any. Again, you have this tool in your start menu – it is right beneath cleanup disk – it’s called Disk Defragmenter. Here you can see – Disk Defragmenter . But it can be very slow if you have big hard drive or many errors. There are some other programs that can defragment your hard drive – you can find many in the internet by searching for “disk defragmenter” or “defragmenter tools”. Any of that will do the work.

5. Helping your RAM memory and CPU – now, I assume you know what these are. Well, even if you don’t, again you will find no trouble at all. It is easy.

CPU and RAM memory are some main components of your hardware configuration. Making them work faster is essential for the process of gaining speed. If you have done with step one, we assume that you must have quite new PC. Than your ram memory must be more than 1GB – that is enough for a system to run smooth. But many systems have a lot of memory, but they don’t use it rationally – many unused programs are active, some unknown features are on, some programs interrupt your work. Time to cleanup.

One way to do so is to open start menu, select “run”, and type msconfig. You get a window with 7 categories – you need the sixth – called Startup. There you have a list of programs that are starting with your PC every time you turn it on.

You will notice many of the programs you are using – they must be ticked. But also you will notice some unwanted programs – you can unpick them and that will prevent them from starting with the system. That way you make your start faster and you make it easy for your system to start. Faster Computer. MSCONFIG made easy – this is a video of how to do that. Good work! But, be careful – do not make any choices that you are not familiar with – it may cause trouble.

Now, we must get some helping programs. You can simply do that by searching for “ram memory programs” or “free ram memory” or something like that. There are a lot of free programs on the internet that will do the work. They will slightly increase your speed.

7. Control your applications – No one is going to do that for you. You must know what is happening with your system when you work – you don’t want any bad programs, heavy unused software running or just some stupid programs. These are slowing your computer. Turn them off. Important thing for you to do is to close any download programs or bit torrent applications, when you don’t use them – there is an explanation. These programs are using your hard drive all the time and they are slowing your work. Just by turning them off, not closing them, but turning off, you will feel how your system starts to react faster. That is also available for other applications. This is very important for your work.
8. Antivirus and anti- spy ware software – Antivirus software is used to prevent computers from unwanted threats, such as adware, malware, spyware and others. It detects, and removes malware, including viruses,some kind of worms, and some trojan horse.

But, no matter how useful antivirus software is, sometimes you may have problems with it. Antivirus software can slow your computer’s performance. Some users who are not familiar with problem solving can get into bad problems with commanding the antivirus programs.

9. Hardware support – we must remember to get some help for the hardware components. Computer cleaning is cleaning the inside, and the outside of a computer including dust and debris from the fans and power supplies. You must clean your PC every 2-3 months. There is a reason for that. Dust, little peaces, even junk – that will be found in your PC. If you work with a laptop – it is even more important to clean it, because laptops are more common to overheat.

Cleaning means cleaning inside – if your computer has warranty, go to service and they will do the job. Many manufactures are asking clients to do that every 6 months. Still, if your computer is not in warranty, you can do the task. How to Clean your PC – if that is hardcore for you, just get a brush and clean carefully of dust. The most important thing is to clean the fans and the radiators – they are cooling your system and they are the main things to clean.

10. Overclock - Overclocking is a process of making your CPU or Graphic adapter run at a higher clock rate than usual or what was specified by the manufacturer, usually practiced by people who play new games and graphic application – like some CAD programs or engineering. The thing is to increase your computer’s performance.

Know that this step is for advanced users. You can overclock your CPU or graphics adapter. This can be done by using programs for the purpose or using the computer’s BIOS. Again, this is done by advanced users – if you are not comfortable with it, don’t try it. Normally, this is done for new games. Eventually for tough applications. Most of the people don’t need that, but if you consider to do it – How to Overclock Your CPU – For beginners.

Taking care for your computer is not a hard thing to do, but it can prevent some big problems. No one wants to lose information, so maintaining computers is one very important job.

The perfect computer maintenance is a number of different things to do, from keeping the monitor and the keyboard clean, to cleaning up your hard disk by disk cleanup or defragmenter.

I hope you have done well. If you have completed these steps and made your PC slightly faster, than you have done good work.

Take good care of the PC, and the PC will take good care of you.