Do you get the distinct impression that your PC is running a lot slower – that it’s more like jogging or even walking? When you turn your computer on in the morning, do you have time to walk the dog before it finishes booting up? Do you spend the bulk of your time on the Internet waiting for your computer to take you from one website to the next?
If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you might consider a shopping trip to your favorite online or brick-and-mortar computer store. But before you spend a lot of money on a shiny new machine, you might want to take a look at some options that could give the PC you already own a new lease on life.
Some Simple Steps
#1. Reboot your computer
This might sound sort of simple, but some people leave their computers on all the time, which in itself could slow things down.
#2. Are you up-to-date?
Have you updated your operating system and anti-virus application recently? If you haven’t, this would be a good place to start making your computer feel better and run with more conviction. But keep in mind that anti-virus software will probably slow your computer down.
#3. Have you made any changes recently?
If you installed a new application last week, make sure your machine meets the software manufacturer’s specifications. If you think this might be the issue, uninstall the software, reboot your machine and see if your computer picks up speed.
#4. Check out the hardware as well
Have you hooked up a remote hard drive, a printer or a scanner lately? Remove the devices one at a time and reboot your computer to determine whether hardware is what’s slowing you down.speed up your computer – computer maintenance
#5. Memory makes a difference
Be certain your hard drive isn’t close to being full – if it is, you’ll need to jettison some information, add a remote drive or replace the drive you have with a larger one. In addition, make sure you have enough RAM to handle what you’re doing on your computer. At the very least, you should have a gigabyte of RAM.
#6. It’s time for a tune-up
Several applications are available that claim to clean up your PC and make it run as fast – or faster – than the day you took it out of the box.
#7. Excess baggage
Uninstall any applications – and browser plugins and toolbars as well – that you no longer find useful. If you don’t keep up with uninstalling programs then all of a sudden your computer will become clogged up and slow. You can speed up your computer performance by simply not storing files you don’t need.
#8. Stay current
Make sure you download and install the latest updates and patches for your operating system. Updates are there for a reason and usually a very good reason. Ignoring them only means you would be running inferrior software.
#9. New hardware
If your computer already has at least an Intel Core 2 processor, you could replace your current hard drive with a solid state drive. This option will cost you some money, but it’s cheaper than buying a whole new computer, and there’s a good chance it will solve many of the nagging problems that have been slowing your PC to a crawl.
#10. Common Sense
We’ve all heard horror stories about an unfortunate friend, relative or acquaintance who spilled a Coke or a cup of hot coffee onto his PC’s keyboard, immediately rendering the computer useless. Keeping your hot and cold beverages away from your computer is one good idea if you want the machine to continue to run efficiently. Here are some others.
10 More Computer Tips to Help Speed Up Your Computer
- When you are finished working or playing for the day, shut your computer down properly.
- Turn off the power before you move your PC from one location to another, and be careful while you are moving the machine.
- Do not smoke anywhere near your PC.
- Do not put your PC where it might be splashed by water or other harmful liquids. This includes open windows, in case an unexpected thunderstorm passes through your neighborhood.
- Plug your PC into a surge protector rather than directly into the wall. This will help combat electrical surges that can damage hard drives and destroy data.
- Dust is your enemy. Blow it away from the motherboard and other internal components with compressed air. Make sure you unplug your computer before you clean anything inside its case. And always keep the machine’s air vents and fans dust-free.
- Keep your PC away from heating and cooling vents. Excessive heat and cold both can cause problems.
- Organise your files on your computer for faster access and easy backup.
- If you don’t have the appropriate software to clean your computer for you then learn to do manual computer maintenance.
- Protect your computer from viruses because getting a virus is the quickest way to slow your computer down and then slowly kill it.
