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Improving the performance of your PC

Computer slowing down? Error messages taking over your life? Before you invest in expensive software, hardware upgrades or even a new PC, try these suggestions for cleaning up your hard drive. These suggestions should be harmless, but don’t do anything you find uncomfortable. Be sure to back up any information that is important to you.

To find out how much space is used on your hard drive, double click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop. Right click on the icon for your hard drive, and the pie chart will tell you how much disk space you have. Write this information down so you can compare numbers later. Close this box and then right click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop. Click "Properties" and then click the "Performance" tab. "System Resources" will let you know how well your computer is performing.

Review your Start up Programs

Something that affects performance is how many programs load up when you turn on your PC. The more programs in the "Start Up" group, the slower your computer will start up. Any open program will use the Random Access Memory (RAM) to some extent. The more programs using RAM, the slower your computer will run. Closing the program does not immediately release all the RAM used by the program. For this reason, you should keep as few applications open as possible.

To remove programs from the "Start Up" group, go to the "My Computer" icon, open it and double click on the Start Menu folder. Click on Programs, then Start Up. If you don't want your PC to load with a particular program, just highlight it and click remove. This does not remove the program from your computer, it just makes the computer "Start Up" without loading it. If you change your mind, you can always put it back using ADD.

How do you know what other programs are running?  Click cntrl-alt-delete *once*.  Write down the programs you see.  Explorer and Systray must remain open, but how about the others?  From the Start Menu choose Programs then Accessories the System Tools then System Information.  This should help you identify the other open programs.  

Clean out other unnecessary files

Again, click on Start, Programs, Accessories and System Tools.  Choose Disk Cleanup.  This will empty your recycle bin and get rid of all unnecessary temporary files.  While you're at it, go to 'scheduled tasks' and you can set your computer to clean house on a regular schedule.  It is usually safe to delete all files ending with .tmp, .bak and .old.

Uninstall old applications (software programs) and documents

If you have applications (software programs) on your computer that you no longer use, uninstall them using the uninstall program that came with it. If there isn’t one, double click on My Computer and use the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs utility and uninstall it. This is a less than perfect system so if space is tight, try a commercial uninstaller. Do not just simply delete the folder.  It does not get rid of the shared files.  If you have documents on your computer that you no longer need, delete them.

Get rid of old, unwanted email

Do you hang on to all of your old email? Do you have to keep it all? Start deleting the email that is not necessary for you to keep.

Scandisk

Scandisk cleans your hard drive of the miscellaneous errors caused by software conflicts. Click START -- RUN and type in: scandisk.  You will have an option of choosing a "standard" or a "thorough" scandisk. If you have never done a scandisk before, choose the "thorough" option. Before running scandisk, be sure to close all applications, and turn off your screensaver. To close all applications, hold down the CTRL key, the ALT key and the DELETE key at the same time. This will bring up the Close Program window. Highlight each open program except Systray and Explorer and click on "End Task.". Do not hit CTRL/ALT/DELETE twice, or click on the Shut down button!

Defrag

Your computer will function best if all the information it needs to access is in the same place. Unfortunately, programs do not always install in the same place, and when you delete files and programs, your hard drive gets fragmented. To get all the information together again, run a Defrag after running a Scandisk. Click START -- RUN and type in: defrag . Defrag will take awhile. Do it just before you go to lunch. Restart your machine after defragging.

Keeping your system clean

Download these free tools:
Jouni Vuorio's RegCleaner
LangaList Tools 

Last, but not least

Is your mouse giving you a hard time? Don’t call the cat - usually all you need to do is clean your mouse. Start by turning off your computer. Turn your mouse over and turn (or push) on the cover that holds the ball in the mouse. Remove the ball and wash it with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or Windex. Pat it dry with a paper towel. Clean your mousepad the same way. Look inside the mouse. Clean the rollers using a damp Q-tip or compressed air. Use tweezers to remove hair or dust. Put the ball back into the mouse and close the cover.

Do you have any tips you would like to share?  E-mail us!