How To Make a Computer work faster
Level of difficulty: Easy
It is inevitable for computer systems running under the Microsoft Windows Operating System platform to experience some form of sluggishness or slow down after sometime compared to how fast it executed when it was brand new. There are actually several factors that contribute to this slowdown, the most common of wish is a badly maintained hard drive and file system. Over time, the hard drive becomes cluttered with fragmented and orphaned files that have been left by the installation and uninstalling of different applications as well as the storing and deleting of various data files. For the Windows-based, the Windows Registry is another typical source of problem because this is where the Operating System keeps track of the computer configurations and user preferences aside from the various programs running simultaneously in the background.
Materials Needed:- Computer running on Windows platform
- Web browser
- Internet connection
- Protection software
Step 1
One of the primary considerations in helping to speed up a computer system is to free up hard drive storage space from unnecessary usage. For the Windows platform, this is effectively done using the Disk Cleanup utility. Click on the Start button, choose All Programs, select Accessories, then System Tools, and click on the Disk Cleanup option.
Step 2
This tool allows the user to remove temporary Internet files, downloaded applications and applets, temporary Windows files, optional system components, no longer used programs, and empty the Recycle Bin. In the dialog box, select the appropriate files to be deleted and click on the OK button.
Step 3
Clicking on the Yes option when prompted to delete the selected files will begin the cleanup process. The user will be prompted in a few minutes when the procedure has been completed. There may be noticeable improvement in the free space of the hard drive.
Step 4
Another option in speeding computer system performance is allowing faster access to data. This can be done by lessening the fragmentation of the hard drive. Open My Computer and right click on the hard drive. Select Properties to bring up the Properties window.
Step 5
Click on the Tools tab and select the Defragment Now option. This will begin the Disk Defragmenter utility. The hard drive will be scanned and analyzed.
Step 6
The tool will then proceed to defragment the drive by positioning file fragments closer to each other to lessen the access time. The amount of time to complete the defragmentation would depend on two considerations, the size of the hard drive and the amount of fragmentation of data.
Step 7
Errors on the hard drive can also lead to poor system performance. To make sure that this is not causing the computer slowdown, click on the Start button and choose My Computer.
Step 8
Right click on the hard drive and select Properties. Click the Tools tab in the Properties window and choose the Check Now button.
Step 9
The utility will execute by scanning the hard drive for bad sectors and attempting to recover data stored in these areas. The Automatically fix file system errors option can be used if the user is certain that the hard drive contains bad sectors.
Step 10
One of the more common causes of computer slowdown in recent years is the proliferation of unwanted software like viruses, adware, and Trojans among others. To address this issue, make sure that a competent security program is installed in the machine.
Step 11
Regularly visit the website of the antivirus developer to keep the application updated. And make it a habit to regularly scan the system for any potential threats to eliminate them at once.