When you get a new computer you are no doubt delighted by its speed, agility, and handling. But over time your machine can become noticeably slower, and this is due to a number of issues.
However, there are several strategies you may try to get things moving.
Here are just a few of the easiest fixes that are almost certain to deliver a faster user experience.
- Check your startup.
When you install new programs or do downloads you often get executable files that you don’t know about and they may auto-launch the program each time you boot up your computer, significantly taxing your CPU and slowing necessary applications.
This can lead not only to slow booting, but also continuously sluggish operation of your computer. So simply go to the run menu, type in “msconfig” (no quotations required) and see what runs when you start your computer.
Many of the files listed will be necessary for overall operations, but you may also find a fair number that you can disable in order to pick up the pace.
- Frequent scans
Viruses, spyware, and malware can sneak in under the radar through downloads or even clicking links, and you might not know they’ve infected your computer until it’s going so slow that you can literally watch paint dry while you wait for programs to open or web pages to load.
By installing antivirus and anti-spyware software and setting it to run scans on a regular basis you may be able to catch and quarantine malicious software early on, before it has time to do damage to your computer.
- Defragmenting
When you’re working on your computer, stuff is getting saved all over the place. For example, your document creation program (Microsoft Word or other) likely has an auto-save function, and you may also perform manual saves repeatedly in the course of working on a file.
Each time a save occurs, data is stored on your hard drive. Over time, disks fill up, files get erased, new files are added, and you end up with bits of data all over the place.
This means that when you go to save something new, the computer has to spend time searching for an empty space to put it (so to speak). This takes time. A disk defragmenter shuffles the files until they are stored sequentially on a disk so that saves can proceed in a straightforward (and speedy) manner.
- Remove temporary files
If you have a Windows operating system then the Disk Cleanup utility will probably be sufficient to remove temporary files. But just in case, you can do it on your own manually without too much trouble.
Simply go to the run menu and type in “%temp%” (again, no quotations necessary). This will open the temp folder so that you can delete files. You may delete them all since anything that needed to be stored permanently went to another location.
- Delete cookies
If you’ve noticed a lag while using the internet, it could be due to any number of factors (you might want to go to an internet timer site to check your speeds).
But one likely culprit is cookies, or packets of information that get saved each time you visit a website so that it loads faster the next time.
Frequently deleting these unhealthy treats should help to speed up your web surfing.
