Advanced Fixes for Slow Computers:
Speed Up Your PC Now
Does your computer crash all of a sudden after weeks of working perfectly? Are you nervous that you’re going to lose all of your important work without notice? Do error messages constantly pop up on your PC screen, but you have no idea what they mean or how to handle them?
Whether you depend on your computer to support your work-from-home small business or you simply want to answer emails and play games online from time to time, your PC should work quickly and smoothly to support all of your needs. Luckily, you don’t have to be too tech savvy to do some of your own computer troubleshooting.
Before troubleshooting your computer, it’s important to backup all of your work to ensure that you won’t lose any important documents, pictures or files. Also, clean the computer to get rid of dust and debris, which would be causing the PC to overheat, ultimately slowing it down.
Take a look at all of the programs that are currently installed on your computer. You will probably also be able to see the last time a program was used. There may be several programs that came standard with the computer that you never use – for example, the basic photo editing software that was included on the computer will no longer be needed if you only use Photoshop. There also may be several programs that you’ve downloaded in the past but were never used. Delete these programs, making sure to remove them from the computer completely; don’t simply remove the shortcut or icon. Additionally, delete any files that you no longer have use for – word processing documents, music files, photos and movies can be permanently removed from your computer if you have no use for them any longer.
View the programs that automatically start running when you start up your computer. There may be some programs that are starting that you aren’t even aware of. Disabling these programs will help your computer to boot up quicker and it will also make your computer run faster regularly.
Add memory to your computer – you’ll want at least 2G memory, if not more. Extra memory means more space for all of your documents, music and movies without clogging up your computer and slowing it down. Sometimes adding memory is the only thing you need to speed up your PC.
If you’d rather take the easy way out, you can download a program that will take care of all the necessary cleanup and maintenance steps on its own. Even if you want to handle most of the maintenance on your own, you will want your computer set to check for regular software and driver updates. Remember to always have a malware or spyware program installed that runs regularly – this will prevent your computer from getting any viruses that can not only slow down your PC, but also cause extreme damage to your hard drive and files.
Running a ScanDisk program will tell you if there’s something severely wrong with the hard drive of your computer. If there is, you may not want to take troubleshooting into your own hands since you’ll run the risk of damaging the computer further. Running the Defrag program will rearrange all of your PC’s information in the best order possible, often speeding up your computer instantly.
Your last resort, if nothing else seems to fix your PC problems and speed up your computer, is to reset the desktop to factory condition. This means that everything you’ve added to your computer and all of the customization changes you’ve made will be deleted and the computer will revert back to exactly how it was when you first purchased this. To do this, you’ll need the manual, and you may even want to call the computer company and have a specialist walk you through the process. You may need the original CDs that came with the computer and you’ll want to backup every file and program that you don’t want to lose forever.
Of course you can always claim defeat and purchase a brand new, totally up-to-date computer, but with these tips you’ll have an excellent chance of getting your computer working.