3 Simple Steps to Help Speed Up Your Computer

3 Simple Steps to Help Speed Up Your Computer

Tired of waiting for what feels like hours for your computer to boot up, load a program or, as it often seems, do absolutely nothing? If you're one of the millions of PC users who are suffering with a sluggish modem, follow these three simple steps to speed up your computer:
 

Step One: Clean up your Desktop

Take a look at your desktop. Shortcuts, files, folders--if it's anything like the normal well-used desktop, it's cluttered and messy. Take a minute to evaluate. How many of those shortcuts do you use regularly? How many of those files/folders could be moved to your My Documents or My Pictures folders? Those folders are made for storing document, picture, and media files. Your desktop is not.

Are there files or folders you use often? Moving them to My Documents and adding a link to your desktop is just as fast in accessing the document, and actually speeds up file retrieval. Clutter on your desktop can slow down PC function because your desktop is not made to store or handle all of those files.
Next, decide which shortcuts you can nix. All of those programs are also found in your Start menu, if you use the program less than once a week, deleting those shortcuts and using the Start menu shortcut instead helps cut clutter also.

Step Two: Scan and Fix Windows System Files

The program files that make up your Windows system work in tandem to run your PC's activities and functions. Applications like word processors and internet and Windows browsers are enabled by system program files. Over time and with consistent use, these program files can change or be corrupted by certain factors (new program/software installations, hard drive problems, and viruses). 

 

This causes instability in your Windows system and causes serious problems with your OS.
Regular scans using the System File Checker (SFC) keep your Windows operating system free of errors. To perform this scan, first close any programs on your Desktop.•    Go to Start and select Run. •    In Run box, type in the command: SFT /SCANNOW. •    Select OK and wait while your operating system is scanned, corrected, and cleaned. This scan may take anywhere from fifteen minutes to a few hours, depending on your PC.

Step Three: Updating Hardware

If your hardware is out of date, it could be a major contribution to how slowly your PC is running. Although this step will cost you a bit of money, it's important in ensuring your PC is in prime running shape.

For a standard Windows XP PC, you should update to a Pentium IV Celeron M processor or the equivalent. Making sure your PC has at least 1 or 2 GB of RAM (Random Access Memory) will speed things up and decrease frustration. Ensuring your hard drive is at 160 GB or larger will give you more room to play, more memory to store digital images, media files, and games, and increase runtime for your PC.

When all else fails, it may just be time to clean up your registry. Fortunately, there are advanced registry cleaning tools out there that will defrag, backup, and fix corrupted and damaged files with one click. If you want to speed up your computer , this type of regular maintenance is essential.