How to Speed Up Your PC

I get the question a lot, “How do I speed up my computer?  My computer used to be fast when I got it but it seems it has slowed down.”   This question is often asked by Windows users not so much Mac or Linux users.  There are many things that can contribute to your computer slowing down.

One of them reasons is your hard drive is getting filled up.  Consider trying to free up some space by uninstalling any unneeded applications from Add Remove Programs.   I often find people machines filled with applications that they have installed but never used them except for maybe once then they just leave it.

Also you might want to consider an upgrade of your had drive.   Another common bottleneck I see with many machines.  Maybe possibly consider upgrading to a Solid State Drive or just upgrade to a faster Hard Disk Drive.  To find the speed of your hard drive you should be able to find it on the sticker that is located on top of the drive.   You are looking for RPM’s.  A decent RPM these days is 7200 RPM’s for desktop machine and 5200 RPM’s for a laptop as they are slower to keep heat, sound and power consumption to a minimal.

You may also consider doing a bit of maintenance on your machine.  Do a defrag and use software such as Tracks Eraser Pro to delete all temporary files that may be stored on your machines that you really don’t need anymore.  Temporary files are put there to help increase speed though it is also counter productive.  After a while if them temporary files are not cleaned up and deleted you begin to have demised performance.

Another issue that may be effecting your speed is the amount of applications you have running in the background.  Think about taking some of them applications off of your startup so they are not run when you start your computer and open them up when you need them.

You can do that by going to Start > Run> Typing in MSCONFIG > Hit Enter on your keyboard .  Then you will want to check the box that says selective startup then go to the startup tab.  Most if not all that is in there can be removed.  Though you will want to keep your antivirus, firewall, and any keyboard/mouse software active.

Finally make sure your computer is not being strained by malicious applications that may be running in the background that you can not see.  Consider running a Antivirus such as NOD32 and a antimalware such as SuperAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes.