The good thing is that unlike many automotive and home maintenance tasks, the vast majority of routine computer maintenance tasks can be done by virtually anyone, without the danger of causing serious damage. The computer, after all does most of the work. So, if you purchased a computer that does not seem to be running quite as quickly as it once did, don't worry! You probably will not have to plop down another cost for a new system, as long as you start taking the time to do the weekly and monthly maintenance your computer probably needs. Below are three routine tasks you can do to try to rehabilitate a clunker of a computer.
1.DE FRAGMENT YOUR HARD DRIVE
Hard drives physically store magnetic bits of information, which can become fragmented over time. Imagine trying to read a book with the pages scattered all over your desk in no particular order, and you get the idea of what a computer has to do when running a fragmented hard drive. Truth be told, unless you hard drive has serious hardware problems, it should not be fragmented to the point that it causes serious performance issues. However, a weekly defragmentation is worthwhile, and if you have never defragmented your hard drive, it's probably a good idea to do so. Windows XP and Vista both comes with its own Disk Defragmenter, which you can access under Accessories and System Tools. Some software packages may try to get you to bite on fancy, expensive defragmenting software, but the tool that comes with Windows is plenty sufficient for most users. You can even set up Windows Vista for regular, automatic defragmenting so you do not have to worry about it.
2.CLEAN YOUR SYSTEM TRAY
The system tray is located in the bottom right corner of the screen. Yours might even have a little arrow that, if you click it will expand the box, showing you a whole bunch of icons you could not see before. That's probably a good indication that you have a cluttered system tray. All of those programs are sitting in your PCs memory, probably not doing much of anything besides slowing down your computer. Like spyware, some of them you might not have even realized were running: some software programmers seem to enjoy punishing you for installing their products by forcing them to run all the time. Right click on each icon to find out what each item is, then decide if you really need it running in the background, or if it is something you can get away with running only when you need to use it. Once you figure out which programs you can get rid of, you might have to search around for the option to shut them off. Many programs have an option that will allow you to stop them from running at start up.
3.GET RID OF SPYWARE
Back in the days, we did not have to worry about computers getting bloated with unwanted and surreptitiously installed junk aside from the junk we installed ourselves. Now we do. You can get spyware on your computer in the most hidden ways, by downloading seemingly legitimate software or just by visiting sites. Getting at least one good spyware removal program and I recommend at least two for security sake is a must. monthly spyware scans will not only improve computer performance, but also help prevent identity theft and other potential crimes against you.
Aside from the three tasks above, there are several other steps you can take to improve your machine performance, but which contain some significant risk of damage if you do not know what you are doing. These include cleaning out your system registry and partitioning your hard drive for the Windows swap file. None of these require a huge amount of additional computer expertise, but should be approached with caution for those who have never done them before.
1.DE FRAGMENT YOUR HARD DRIVE
Hard drives physically store magnetic bits of information, which can become fragmented over time. Imagine trying to read a book with the pages scattered all over your desk in no particular order, and you get the idea of what a computer has to do when running a fragmented hard drive. Truth be told, unless you hard drive has serious hardware problems, it should not be fragmented to the point that it causes serious performance issues. However, a weekly defragmentation is worthwhile, and if you have never defragmented your hard drive, it's probably a good idea to do so. Windows XP and Vista both comes with its own Disk Defragmenter, which you can access under Accessories and System Tools. Some software packages may try to get you to bite on fancy, expensive defragmenting software, but the tool that comes with Windows is plenty sufficient for most users. You can even set up Windows Vista for regular, automatic defragmenting so you do not have to worry about it.
2.CLEAN YOUR SYSTEM TRAY
The system tray is located in the bottom right corner of the screen. Yours might even have a little arrow that, if you click it will expand the box, showing you a whole bunch of icons you could not see before. That's probably a good indication that you have a cluttered system tray. All of those programs are sitting in your PCs memory, probably not doing much of anything besides slowing down your computer. Like spyware, some of them you might not have even realized were running: some software programmers seem to enjoy punishing you for installing their products by forcing them to run all the time. Right click on each icon to find out what each item is, then decide if you really need it running in the background, or if it is something you can get away with running only when you need to use it. Once you figure out which programs you can get rid of, you might have to search around for the option to shut them off. Many programs have an option that will allow you to stop them from running at start up.
3.GET RID OF SPYWARE
Back in the days, we did not have to worry about computers getting bloated with unwanted and surreptitiously installed junk aside from the junk we installed ourselves. Now we do. You can get spyware on your computer in the most hidden ways, by downloading seemingly legitimate software or just by visiting sites. Getting at least one good spyware removal program and I recommend at least two for security sake is a must. monthly spyware scans will not only improve computer performance, but also help prevent identity theft and other potential crimes against you.
Aside from the three tasks above, there are several other steps you can take to improve your machine performance, but which contain some significant risk of damage if you do not know what you are doing. These include cleaning out your system registry and partitioning your hard drive for the Windows swap file. None of these require a huge amount of additional computer expertise, but should be approached with caution for those who have never done them before.
