How often do you use your computer every day? Most probably you use your computer to handle a variety of tasks whether it is work, play, or just doing minor tasks online. As you start using your computer, you may notice your computer slowing down a bit unless you are using the latest hardware. Minor slowdowns aren’t really much of a big deal, but the slowdowns can become worse especially if you are doing heavy multitask operations or running large applications or games.
Fortunately, there are many options when you want to know how to speed up your PC ranging from simple methods to serious hardware upgrades. Here are some basic and advanced techniques to boost your computer’s performance to get work done faster.
Software Performance Tricks
If your computer or laptop used to run fast, hold on to your money and don’t buy that hardware upgrade just yet because most likely you can restore or perhaps double your system performance by doing some simple maintenance tricks and other operations with the help of some third-party applications. Before you get started, it is recommended to restart your computer and begin your cleanup process from there.
Scan your Computer for Malware
If you want to know how to speed up your PC, scan for Malware. Malware includes all of the nasty viruses, trojans, and worms that greatly hinder your computer’s performance. They can also interrupt your attempts to restore the performance, so it is important to get rid of these first if you have any. If your computer is infected with lots of viruses or spyware, cleaning them up with a good virus scanner should restore a huge chunk of performance.
Update your Hardware Drivers and Install System Updates
Before doing heavy maintenance operations of any kind, it is important to make sure your Windows operating system and drivers is up-to-date. Even if all of your hardware and system is running without bugs, updates are still posted and may sometimes include performance improvements. Use the “Windows Update” to install all the security and performance updates and visit the websites of your installed hardware to get information on how to upgrade your drivers.
Clear up Some Hard Disk Space
The hard disk is where all of your files are stored and as it gets more cluttered, performance slows down because more time is needed to access the files on request. The access times can be significantly reduced if there the hard disk isn’t so full. Try to keep your at least 15% of your total hard disk space free. 25% of free space or more will often lead to better results.
You can achieve this by running some of the system applications that come with Windows XP or Vista like “Disk Cleanup” or use third party applications for more advanced cleaning operations. You can also move some of the files you don’t need to other storage media to lighten up your hard disk load. Uninstalling programs that you don’t use also helps clean up space.
Obtain the Best System Optimization Software
An ideal program that enhances system performance is a program that can clean up and optimize the
“Windows Registry” which is a crucial component of Windows and control the programs that run when the system starts. Most registry scanners have extra performance tools so it is best to go with those. When choosing a registry scanner, read the reviews from various online sources and get the ones that have positive reception from regular users. Some registry cleaning software cost money, but most of them often free scanning options to determine if you really need a registry cleanup.
If a startup manager is included in the software, use it and unmark any programs that you don’t need or are unfamiliar of. These programs automatically run on startup and most of them stay in memory so if you disable them, your system startup time should be much faster along with your overall performance. After you made the changes, restart your computer to see the difference.
Disable Visual Improvements and Apply Other Tweaks
If you applied the other steps before this, your computer should be much faster than before. If not, you can squeeze in some extra performance if you disable the visual improvements such as the XP visual styles or Vista Aero. Many of these settings can be found in the “System Properties” in the “Control Panel” on the “Advanced” tab. Disabling these settings will give it a boring look, but the performance boost makes it worth it.
Defrag your Computer
Now that you applied all the software enhancements, you can maximize the performance by defragging your computer using the defragging software of your choice. The default Windows Defrag performs rather well, but some commercial programs offer better defragging options. Let it defrag fully and restart your computer and see if you are satisfied with your performance. If not, it may be time for a hardware upgrade.
Hardware Performance Tricks
Make sure you applied the previously mentioned software performance tricks before upgrading especially if you are on a tight budget. Very old systems these days are difficult to upgrade unless you know a place that sells old components. Many times it is better to buy a new system, but if you do have your sources, follow these simple tricks.
Upgrade your RAM
This is by far the most inexpensive and most effective upgrade and it can also be done on both desktops and laptops. Windows XP users should be fine with 1 GB of RAM while Windows Vista users should go for 2 GB or more. This allows you to run more programs at the same time and let you use your favorite enhancements without slowdowns.
Upgrade your Processor and Video Card
Upgrading these two components will make your gaming experience much better. It will also improve the performance of various multimedia operations. Only perform these upgrades if you frequently do those tasks.
Software performance tricks should always be prioritized first, when it comes to speed up your PC as they are responsible for slowing down even the more powerful computers. These performance improvements are safe and guaranteed to breathe in more life to your system.