Computer Problems

Slow Computer Advice

By Jay M.

If you have a slow computer this article might interest you. I have been helping my neighbor working on cleaning up his computer . It had become real slow and was locking up. So, I started my normal routine of cleaning up a computer. The first thing I noticed was that there were three different versions of software to speed up Internet connection or optimize a PC. It appears that over four years of use the problem kept getting worse and he was desperately looking for a solution. All these types of programs do and can have a use but his problem had nothing to do with the speed of his Internet connection. What his computer really needed was a clean up and the configuration of the systems in the computer optimized. I wanted to just point this out because I could not believe how much money he must have spent on software that really did not address his issues. The real problem was the years of use and the lack of maintenance on his PC. Do not get me wrong though, there are situations that the software he had purchased would have been useful.

The first culprit was his installation of McAfee was trying to attempt to update and was not registered so it could not complete. So, I disabled that and continued on my way. The first place to look is on the bottom of the screen by the date and see all that is loading at start up. One of the biggest things that slow down a computer is a thing that load at start up that you are not using. A great deal of programs when installed have an option to load at start up and you really only want them to load when you are using them. You should look into the options and disable this feature. There are some however that must and should load at start up. Here are some examples of ones that should not load. But these are suggestions, if you use them a lot and have problems with them disabled turn them back on.

• Hp Printer Options and Picture Software
• Adobe Acrobat
• MSN Messenger
• Weather Bug
• Down loadable from websites
• Internet games
• Cd Writers
• Tool bars
• This list can go on forever and not all are bad. Just be aware of what is loading.

An awful lot of things we download from web sites have tracking that loads and monitors what you are doing on the web and then traffic advertising to you. You cannot completely avoid this but you can minimize it. This is the reason there are so many spy ware removal software out there. Now, the next step is to take a look at the Programs Menu in the Start Up folder. If there are things in there that you do not want to load delete them. They are just shortcuts for the most part and if you need one back it is in the recycle bin and can be restored. Just to give you a hint I only have my Logitech monitoring cordless keyboard and mouse battery life and my QuickBooks Update. When I finished with my neighbors PC he had none and he is pleased as punch with the computers improvement. He almost went out and bought a new PC and now he is thrilled he does not need too!

The next step I go through is removing unused and unwanted software. It is unbelievable how much advertising type software comes loaded on a PC you buy in the stores. The majority is designed for you to spend money. I remove as much as I can from the computer, if you have not looked at it in years why leave it there and the add and remove programs tells you when you last accessed the program. This so far is really the basics and the crucial points that will increase your computers speed. Now, wait a few days or weeks and use your computer and if you are happy with it clean out the recycle bin. Then go to the Programs Menu and Accessories and do a disk clean up and then a defragment of your computer drives and you will be in good shape.

Good Software for Speeding Up a Slow Computer and Configuration Assistance I have been using the Registry Easy program for a while now and really like it. I monthly scan my PC and it stays real nice and fast because the directories are clean. When I first used it I had 1135 errors and it finds about 400 a month and keeps things clean. My Neighbors PC had over 4000 errors just to give you an example and he is learning how to maintain his own PC from what the program shows him with all its options. This program will also take care of spy ware and has many good options for computer optimization. This is a good choice for a novice PC user to help keep their computer fast and efficient.