10 Tips to Improve Your Computer’s Performance

1. Reboot Your Computer

Since many of today’s PC’s and Laptops now have Power-Save options, it’s natural to forget that your computer needs to reboot occasionally. When you make changes to your computer’s settings, or install new programs, it can help to reboot your PC to help these changes to take effect.

2. Perform a Virus Scan

In some cases, performance issues with your computer could be caused by a computer virus. Many viruses use up resources (such as RAM and hard drive space), resulting in poor performance. If you don’t have anti-virus software installed on your computer, there are several options available to you. For a short list of recommended free and paid anti-virus software, check out these 5 Essential Computer Security Tips.

3. Free up Disk Space

If you have large video, music or backup files on your computer, you may want to consider transferring them to a physical backup medium instead. In most cases, you can burn files that you don’t use on a regular basis to a CD or DVD as data files. CD’s typically have around 700MB (MegaBytes) of available storage space, while DVD’s usually boast about 4.4 GB (GigaBytes).

4. Defragment Your Hard Drive

When Windows accesses the files on your computer, the location of these files often becomes fragmented. This means that every time Windows needs to access these files, it needs to first search for the locations of these fragments. Over time, Windows eventually scatters the locations of your files throughout your computer: This is called fragmentation.  Excessive fragmentation can result in slow performance, as well as other computer issues. To defragment your computer, you have two options. Every copy of Windows comes with a built-in defragmenting program to help fix this problem through regular maintenance. Or, you can download third-party defragmenting software, since there are some programs that are more effective at defragmenting your computer.

To run the Windows Defragmenter, open up your Start menu. Navigate toPrograms > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Once you start up the program, you will have two options: Analyze, and Defragment. The Analyze option allows you to see the fragmentation level of your computer. To fix this fragmentation, choose the “Defragment” option. It’s recommended that you have at least 15% of your hard drive’s disk space free before attempting defragmentation.

5. Uninstall Old/Useless Programs

Many computers often come packaged with trial software, proprietary programs and other applications that aren’t essential to the proper functioning of your computer. In order to help your computer to perform better, it’s highly recommended that you regularly check the installed programs on your computer. If you don’t regularly use a program, it’s best to uninstall it. Navigate to the Control Panel through the Start Menu, then either choose “Uninstall Programs“, “Programs and Features“ or “Programs” (depending on your version of Windows).

6. Run Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is an application included with most versions of Windows, which allows you to safely delete unneeded system files. Open the Start Menu, and choose Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. Once the program has started, you should see a list of all the files on your computer that can be deleted safely, as well as a description of these files. Check all the files that you wish to delete, and then click the “OK” button.

7. Perform a Spyware Scan

If your computer is connected to the internet, there is a chance that it could be infected with spyware. Spyware refers to any type of program that collects information about your internet history, browsing, personal details or other information without your knowledge. It can also use up resources, and decrease your computer’s performance. For further details, you can refer to this article, “What is Spyware, and How Does it Affect My Computer?”

8. Install a Firewall

Another vulnerability of your computer when you use the internet is through your computer’s open ports. Through these ports, your computer could be infiltrated by hackers, hijackers and potential identity thieves. It’s highly recommended that you install firewall software in order to protect your computer. If you’re running Windows, you may already have a built-in firewall that is protecting your computer.

9. Clear History in Your Internet Browser

To slightly increase the speed of your computer, you may have to adjust the history settings on your browser. By default, many internet browsers save your browsing history for a long period of time. Depending on which internet browser you’re running, there are several ways to delete your browsing history. In most cases, you will find it under the “Security” option, or by navigating to Tools > Internet Options > General.

10. Disable AutoStart Programs

When you turn on your computer, many programs may be starting and running in the background. The best way to allow your computer to start up fast (and run smoother) is to constantly check on which startup programs are enabled. In your start menu, type MSCONFIGinto the search box. You should see a box similiar to this one:

Navigate to the “Startup” tab in this window. You should see a list of all of the programs that are automatically starting up with your computer. Disable any of these programs that you don’t need, such as instant messenging services. Once you’ve made the chances, click “Apply“, then “OK“. Restart your computer for these changes to take effect.

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