6 Ways to Make Your Computer Run Faster

This holiday season, the lines at Apple will flood out the door as people wait in line to upgrade their computers. However, if you’re experiencing problems with your computer it is most likely not because it’s too old or too worn down. If your computer is slow or is constantly freezing, you don’t need to run out to the store to purchase a new one. Here are 6 ways that you can save yourself the costly purchase of a new laptop or PC, and get your computer running faster:

Uninstall programs you don’t use: 

New computers come with a long list of programs, many of which you will never use, and most likely don’t even know exist. If you’ve never used a program and don’t foresee using it in the near future, get rid of it. Open the Control Panel, go into programs and features, and browse through the list of installed software. Uninstall everything that you don’t need. If you’re worried about deleting a program your computer’s hardware needs, you can use a program like PC Decrapifier which will select the programs you don’t need for you.

Run a disk de-fragment:

Maximize the efficiency of your computer by running a disk de-fragment and re-configuring how your hard drive stores information. In order to do this, open “my computer”, right-click on the hard drive and select “properties” from the drop down menu. Under the “Tools” tab click the option “Defragment now”.

Run a disk clean up:

You can also de-clutter your computer if you have windows with a built-in tool called Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup searches through your system for any unnecessary files that take up a lot of memory, like program installers, or temporary internet files. All you have to do to run the program is click “start”>”All Programs”> “Accessories”>”System Tools”> “Disk Cleanup”. The program does all the work for you.

Delete Temporary Files:

The every day tasks you perform on your computer cause temporary files to accumulate on your computer. These files remain on your hard disk, and slow your computer down. Remove the files to free up more hard disk space, speeding up your computer at the same time. This involves mainly deleting your internet history and cookies. In order to do this go to “My Computer”>”Local Hard Drive” (It will usually be C:\)>”Windows”>”Temp”. Right-click on “Temp”, hold your mouse over “View” in the drop down menu, and choose “Details”. Then, select the files that are older than the current date and press delete. If you want to delete cookies and web history from a laptop, open up your internet browser, choose “History” and then “clear browsing history”. Once you’ve finished these steps, make sure to empty your computer’s recycle bin.

Get A Bigger Hard Drive:

Even if you delete temporary files on a regular basis, if your hard drive is not big enough for you, your computer will slow down. When your hard drive becomes 85% full, your computer is sure to slow down. If you’re someone who uses the computer mainly for checking e-mail and moderate internet browsing, you most likely will not need a very large hard drive. However, if you regularly download television shows or other large files, you will need a large hard drive, one that’s more than 1TB in size. Head over to your nearest computer supply store in order to purchase a new one. The installation process is not difficult, and there are plenty of Youtube videos that can help you along the way. If you’re not comfortable doing it yourself, have them install the new hard drive for you at the store.

Remove Dust:

Dust can actually cause huge problems for your computer. Dust can obstruct your computer’s airflow which is necessary in order to keep it’s temperature down and keep it from over-heating. When your computer over-heats, it slows down in order to cope. In order to remove dust, simply take off the computer’s exterior and use a vacuum with a nozzle attachment at a very low power setting in order to remove some dust without damaging your computer. Make sure your computer is off before you start to clean. You can also reverse the setting if you encounter stubborn dust, and have the vacuum blow air out in order to blow the dust out.
Follow these steps, and your computer will be running as fast as it did when you ripped it out of it’s brand new box.