Remove Clutter
Start your computer clean up with the most visible items — icons. Look at your system tray or taskbar on the bottom right corner. It takes time for the computer to find the icons AND each icon also represents a program, which is always running and taking up memory and processor cycles. This is why it is important to clean them up so you aren't losing a lot of your system's available work area (memory) and horsepower (processor cycles) the second it turns on. Remove or turn off unnecessary ones, like Live Messenger, with a simple right click.
Do you really need everything on your desktop? Probably not. Categorize them in the Documents, Photos and Music folders to keep them organized.
Also, don’t forget to empty your Recycle Bin regularly.
Uninstall Old or Unused Programs
If you’ve never used a program that came with your computer or haven’t used it in over a year, you may want to consider trashing it. Now, you can’t delete a program by trashing its files! You must use the Uninstall command (under Programs and Features in the Control Panel) or the uninstall program that comes with your program.
Defrag your Computer
As you work on your computer, information gets stored onto the hard drive in bits and pieces - wherever there is space. To open a certain file, your computer runs around looking for all the components. The defrag tool (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter) does its best to reorder your hard drive so that the files are in as few bits and pieces as possible, making opening files much faster.
Scan Your Computer
Ryan, one of our wonderful Techs, recommends checking out the Windows Live Safety Scan. It not only scans for potential infections and removes them, but also cleans up registry errors, temporary files, and more. Click here to check it out.
Article from Microsoft Home Magazine, Microsoft.com |
