Computer Maintainence

I remember in the past when my computer's would start running slow (when they where only a few months old), so I would due a scan for virus, torjen, and so forth but a scan would say my computer was safe or no viruses detected.

The reason that computers start running slow after a while is because people don't clear their ram or defragment their computers. This causes RAM(random access memory) to get filled up and starts using hd(hard drive) virtual ram which is slower; this is where the computer stores information/data from recently used program and also has your internet cookies/history so you should be careful of leaving it in RAM for long periods of time. Defragmenting is when your computer arranges disk data in order so that programs can run/load faster. So to keep your computer running smoothly you should do the following:

• Run Disk Cleanup once every 2 days.
• Run Disk Defragmenter once a month.

These programs are usually located on:

'Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools' Disk cleanup or Disk Defragmenter respectfully.

A Tweak to make Disk CleanUp run faster is to take away compress files calculation. You do this by:

1. (windows key) Press Windows key + R
2. or click on start, then on run (xp)
   
3. or click on start, then in start search (vista)
4. Type in 'regedit' then press enter
5. Expand Hkey_Local_Machine & follow/navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Compress Old File

Double click on the default file, and in the value data section clear all the information (make blank). Click ok and next time you run disk clean up it should be a lot faster.


Tweak 2 Disable auto-start up Programs

Like most people after downloading many programs; Getting your computer to load takes longer and longer. This is because some of those programs are being loaded in start up. So here is a tweak to disable these programs from auto running when your computer turns on.

1. Press Windows key + R or click on start then on run (XP) or click on start then in start search:
2. Type in 'msconfig' and press enter.



3. Click on start up tab/section.
4. And Remove the checks from programs you don't want to run at start-up and click okay
   

(Remember to only uncheck programs that you know about so it doesn't cause your computer harm).

If you find this to difficult you might want to download this link. It has a better disk clean up and defragmenter. It also has the the tweaks that I mentioned and of course is better than the default programs most computers come with.

mirror 1
mirror 2