Do you have an older PC that just seems slow, unresponsive, hangs up or crashes? Have you been thinking about upgrading and buying a new PC? Before you spend a few hundred to over a thousand on a new PC or Laptop, there are some simple tips that can get your computer cleaned up, tuned up, protected and back in shape.
First it helps to understand why your windows computer gets progressively slower over time.
- Over time your computer and Windows accumulates allot of baggage and becomes bloated.
- Your hard disk gets cluttered (unnecessary files) and disorganized (fragmented)
- The same thing happens to the windows registry (which is the main index that that windows stores all the information about your applications and computer).
- Older device drivers that control your hardware may no longer be fully compatible with all the security and other operating systems updates that you hopefully applying.
- Many applications are written and optimized for newer computers with plenty of ram, hard disk space and fast processors. This is especially true of antivirus applications such as Norton.
- Malware, this includes adware, spyware and trojans, worms, and other viruses that can be hijacking your computers resources even if they are not destructive.
If you primarily use your computer to surf the web, read your email, and don’t need specific applications requiring lots of memory or a fast processor, most of these problems can be easily rectified. Though proactive maintenance you can keep your system running smoothly for years to come. Fortunately these are common problem and and many enterprising individuals and companies have developed some great applications to resolve these issues and even automate the solutions. Over the next few weeks I will provide some of my recommendations of some great free utilities that will help pep up your PC.
Remember, before doing any sort of aggressive cleanup or tuning I recommend Backing up your system first. If you are not regularly backing up your system, START NOW! See my recent blog “backup-your-computer-now” to get started or get ideas on how to make your current backup strategy even better.
