However good your computer is, once you've had it a while it can start to slow down. This is mostly just because people let things start cluttering up. A good first step for a really thorough cleanup - especially on older computers - is to run ChkDsk utility. Bad sectors can develop over time, making it harder for your computer to recover files and process effectively. Hit 'run' and then type 'chkdsk' followed by the drive you want to scan followed by ':/r': e.g. c:/r. Then just let it do its thing.
Startup can be a big problem for a lot of older computers too, as a lot of applications try to activate which don't need to be running. You wouldn't open up twenty applications as soon as your computer desktop appears yourself, but that's exactly what startup tries to do. Open up msconfig to clean this up by typing 'msconfig' in the run toolbar. From here look at programs that are non system based, such as msn messenger etc. This measure doesn't mean the programs won't work, it just stops them taking up CPU as soon as your computer is active, which should allow things to run a lot smoother.
Sometimes you might find yourself behind on updates for the applications on your computer. You're usually given information about this as soon as you find yourself having difficulties, for example if you can't run videos fast enough on the internet because you're behind on flashplayer. Make sure you uninstall previous versions before downloading the new one if you're having difficulties.
Similarly your driver may be out of date. Sometimes you have to manually update drivers. The best way to go about this is to open device manager by typing 'devmgmt.msc' into the run box, and reading down the relevant drivers for your device. Check their properties to see when they were last updated, and then download new updates from the company website.
There's also no harm in Defragmenting the hard drive to see if that speeds things up. This is not a way of curing major problems with speed, but it is a good form of spring cleaning.
Startup can be a big problem for a lot of older computers too, as a lot of applications try to activate which don't need to be running. You wouldn't open up twenty applications as soon as your computer desktop appears yourself, but that's exactly what startup tries to do. Open up msconfig to clean this up by typing 'msconfig' in the run toolbar. From here look at programs that are non system based, such as msn messenger etc. This measure doesn't mean the programs won't work, it just stops them taking up CPU as soon as your computer is active, which should allow things to run a lot smoother.
Sometimes you might find yourself behind on updates for the applications on your computer. You're usually given information about this as soon as you find yourself having difficulties, for example if you can't run videos fast enough on the internet because you're behind on flashplayer. Make sure you uninstall previous versions before downloading the new one if you're having difficulties.
Similarly your driver may be out of date. Sometimes you have to manually update drivers. The best way to go about this is to open device manager by typing 'devmgmt.msc' into the run box, and reading down the relevant drivers for your device. Check their properties to see when they were last updated, and then download new updates from the company website.
There's also no harm in Defragmenting the hard drive to see if that speeds things up. This is not a way of curing major problems with speed, but it is a good form of spring cleaning.
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