Somehow our computers run great right out of the box, but given a few months, they’ll almost always start to slow down for reasons that are unknown to the user. The good news is that there are some readily identifiable reasons for why a computer does that, and most of them are easily fixed. Though what would be better is if we could identify how to prevent the slowness from happening in the first place. While it takes some knowledge and some planning, it’s easier than you might think to keep your computer running like new for a long time.
Only install programs that you absolutely must have — Decide what you’re going to use your computer for and install only the software that you need to fulfill those uses. Extra applications will come with background programs and will require updates that will slow down your computer by using up resources from the CPU and slowing your processing speed.
Keep up with basic Windows maintenance — Most people know what these are, but just in case you need a quick refresher, they’re made up of the following programs:
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Disk Cleanup —
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Disk Defragmenter —
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Windows Defender —
Keeping these programs updated and running regularly will definitely help to keep your computer running like new. You can use the scheduler to schedule each of these programs to run automatically, or you can just run them manually. I’d recommend doing so once a week at least.
Don’t install anti-virus software unless absolutely necessary — We’ve already mentioned Windows defender which comes with Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines and can also be installed on Windows XP. To be quite honest, if you’re able to browse the internet responsibly, this is all you need in terms of computer security. My advice would be to lock down your browsing habits rather than rely-on anti-virus software so you can be careless.
Besides all that, anti-virus software is notorious for slowing down your computer and hogging up resources. In the end, you know your habits better than anyone else. If you still think you need an anti-virus software, install one that uses minimal resources.
Be careful when downloading and installing software — There’s obviously plenty of free software online that is useful, but often times that software will come with toolbars and other programs hidden in the installation that you need to tell the program not to install. They’ll often be cleverly disguised, so while you’re installing the software you actually want, keep an eye out while you’re going through checkboxes and agreement phases. Skim over everything to make sure you aren’t adding any unwanted toolbars or programs.
Keep an eye on your startup programs — If you run msconfig and then click on the startup tab, you’ll be able to see all the programs that are starting on your computer when Windows starts. Ideally, these should be as few as possible, but over time, applications and updating programs will start to run in the background whenever Windows boots up. They’ll be indicated by a check mark, but if you uncheck the checkbox, the program will no longer run when Windows starts. Go through this process every few months to make sure you’re not running any unnecessary software in the background when Windows is trying to boot up.
A Minimalist Approach
A good general rule to follow is that the less you have on your computer, the better off you’ll be. Certainly you don’t want to limit yourself to the point where you’re not able to use it effectively, but just make sure that you’re not junking it up with extra files and applications that don’t help you accomplish what you got the computer to accomplish in the first place. If you can do that and keep it up, your computer will run smoothly for a long time and you’ll get more mileage out of it than you might have thought. The best thing you can do to insure that will happen is to just keep it clean.
Matt Stern is the Social Media Coordinator for Kontron, a global leader in embedded computer technology specializing in the production of computers such as a rugged military computer, a fanless box pc, and mini its motherboards and more.
2 comments
Oh Thank You very much for that much needed information
I try not to install junk on my computer but I’m one of those people who tend to obsess when it comes to security, so I have an antivirus program, an anti-malware program, and I just installed a firewall program.