One of the greatest things about buying a new Windows computer
is turning it on for the first time and being amazed at just how fast
it is. It starts up quickly, and when you click to open a program, it
pops up nearly instantaneously. You can run multiple programs and keep a
dozen web browser tabs open, and it still runs quickly — and it even
shuts down in a matter of seconds!
But then... your new computer
starts to slow down. First, it takes a little longer to boot up, but
gradually the entire system grows sluggish, and eventually it gets to
the stage where you have time to make a cup of coffee while your web browser loads. Your once-snappy computer has become old.
Fortunately,
by performing a few simple tasks, you can speed it back up again. You
may not get it back to its good-as-new speed — and even if you do, as
the state of the art marches forward, it will still seem a little slow
compared to newer and more powerful equipment — but you can definitely
squeeze a few more months (or even years) out of it.
Before we start
For
the most part, making the current versions of Windows (especially Vista
and Win7) faster will require you to disable some features. In most
cases, you won't even notice these features are gone, but you should
still proceed with caution. If your computer is really, really slow,
it's probably better to get a handyman in to fix it — or maybe consider
it time to upgrade your entire system.
First steps
To
begin with, your best bet is to disable the Windows eye candy. After
all, what good is a pretty interface if it's unusably slow?
Click
the Start (Flag) button, right click Computer, and select Properties.
Click "Advanced system settings" and then, underneath the Performance
section, click the Settings button. Select the "Adjust for best
performance" radio button and click OK. Click OK again and you're done.
This will make Windows look rather plain — a lot like Windows 98, in
fact — but it should make your computer feel a lot faster, too.
Next,
we're going to disable indexing, a feature that speeds up Windows'
Search functionality. If you regularly use search to find documents and
photos on your hard drive, you probably want to skip this step, however.
Click
the Start (Flag) button, type "indexing options" and then press Enter.
Click Modify, and you'll be shown a list of locations that are indexed
by your computer. Remove the check mark from all of the boxes and click
OK.
Aggressive action
With those easy steps out of the way, you should now defragment and clean up your hard drive. After that, clear your computer of malware.
These processes can take up to a few hours and may require that you
stop using your computer while they run, but you can set them up before
you go to bed and let them run overnight.
If you use a laptop or
netbook, you can opt to squeeze a bit more performance out of your
computer at the expense of shorter battery life; if you work with your
laptop plugged in, you need not worry. Click the Start (Flag) button,
type "power options" and press Enter. On the next screen, select the
"High performance" radio button. Desktop users can also enable "High
performance," but the performance boost will probably be less dramatic.
You can also customize your power plan to change behaviors based on
whether your computer is operating on AC or battery power; we'll cover
doing that another time.
Finishing touch
Finally,
we're going to disable programs that automatically run when your
computer starts. This can be a little dangerous, but it's also one of
the best ways to speed up your computer — so proceed with caution!
Click
the Start (Flag) button, type "msconfig" and press Enter. Click the
Startup tab and you will see a (probably huge) list of programs that
load when you start your computer up. Now... the trick is to disable as
many non-important programs as possible. The problem is, there's no
hard-and-fast way to work out which programs are non-essential.
Basically, if it sounds important, don't disable it. If the program has
"monitor" in the name or "updater", you can go ahead and disable it. If
there's anything you don't recognize, go ahead and disable that too. If
you're unsure, you can type the name of the program into Google — you'll
be surprised at the wealth of information that you can find, even about
the most esoteric of Startup items.
When you're done, click OK. The next time you turn on or reboot your computer, it should boot up a lot faster.
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