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Probus - Speed up your computer
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Speed up your computer

28 May 2013

Do you have time to do a load of washing before your computer starts up? That’s a sure sign that the computer’s also in desperate need of a clean. 

There are definitely things that you can do to speed up your computer so it works faster and more efficiently.

One thing that many of us forget to do, and it’s probably the most simple way to clear some space, is to empty the trash. You’d be surprised at how much space your trash is taking up and less space often means a slower computer. Also, remember to clear the data from your ‘Downloads’ folder.  

Other than clearing the trash, here are some other tips and tricks to ensure your computer is up to speed.

Program purge

If you haven’t used a program within the past year, chances are you’re not going to. Remember, you don’t need every program that comes installed on your computer.

If you decide to remove a program on a PC, it’s not a matter of simply hitting delete.

  1. Click the ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’
  2. Select ‘Programs’ and then click on ‘Programs and Features’
  3. Once you’ve decided which program you’d like to remove, select it and click ‘Uninstall’

On a Mac, generally it is just drag and drop to the Trash Can or select the ‘Delete’ button in the top banner. If it’s a program that you have installed, there may be an ‘uninstall’ option that comes with it.

Start ups?

When a program is installed onto a PC, it can enable itself to open automatically when you turn on your computer. This means it takes your computer longer to properly boot up. Sometimes, there can be up to a dozen programs opening when you turn your computer on. Only once these have all opened can you actually start using your computer effectively.

There is a built-in utility on a PC called MSConfig. Find it in your ‘Start’ menu under ‘Programs’.

Under the ‘Startup’ tab, uncheck the boxes of the programs you don’t want to automatically open when you turn your computer on.

If you’ve got a Mac, follow the steps below:

  1. Open ‘System Preferences’ and click ‘Accounts’
  2. Select the ‘Login Items’ tab and check the ‘hide’ box for any programs you don’t want to open on start up.

Clean up

Along with cleaning the Trash and Downloads folders, there may be double-ups and several versions of files where you only need one. It may be worth going through your documents and deleting some, especially when there are a few of them floating around in different folders.  

It’s also important to clean up your desktop. Every time you turn your computer on, its operating memory is used to figure out what is on the desktop. If you don’t have anything on your desktop, your computer doesn’t need to do so much work when it’s turning on. A scant desktop generally means a faster computer.

Upgrade

If all else fails, your best option may be an upgrade. This doesn’t necessarily mean upgrading your whole computer; you may be able to just upgrade your RAM (random access memory).

The more RAM you have, the more memory your computer has and the faster it will run, and if you only have 2GB of RAM, it’s probably time to upgrade. 

If you think you need to upgrade your RAM and you know what you’re doing, you might find a way to do it it cheaply on the internet. Otherwise, it can get quite technical, so talk to a professional.