Computer Speedup
We've all seen that ads strewn across the web that tout the ability to increase the speed of our computer by 200%+. Obviously, these don't work. But what is the real way to speed up and optimize your computer? What program(s) actually work?
Solution 1:
Putting Linux-evangelism aside, reinstalling Windows helps but it's not for the faint of heart. Windows is known to become bogged down by many small installations and incomplete uninstallations.
CCleaner as mentioned helps, but sometimes you've got to use tougher means. For mom's pc, CCleaner is certainly fine. For my own pc, reinstalling is better.
I have made a disk image of my newly installed Windows + favorite apps, so it's a matter of 30 minutes to get back up and running (after making proper data backups).
Solution 2:
The real answer is: "it depends on what's slowing you down". If the bottleneck is, for instance, RAM, then more RAM (or running fewer programs) is the answer. If the problem is slow web browsing because your system is infested with 27 different spyware programs, a good malware remover might help, and reinstalling might be required. Can you say what exactly seems slow to you?
Solution 3:
CCleaner works as advertized.
Solution 4:
You may have many startup processes and services which are not required using up RAM.
To disable startup processes:
- Go to
Run > msconfigand then choose the Startup tab. - Examine the list and disable any items you do not want started when your computer boots e.g. iTunesHelper, java jusched etc.
To disable services:
- Go to
Run > services.msc - Disable services you think are not required. I'd recommend reading what they are about before disabling them! e.g. Error Reporting Service, Indexing Service.