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Do not just delete these programs! Uninstall them using the uninstaller included with the program or go to “Add or Remove Programs” in your control panel and remove them from there. NoteIn the “Add or Remove Programs” display you will be able to see how frequently you use a program which is a great help in deciding what programs to remove.
Use Disk Clean Up!
Freeing up disk space can speed up your PC. The clean up tool highlights files you are safe to delete and lets you delete all or part of them. These files include:
Temporary Internet files (these take up quite a lot of space), downloaded program files (e.g Microsoft ActiveX controls, empty the Recycle Bin, Windows temporary files, optional Windows components that you don't use and installed programs not really used.
How To use Disk Clean Up
Go to your Control Panel and select “Performance and Maintenance” then select “Free up space on your hard disk”. Or click Start, and then My Computer. In My Computer right-click the hard disk you want to clean up, and then click Properties. You should see Disk Clean Up next to the pie chart of your selected disk, click it and off you go…
I would use Disk Clean at least once every 2 weeks.
Defrag Your Hard Drive (Speeds up access to data)
If any files are fragmented and then opened your PC must search the hard drive to piece a file back together. This can seriously hinder your PC performance.
I would advise you run the Disk Defragmenter at least once per month in order to speed up your PC, or in the following circumstances:
You install new programs
Add a significant amount of new files
Install a new version of Windows
Repair Disk Errors
Your Hard Drive will no doubt, through continued use, develop errors or bad sectors. This can potentially slow down performance. The Error Checker scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors and tries to rectify and issues and therefore speed up your PC.I advise you Error-Checker at least every 1-2 weeks.
How to Repair Disk Errors
Click Start, and My Computer. In My Computer, right-click the hard Drive you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties. Now select Tools and then Error-Checking, choose Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. Finally fix any errors found.
Keep A Minimum Amount Of Programs Open
Most PC’s are powerful enough for multi-tasking. However if you are suffering from severe slow down try to keep the number of programs open at any one time to a bare minimum.
Keep Bang Up To Date
Make sure you have all the latest drivers, downloads and updates for your system, hardware and software. If using Windows visit the Windows Update website and scan your computer for recommended updates.
Note You can always go to the Control Panel, select the Security Center and turn on Automatic Updates to save you the trouble.
Other Possiblities
You could always invest in a some PC Maintenance Wizards or PC Doctors such as Speed Up My PC or System Mechanic to speed up your PC. Personally I use System Mechanic and recommend it very highly.There are masses of tools and applications, all of which are first rate. Some particular favorites are the Registry Fixer and Registry Defragmenter. The Memory optimizer is also brilliant, you can recover lost RAM and Defrag your RAM, both free up a lot of misplaced RAM and help speed up your PC. You can even set an optimal target for your RAM and a trigger point to automatically initialize recovery if your RAM drops below a certain level.
Another possibility is to invest in some new RAM or maybe a new chipset. I would say to start with RAM and see how that goes. Personally I would try taking a look at Crucial.com, their website offers a neat scanning tool which advises what memory your PC can support and makes some recommendations.
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