What settings can I change to make my computer start up faster, and in general, run faster?

Question

My computer is starting to run slow, at the startup, just in general, so what settings can I change to make my computer run faster?

Answer 1

You can take some thing out of the start up menu. So some programs won't start when the pc is booted up. Also if you have not done a clean disk and disk defrag you should. That in itself will help speed things up a bit.

Answer 2

There are MANY reasons for computer slow downs: DUST ! 1st ! GROUND YOURSELF BEFORE EVEN TOUCHING THE TOWER.disconnect all cables. open tower sides. using a can of compressed air,blow those dust bunnies away! a] not enough memory

http://www.crucial.com. will set you up with specific type memory just for your computer at an inexpensive price. b] too many programs starting up with windows at boot up time.start,run [ or press Windows key--4 part flag-- plus the letter R ],enter text command: msconfig,start up tab,disable programs you don't need at boot up time. c] Alternate road: start,control panel,Windows Defender,tools,software explorer,disable self installed programs d] too many junk files: Internet Options: start,control panel,internet options,general,history:click clear history & set days to keep to 0.Temp files: click clear temp files,close window. start--all programs accessories--disk clean: run daily.from the same place,run Disk Defrag monthly. there are two Temp file folders.the 1st,you just emptied. 2nd is: start--my computer--local disk drive (c)--[ remember to ignore the 1st temp folder ] windows--temp [ clear this and back out to Windows folder again ]--prefetch folder [ clear this folder and close the window ] e] too many restore points:open System Restore .System Restore takes up 13% of your hard drive! All Programs,accessories,system tools,system restore: settings--drive (c)--check OFF.while there,click--hold--drag slider to 3% and recover 10% hard drive space !close this window and repeat the process but this time UN CHECK the OFF box.what you've just done is wiped the old restore points from your hard drive AND recovered 10% memory space on your hard drive WITHOUT adding memory! right click Recycle bin--select properties--all drives,click--hold--drag slider to 3% and recover ANOTHER 10% of your hard drive space! these 2 operations allow you to INCREASE YOUR MEMORY ALLOCATION BY 20% .Ccleaner Options: clean up left over files.if you install Ccleaner: check all EXCEPT: cookies & autocomplete forms [ passwords ]. Windows Explorer: check all.  System: uncheck recycle & desktop

Advanced: uncheck all

Applications: check all

Options: settings: if you check run cleaner at start up,that slows access to desktop applications. leave this unchecked and run it every time you shut down.the other options are up to the individual,secure deletion: check secure [ 35 ] passes.it's QUICK ! cookies: you can move cookies from to be deleted to be saved permanently.tools: start up: here you can manage your program start up list. REMOVING PROGRAMS FROM START,DOES...NOT......REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR COMPUTER. it will,however,speed up your "boot" time. be careful and remove only those programs you yourself added to the computer.there is also an uninstall application to delete programs that do not have an uninstall file. registry: check all,click scan for issues,click fix all issues,click fix,click ok

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Driver Updates: start,control panel,device manager.click driver to highlight,click Action,click update. Routers look for 802.11 for fastest wireless. Vista Aero: disable memory hog: start,control panel,personalize:Window Color & Appearance untick Enable Transparency.click ok. recently i've discovered that there are DUPLICATE folders just like on the start page. right click the personal folder [ your username,top right ] on the start page. select open,select links,select public.there are numerous files you can delete from: Public Pictures folder. the Sample pictures folder contain your desktop images. get rid of those that you don't want.Public Music,same here,Public Videos,same thing. do you see Recorded TV ? Vista has this folder. 150 MB's sitting there. delete what you don't want.the pictures that are used to change your personal folder's image is: start,computer,local disk drive (C),windows,users,web.delete what you will [ but not all,leave at least 1,lol ].

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Answer 3

modify your screen resolution, colours etc... through your appearance and themes this will help alot!

Answer 4

the best way to remedy the problem is to upgrade the RAM chip

Answer 5

what OS

Answer 6

It probably just needs a good clean

Check to see if it needs defragmenting and a disc clean up

START/ALL PROGRAMS/ACCESSORIES/SYSTEM TOOLS

You will see both these here.

After this install and run http://ccleaner.com Run the Cleaner scan and the Registry scan and remove/fix all that it finds. Repeat the Registry one until nothing is detected.

I'd then check for Malware by installing and running the free version off http://superantispyware.com Update and run a full scan then reboot.

Let me know in an email if I can be of any more help when you have done this as there is a few tweaks that can be done to speed things up more.

Answer 7

Run disk cleanup once a week

Run disk defrag at least once a month

Make sure to run weekly scans with your virus protection and spyware protection.

Limit the ammount of programs that run in the background and at startup.