I have had to do this quite a few times for many friends of mine so I wanted to put together a quick guide on some of my own personal tips for speeding up your PC.
What usually causes your machine to slow down is a lack of common maintenance. I know that most of you would rather not have to bother but there are a few simple things you can do to avoid dropping your pc off the roof.
Overview- Dump your browsers cache
- Run disk clean up
- Delete your Temp files
- Uninstall useless programs
- Uninstall useless windows components
- Get AutoRuns
- Get Spybot Search & Destroy
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
- Scan your computer with your Anti-Virus program
- Get CCleaner
- Run Disk Defragmenter
Internet Explorer 7
1. In your Internet Explorer browser window, click on Tools » Delete Browser History.
1. In your Internet Explorer browser window, click on Tools » Delete Browser History.
2. The safest option if you do not want to lose your passwords, etc., would be "Delete files...". If you want to be very thorough you can choose the "Delete all..." option.
Internet Explorer 6
1. In your Internet Explorer browser window, click on Tools » Internet Options.
1. In your Internet Explorer browser window, click on Tools » Internet Options.
2. The safest option if you do not want to lose your cookies, etc., would be "Delete files...". If you want to be very thorough you can check the box for "Delete all offline content". You can then also delete any cookies as well.
Firefox
1. In your Firefox browser window, click on Tools » Clear Private Data.
1. In your Firefox browser window, click on Tools » Clear Private Data.
2. Check all of the boxes you wish to have removed and then click "Clear Private Data Now".
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Windows XP Disk Cleanup
1. Click Start » Programs » Accessories » System Tools » Disk Cleanup.
1. Click Start » Programs » Accessories » System Tools » Disk Cleanup.
2. On the Disk Cleanup tab, check the first two boxes, "Downloaded Program Files" and "Temporary Internet Files", then click "OK".
For Windows Vista please visit this link.
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For Windows Vista please visit this link.
1. Double-Click "My Computer" then at the top of the window click Tools » Folder Options » and select the "View" tab.
Check the "Show hidden files and folders" radio button and then click "Apply" then "OK".
Check the "Show hidden files and folders" radio button and then click "Apply" then "OK".
2. Close any applications you have running. With My Computer still open, Double-Click (C:) Local Disk » Documents and Settings » the Folder with your name » Local Settings » Temp
Delete everything in that folder. If you get any errors that a file is in use just skip those files and delete the rest.
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Delete everything in that folder. If you get any errors that a file is in use just skip those files and delete the rest.
1. From the Start Menu, select Control Panel » Click the Add or Remove Programs icon » Select the program you wish to remove and click Remove.
Note: You should only Remove applications you KNOW YOU DO NEED. If you are unsure, you should just keep the application as once you remove it, it is gone.
For Windows Vista please visit this link.
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Note: You should only Remove applications you KNOW YOU DO NEED. If you are unsure, you should just keep the application as once you remove it, it is gone.
For Windows Vista please visit this link.
1. From the Start Menu, select Control Panel » Click the Add or Remove Programs icon » Click the Add/Remove Windows Components Button on the left.
In the Windows Components Wizard window uncheck any boxes for Components you do not need. Personally I only have Accessories and Utilities, Internet Explorer, Networking Services, and Update Root Certificates checked.
Once you have all the ones checked/unchecked, click on Next » then Finish.
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In the Windows Components Wizard window uncheck any boxes for Components you do not need. Personally I only have Accessories and Utilities, Internet Explorer, Networking Services, and Update Root Certificates checked.
Once you have all the ones checked/unchecked, click on Next » then Finish.
** Please note that AutoRuns is a powerful tool so it should be used very carefully.
1. Download AutoRuns for Windows.
2. Unzip the AutoRuns.zip file then run autoruns.
3. Click the Logon tab and scan the entries under the sections I highlighted with a yellow border in the sample screen shot. If you see anything that is obviously Useless uncheck it then when you are finished exit the program.
4. Restart your computer.
If think that you removed something by mistake run AutoRuns again and re-check the items you removed one by one repeating the process above.
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1. Download AutoRuns for Windows.
2. Unzip the AutoRuns.zip file then run autoruns.
3. Click the Logon tab and scan the entries under the sections I highlighted with a yellow border in the sample screen shot. If you see anything that is obviously Useless uncheck it then when you are finished exit the program.
4. Restart your computer.
If think that you removed something by mistake run AutoRuns again and re-check the items you removed one by one repeating the process above.
1. Download Spybot Search & Destroy.
2. Follow the Tutorial from the Spybot Search & Destroy website.
3. Restart your computer.
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2. Follow the Tutorial from the Spybot Search & Destroy website.
3. Restart your computer.
1. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.
2. Run the scanner and remove anything that it finds.
3. Restart your computer.
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2. Run the scanner and remove anything that it finds.
3. Restart your computer.
1. Assuming you have an Anti-Virus program installed, you should scan your computer for viruses. If you DO NOT HAVE ONE, here are some free anti-virus tools:
2. Restart your computer.
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2. Restart your computer.
1. Download and Install CCleaner.
During the install when you get to the screenshot shown to the left, make sure only "Automatically check for updates to CCleaner" is checked. Uncheck everything else.
During the install when you get to the screenshot shown to the left, make sure only "Automatically check for updates to CCleaner" is checked. Uncheck everything else.
2. Close all your other programs and then run CCleaner » then Click on Analyze » then Click on Run Cleaner.
Once the cleaning has finished I suggest running Analyze again. If anything else is found run the cleaner again.
Once the cleaning has finished I suggest running Analyze again. If anything else is found run the cleaner again.
3. Click on the Registry tab on the left of the CCleaner window » Click Scan for Issues » Click Fix selected issues.
When prompted you can make a back-up of your registry before cleaning, I NEVER do but this is totally up to you.
When prompted you can make a back-up of your registry before cleaning, I NEVER do but this is totally up to you.
4. In the next window Click Fix All Selected Issues » Click Yes to proceed with cleaning.
When prompted you can make a back-up of your registry before cleaning, I NEVER do but this is totally up to you.
When prompted you can make a back-up of your registry before cleaning, I NEVER do but this is totally up to you.
5. Repeat this process over and over until you can scan for issues and get the following message "No issues were found".
6. Restart your computer.
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6. Restart your computer.
1. Click Start » Programs » Accessories » System Tools » Disk Defragmenter
2. Select your (C:) drive and Click on Analyze. Once the analysis is complete, if it tells you to defragment your computer then proceed by Clicking on Defragment.
3. Restart your computer.
For Windows Vista please visit this link.
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2. Select your (C:) drive and Click on Analyze. Once the analysis is complete, if it tells you to defragment your computer then proceed by Clicking on Defragment.
3. Restart your computer.
For Windows Vista please visit this link.
