The longer you use your PC, the more likely it is that your hard drive and Windows registry will become cluttered with obsolete or corrupted files which take up space, use up resources, and have a seriously negative impact on your PC' s performance. If you are experiencing system freezes or crashes, or an operating system which simply does not respond as quickly as it once did, it's time for you to perform a PC cleanup. This article details five methods for cleaning your PC which will have it operating like new in no time!
Removing Old Files
The single most important step you can take to restore your PC’s performance is to delete or remove the unnecessary files which are taking up space on its hard drive. Some files, like photographs, consume an enormous amount of hard drive space. If you have photos on your PC which you want to keep, you can simply transfer them to a removable media like a CD or zip drive.
You can also find sites which offer free online storage space and move them there. And don't forget your e-mail inbox, which is a great place to keep files you don't want to delete!
If you're someone who loves to buy e-books, or downloads lots of PDF documents, keep in mind that they are also space hogs and find somewhere to put them besides on your PC's hard drive.
Lose Those Internet Files
You may not realize that when you surf the Internet, many files make their way to your hard drive without your knowledge. If you begun to experience a slowdown in your PC’s performance, it may be time to get into your Control Panel and lose those Internet files.
Go to your Start menu and click on Control Panel. When it opens, click on Internet Options. When the box opens, go to the Temporary Internet and click on “Delete Files.” While you're in there, think about using the settings option to adjust the setting on "Amount of Disk Space to Use" to limit the number of Internet files which get to your hard drive.
If you'd like to clean your PC even more thoroughly, then you can do a hard disk cleanup. You can select which drive you'd like to clean by going into "All Programs" on your Start menu, and selecting Accessories. Choose "System Tools," and pick the drive you intend to clean. You can also use this method to rid your computer of Temporary Internet Files, Downloaded Program Files, and everything in your Recycle Bin. If you're feeling really ambitious, click on the "More Options" tab to find other items you can delete.
You might be astounded to learn just how many programs have gotten onto your PC without your knowledge. The best way to find them is to get into your Task Manager by by simultaneously CTRL+ALT+DEL. You'll get a screen showing every program currently running on your PC and using your resources.
Some of these programs got on to your computer as soon as you went to specific websites, and contain spyware or adware which enables websites to track your surfing habits. You can remove them by installing and running a good spyware removal tool; there are several excellent ones available as free downloads from the Internet. Once you've completed your spyware removal, you should scrub every trace of them from your Windows system registry with a good registry cleaning tool like PC Doc Pro.
Replace Your Passwords
It's not unusual, during a cleaning, for your password cookies to be deleted from your hard drive. If this happens to you, visit Microsoft support at http://support.microsoft.com to download a free tool which can replace them.
Uninstall Unnecessary or Obsolete Programs
Go into your Control Panel and look it over for any programs which you never use. If you're in the habit of adding new programs to your computer, you almost certainly have lots of installation.exe files sitting on your hard drive and taking up resources every time your PC loads.
Frequently adding and removing programs to and from your PC will also clutter your Windows registry and hard drive would leftover file fragments and obsolete entries which were completely removed. If you want to clean them out, go into "My Computer” on your Start menu, right-click the C: drive icon, and click on "Program Files."
You'll find the files for every program you have deleted from your hard drive. It's safe to simply their empty folders, and will remove many of the obsolete entries which those programs have left behind.
A safer way to remove those fragmented files from your PC, however, is to download and run a good registry cleaner tool like PC Doc Pro. These programs do deep registry scans and will delete only the files which none of the applications on your computer need in order to function.
Keep Your CPU Unit Clean
Your PC generates a significant amount of static when it's running. PC static is a magnet for dust, and the less you make a point of regularly cleaning your PCs external hardware, you are inviting poor performance. Your CPU unit, your fan, your vents, and your cables all need to be kept dust-free. Without frequent dusting, your PC can easily become too hot in your hard drive damaged beyond recovery.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment