Question:
how can i speed up my computer?
2007-02-06 20:34:28 UTC
my computer gets slow when i open a website/open a document
Fifteen answers:
Joe D
2007-02-06 20:42:44 UTC
Improve PC Performance Tip #1:

CLEAN UP YOUR WINDOWS REGISTRY (Frequency = Daily)



This is an essential, but often overlooked, task to improve PC performance. In fact most PC users are unaware of the necessity to regularly clean the Registry as Microsoft does not include a cleanup tool in any version of Windows.



Every time a program is installed it makes changes to the Windows Registry - a huge internal database of Windows' settings. Virtually all Windows programs, and Windows itself, store a massive array of information inside the database. These thousands of entries control the behavior and appearance of virtually everything on your system.



Changes to your PC system are not always handled correctly in the Registry, leading to conflicts and the slowing down of your PC. Over time this leads to a bloated and possibly, corrupted Registry. Reasons for this include:



- frequently installing or uninstalling programs

- removing a program which leaves traces behind

- leftover entries from a hardware uninstall

- unused drivers on your system

- Spyware or similar programs that reappear every time you reboot



You can edit the Registry manually using a Windows program called Regedit, but this is really a job best left for hardened PC experts.



Thankfully, programs are available that can clean up your Registry automatically to help improve PC performance, such as "Registry Optimizer '06". This scans your Registry, looks for entries that are redundant or invalid and lists them so that they can be corrected with one mouse click. As an added bonus, to improve PC performance, it runs automatically in the background every time you start your PC. You even get a complimentary PC Windows Health Check.





Improve PC Performance Tip #2:

EMPTY THE RECYCLE BIN (Frequency = Weekly)



Regularly empty Windows' Recycle Bin.



This will release hard drive space and help improve PC performance.



When you choose to delete a file, rather than removing it completely from your computer, Windows first puts it into the Recycle Bin. This gives you a second chance, as it means you can restore flies from the Recycle Bin back to their original place on your computer.



To ensure optimum PC performance, empty your Recycle Bin weekly (or even daily). To do so, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, and choose Empty Recycle Bin.





Improve PC Performance Tip #3:

REMOVE PROGRAMS (Frequency = Monthly)



Installing programs is easy - but once you have, it's just as easy to end up leaving them languishing, forgotten, on your hard disk.



Most programs come with their own uninstaller. You'll find this under the program's entry in All Programs, from the Start menu.



If the program doesn't come with its own uninstaller, open Control Panel from the Start menu, and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Your PC will pause briefly while it gathers a list of all the programs you have installed.



Once it has done so, find the program you'd like to get rid of, click it and then select Change/Remove.



Be aware that some programs leave uninstalled traces all over the Windows Registry! Therefore, to improve PC performance after an uninstall, it's essential to clean the Registry.





Improve PC Performance Tip #4:

RUN DISK CLEAN UP (Frequency = Monthly)



Windows' Disk Clean Up is a fantastic built-in utility that automates regular maintenance tasks to improve PC performance, such as deleting Temporary Internet files, Setup log files, etc.



To start Disk Clean Up, double-click My Computer, right click on your 'C:' drive and then select Properties. Now click Disk Cleanup. Your computer will then spend a few moments analysing itself.



When it has completed the audit Windows will give you a list of areas where it has found files to cleanup. To clean an area, put a tick in the box next to it. To leave something intact, such as Temporary files, just remove the tick next to the item and click OK.



Your computer will then begin the removal process to improve PC performance - this can take some time.





Improve PC Performance Tip #5:

DISK DEFRAGMENTATION (Frequency = Quarterly)



When Windows stores programs on your PC hard disk it saves fragments of files in the nearest empty spaces.



This slows down your PC as it has to spend time hunting down the fragments and piecing files together.



There is a simple cure - running the Windows program Disk Defragmenter. This gathers together the fragments of programs and puts them back in the right order.



This makes it far easier for your hard disk to find what it's looking for, enabling programs and files to load more quickly - a sure-fired way for improving PC performance.



To defragment your hard disk click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then Disk Defragment. When the program has loaded, click Defragment.



The process can take well over an hour. Because defragmenting your hard disk takes such a long time, you really don't want to go through the process too often.



Defragment your hard disk every 3 months or so - this way you'll get the best results and optimize the performance of your PC.





Improve PC Performance Tip #6:

EMPTY THE PREFETCH CACHE (Frequency = Quarterly)



To improve the time it takes to load programs, Windows guesses which files are likely to be needed next and loads them into a pool or 'cache'.



This process is called prefetching, and it generally works well. Overtime, though, the prefetch cache can become clogged with files you no longer need - and that can slow down Windows' startup.



To clear Prefetch, choose Run from the Start menu, and enter Prefetch into the text box that appears. When you've done that, you'll be confronted by a window filled with icons. Press Alt+A to select them all and press Delete.



The cache will quickly refill with links and files that Windows really needs. As a result, your system will feel more responsive and benefit from a PC performance speed up.





So there you have it, 6 sure-fired PC performance tips to revitalize your PC. Now you know how to improve PC performance - simply follow these steps and repeat them regularly.
?
2007-02-06 20:46:41 UTC
Hi When you post such a question, please include your Computer Configuration, the operating system you are using etc so that people can give you a better answer.



You are talking about slow when opening a website/document. Do u mean the Internet Explorer is opening slow or after opening is the website opening slow.



If its the later then increase ur internet connection speed. Go to tools internet options and advanced tab. Scrool down to Multimedia and uncheck all the boxes. This would disable images but if you want to check mails and read webpages you would see that ur internet speed has increased. If you need a particular image you can always right click and select show picture and only that picture would be downloaded.



If your applications are opening slow, that may attribute to the lack of resources on your system i.e less amount of RAM. If you are using windows XP you can go to Task Manager and see that amount of resources that is being used by your computer. If your memory utilization is above 80-90% you can improve system performance by adding more Memory ( RAM).



If you are using XP you can go to Start > Settings > Control panel > System and Click advances and under performance Set Adjust for Best Performance.



This would disable visual effects but would make your windows run at a better speed using less memory which you can use it for your applications.



Windows would load lot of applications on startup which would occupy valuable memory.



You can click Start > Run > Type Regedit



Go to Startup Page and remove the checks for all applications other than Antivirus and Firewall.



This would make sure that they wont load on startup. You can always load them when needed.



You can also try deleting temperory internet files and temp files.



If you need any further clarifications please get back to me.
sosguy
2007-02-06 20:42:21 UTC
1) Dump all your cookies and temp. Internet files

2) Do a defrag



3) Check for spyware - you can download Spybot Search and Destroy for free - also AdWare. You can download a free virus scan as well (AVG or Avast) - do a scan with the virus scan.



4) Check what is running at startup - Start/Run - type in msconfig - go to the last tab - Startup - Google all the programs that are running - i.e. type in "avgas" (has to do with AVG antivirus)

All the ones not needed or spyware - uncheck.

5) After all this and still slow - add more RAM
gypsygirl731
2007-02-06 20:40:14 UTC
well do ya have any space left ? how much gb ya have? do you delete history every time u come on ? well ya should delete all history and cookies temp internet files go to your programs button from start button- then accessories then - sytem tools- then defrag- check your system to see if u need to defrag. also back up things like music in a data form and unload some stuff. check for a trojan and virus 2 dif things most anti viruses check viruses not worms.. use winpatrol safe free download to be on guard round the clock and use lavasoft adware remover this help to declog adware crap ..
BabyBOY
2007-02-06 21:42:36 UTC
According to your description,there are some regsitry errors in your PC to cause "Computer slow".You need to clean you PC.

Every time you install and uninstall software on your computer and surfing online you create junk in the registry.You need to scan and clean your PC with registry cleaner to make your pc fater.Good Regisry Cleaner will improve your PC and Internet performance dramatically.It even can speed up your PC by 300% or more!

There are some comparison and review of

TOP 5 registry cleaners.

http://www.registry-Cleaners.info



You can download and scan your PC for free.
SFNDX
2007-02-06 22:05:35 UTC
The following steps should speed up your PC. Do all of the steps with patience. Please note that deleting unnecessary and junk files are necessary to attain smooth performance of your PC.



1. Run Disk clean-up. Then delete unused files. (start>program>accessories>sys... tools> disk clean-up)

2. Check for disk errors. (right click on a disk-drive>properties>tools >error checking, then restart)

3. Run disk defragmenter, no matter what it says.

4. Delete cookies. (you can do it from your browser options: tools>internet options)

5. Delete cache or temporary files. (you can do it from your browser options) or, click on 'start", 'run', type 'temp' then click ok. Whatever shows up, just delete.

6. Delete all history files and search history. (you can do it from your browser options, or, CTRL + H, then delete)

7. Empty recycle bin.

8. Delete unused icons & short-cuts from anywhere including desktop.

9. Uninstall any software or game that you use only once or twice in a week.

10. Delete temporary internet files. (you can do it from your browser options: tools>internet options)

11. Delete all recent files. (click on start, click run, then type "recent", delete all the files which show up)

12. Run a full virus scan. If any threat found, eliminate that completely.

13. Run a software which can remove any spyware or adware.

Like: Ad Aware, Windows defender etc.

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1

http://www.download.com/Microsoft-Windows-Defender/3000-12771_4-10598014.html?tag=lst-0-1



■ Updating: (Needed only when updates are available)

14. Update your Windows by installing latest updates.

15. Update your audio & video drivers.

16. Update softwares, browsers, games that you use.



■ Use CCleaner to get rid of unnecessary junks:

http://www.download.com/CCleaner/3000-2144_4-10315544.html



■ Speed Up Your Windows (CNET):

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10165_7-5554402-1.html
2007-02-06 20:47:45 UTC
You could try defragmenting the hard drive, adding more RAM, or, if it's really bad and nothing else works, using a recovery disk to reinstall the operating system (you would of course have to back up your files first).
David W
2007-02-06 20:45:36 UTC
Mostly depends on the speed of your connection but some maintenence will help.



Try fagmenting the hard drive.

Run cleanup. Removes a bunch of windows cached information.
2007-02-06 20:38:18 UTC
Add memory by either opening up your computer and seeing if theres an open RAM spot (If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't try it) or have a tech savvy friend add more or take it to CompUSA or somewhere like that and have them figure out what kind of ram you need and add more. (FYI, ram=memory)
Kyana
2007-02-06 20:37:42 UTC
delete any unused documents that you have or any big folders like video games that you might not play anymore or old virus protectors, the more disk space taken up the slower your computer runs
2016-03-29 12:54:39 UTC
Download a program called game booster its free and it stops programs running in the background while ur playing cod. I know it helps me. It wont get in the way of antivirus and firewall.
k.encounter
2007-02-06 20:43:11 UTC
I got a big speed boost when I added ram(memory),
fade_this_rally
2007-02-06 20:36:35 UTC
Add memory
kkandsons
2007-02-06 20:39:16 UTC
you can try upgradeing memory and you processor.

also run disk clean up.
Double R
2007-02-06 20:36:47 UTC
buy a tank of nos! then put that biatch on 24's on make dat mofuher BOUNCE


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...