Simple way to speed up Windows

No matter how powerful a PC is, how much memory (RAM) it has, or how much disk space (HDD) it has, there always comes a time when it starts to slow down.

Mostly this goes unnoticed because it is so gradual, but it adds up, and when a cleaning process is undertaken, such as suggested here, the improvement can be quite dramatic and noticeable.

The guidance here relies on you having access to Tuneup Utilities , which is in my experience, the best program to tune up and maintain your PC. Having said that, all of the functionality is available either through other programs or by digging directly into Windows' settings - although not recommended for the inexperienced or faint-hearted.

STEPS
  1. Uninstall programs you do not use. This can be more productive than many people realise, as these days, many program installers automatically, and hidden from view, install various pieces of software in addition to the main program you are installing. These vary from browser toolbars which promise greater speed (they don't work), and other utilities. Some of these can be discovered by Malware or Adware detection software such as Malware and Ad-Aware, but they do not find all of them.

    I use a program called     Total Uninstall which very cleverly finds all the relevant entries in the Windows registry and ensures that they and any associated folders and shortcuts are removed during uninstallation.

    If you don't have access to a program like this, then just use the standard Windows tools to remove programs. (    Search the internet for more information on this, as I don’t intend to explain what has already been detailed many times before). Check for programs you don't recognise and, if in doubt search the internet for information about them, and then when certain the program is not one you want, uninstall.

  2. Stop programs from starting when Windows starts. Even legitimate programs that you trust and know to be genuine, often load bits and pieces, or subprograms when Windows starts.

    Sometimes I think the companies that develop their software programs, work under the impression that theirs is the only program that you will install and use on windows, and of course this is not the case.

    Most of these will be small programs that search for program updates, but while they may be fairly small, they do take up Windows resources, and also use up bandwidth. Other programs install a small program that runs permanently in the background to speed up the opening of their program. A clever way to make their program look fast, but this, albeit small, stub, program, puts a load on your system, also slowing it down. The Office program, LibreOffice is one such with its quick launcher subprogram. At least they tell you about it, which is honest, and quite rare.

    You may want or need some of these, but at least have a look and make a choice.

    The additional or secondary program can usually not be uninstalled, but you need to disable them from starting. Tuneup Utilities has a module that helps to make this very easy, but again, you can do this by digging into Windows settings. (    Again, search the internet for how to do this if you do not have a program like Tuneup Utilities).



  3. Deactivate some programs. This is similar to the step above, but differs in that you can set the subprogram or program not to run in the background, but be available as soon as the main program starts. Additionally, Tuneup Utilities will then close the subprogram down after the main program is closed. (I don’t know of any way of doing this by digging into Windows settings, but it might be possible).



The important thing really is to continually be aware of what programmes are running on your PC. I have several that do put a load on the system, but which I find useful and choose to keep. Once such programme is Soluto. This is a program which does a lot of things to keep your PC in good order, including monitoring program and blue screen crashes (they do still happen). This can be useful if you want to track down why the crash happens. You can even do several tasks remotely.
  1. Delay programs from starting during system boot.

    This option is only available as far as I know through Soluto, and is one that I have never found to be entirely satisfactory. It is, however, something which many people appear to find useful, so do give it a try. The good thing is that you can undo the delay if it doesn’t work as you want, for any particular programme.


In this example, Soluto recommends that I stop Spotify from starting with the system boot.


Worth checking out.

  1. Finally, and often overlooked. Keep your programs updated. Some people prefer not to update as soon as a new version of a programme is released and I can sympathise with this view. This is based on the fact that new versions of a programme often still contain bugs and it is worth waiting for these to be fixed before upgrading.

    If this is your view, I recommend not immediately upgrading major releases, such as from version 3 to version 4 (or 2010 to 2014), etc.

    However, incremental releases such as 3.0 to 3.1, or 3.1.2 to 3.1.3, etc are certainly safe and are recommended for installation.

    As you will probably have disabled the small programmes which run in the background to check for updates, you need another way to find updates. I have tried several programmes or services to do this, and my current favourite is     Software Informer. I have one small programme searching for updates instead of (possibly) several, and it works rather well.



However you do this searching for updates, I do recommend that this is done regularly.

Best wishes, and feel free to ask me if you have any questions,