Throughout almost a decade of using the same Windows computer, I have tried numerous things to fix the most common computer problems, such as freezes, crashes, virus and spyware infections, blue error screens, etc. Now, I'm not an expert in computer fixes and such, but I have read a great amount of websites, blogs and forums about the computer problems similar to what I had over the years to try to fix them myself. This is why I want share with you these important steps that have always worked for me to improve the performance of my computer. You don't need to be a professional or possess great computer skills to follow these steps, and I will try to thoroughly explain them.
(Note: These steps work for almost any computer, but I will mostly focus on Windows XP because that's the computer that I have a lot of experience with).
1. Delete Cookies. These are the files that websites put in your computer to track your behavior online. The easiest way to delete them is to go to Start - Run - type "cookies" (without quotation marks) - OK and delete the files in the Cookies folder. You can also do this through any internet browser.
2. Perform Disk Cleanup at least twice a week. Go to Start - All programs - Accesories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup. I recommend selecting Temporary Internet Files, Offline Webpages and Compress Old Files because these are unnecessary files and they negatively impact the overall computer performance. You can select other options, but if you don't know what you are doing, then don't select them.
3. Perform Disk Defragmentation at least once a week. Go to Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Defragmenter. Defragment the main local disk (depends on how many hard drives you have/use). Defragmentation works by neatly placing all the files in the right and convenient location on the drive to relocate them faster when they are needed. This step is one of the most essential steps to increase computer performance. If you do this for the first time, it might take a few hours to scan and record the locations of the files, but next time you use it, it will be much faster. If you don't like the default defragmenter, you can download a different disk defragmenter online. That's up to you.
4. Run a Disk Check at least once every 2-3 months. Go to Start - My Computer - Right click on Local Disk (C:) - Properties - Tools - Error Checking - Check now - Check Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. It will run the program on the system startup (It might take a few hours). The use of Disk Check is to ensure that you have no corrupted sectors in your hard drive, so if you think that you don't have any bad sectors or corrupted system files, you can skip this step or do it less frequently.
5. Lower the timeout in BOOT.INI. By decreasing the time it take system files to load can dramatically increase the time it take the computer to start and run. To do this you have to go to Start - Run - type "msconfig" (w/o quotation marks) - Ok - open BOOT.INI tab - and lower the default Timeout of 30 seconds to something between 10 and 3 seconds. It is safe to lower it to 3 seconds, which will make the startup much faster. Once you setup the timeout, click Ok and restart the computer and you will see the difference. If for some reason, the computer performance worsens, then change the timeout to 5 seconds or a little higher. Do this very carefully! Do not change other boot settings, unless you know exactly what you are doing.
6. Download CCleaner software online. In my opinion, CCleaner is a great software to clean out junk files and even registry errors. CCleaner has multiple functions and its file size does not influence the performance of the computer. You can get it completely free and fully functional from the CCleaner website or Download.com. I find this software very effective at cleaning out junk files and registry errors and easy to use. A lot of other free registry cleaners are not very effective and even full of viruses and spyware, so be careful.
7. Use a good Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware software. This step does not directly increase the compute performance, but it protects the computer from virus/spyware attacks that can dramatically slow down the computer. In this step, you have to experiment with different antivirus/antispyware software to find out which work(s) the best. Personally, I use MalwareBytes AntiMalware and Spybot Search and Destroy together. They both work perfectly to scan and remove different types of Malware (Viruses, Spyware, Adware, Backdoors, etc.). However, MBAM and Spybot are not 100% effective just like nearly every free antimalware software online. The fact is that nearly every free and even trial antivirus/antispyware software have disadvantages. I have tried almost every type of antimalware software, and they either fail to find and remove hard-to-find and or rare viruses and spyware, fail to work efficiently on the computer or just infect my computer with more malware. That's the ugly truth. So experiment with the following good antimalware software: MalwareBytes (free), Spybot (free, get it only from their website), Kaspersky (trial), Avira (free/trial), Eset Nod32 (trial), Spyware Terminator (free). Also, I do not recommend paying for any antimalware
8. Keep your drivers up to date. You can do this by using different software such as Uniblue's DriverScanner or Driver Detective. I personally recommend using Uniblue Driver Scanner to find and update old drivers. What this software does is update you old drivers so computer can run smoothly. You need to make sure that your drivers are updated and not corrupted.
9. Add additional RAM. This step is optional and not necessary, but it can certainly increase the size of the computer memory which will increase the overall speed. If you want, you can buy RAM in a hardware/electronics store and install it inside your computer.
10. Use Windows Classic mode. This is very simple and effective. By switching to Windows Classic mode (unless you already have it), you can dramatically increase the speed of the computer because the Classic mode uses less energy and has the same function as the other modes. It might appear a little ugly and obsolete, but when your computer is very slow, it doesn't really matter.
11. Uninstall unnecessary files. One of the biggest reasons why computers slow down and keep freezing and crashing is due to a large number of files installed. If you don't use a file, and you are confident that you don't need it and will never use it, then delete it, but make sure you know what you are doing. If you delete a wrong file (lets say a system file), you can wreck your computer. To uninstall a program go to Start - Set Program Access and Defaults - Change or Remove Programs.
12. Turn off unnecessary services. You can disable the services that you don't need on the computer. To know which services are unnecessary, you can visit WindowsNetworking.com
Caution: Follow these steps at your own risk!
Be careful when searching for antivirus/antispyware software, when changing Boot.ini timeout, running Check Disk, uninstalling files, and disabling services!
