12-07-2010, 02:08 AM
Have you noticed that your system has slowed down over time? Here's a quick how to on improving it's speed under Windows.
The quickest and easiest way is always a clean install:
Backup your documents
Backup your drivers
Format your drive
Install Windows
Reinstall drivers
Move files back
I'm assuming that you don't have a Windows CD or that you don’t want to go through that process, so lets begin.
Create a new user profile
This is an important step and something that a lot of people don't mention, your old user profile probably contains a load of unneeded crap. You can create a new user profile from the control panel.
Note: Make sure the new account that you create is an Administrator.
Log out of your old profile and then log in to the new profile, you should find that most things have been set back to default, such as the visual styles and desktop wallpaper. Now that you have a clean profile delete the old one, make sure to tick delete files in the process.
Remove unnecessary programs
If you're the sort of person that likes to download everything you can under the sun, you're bound to have stuff that you don't need, some of it probably malicious and most certainly using resources thus slowing you down.
Programs can be removed the the control panel, then the add / remove programs menu.
Check your processes
Open up task manager, (ctrl + shift + esc) and go to the processes tab, here you can see all of the processes that are running on your computer. If you see any processes that you don't need or that you know are malicious, end them. Also see the msconfig section directly below.
Decide what runs at start up
When your computer starts up, a lot of program are also started by default. Open up msconfig, start > run > "msconfig”, select the “Startup” tab. From here you can untick the items that you know you don't need or ones that look suspicious. You can Google the names if you're unsure.
Turn off / disable unneeded features
Unfortunately in Windows having something look good results in having a trade off on performance. I recommend disabling all unnecessary features / visual effects such as sliding menus and shadows. If you can live with it, even the flashy aero theme.
Cleaning your registry / removing junk files
If you've had your PC for a few years, there's bound to be a lot of useless files and corrupt registry entries. When you install programs they store information in the Windows registry, if later you decide to uninstall a program registry keys can be left.
A very good program for this is http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner]ccleaner
I also recommend that you defrag your hard drive.
Perform an anti malware and anti virus scan
If your PC has suddenly slowed down or has started acting weird, you may have a virus. I personally recommend Avira as an anti virus, Malwarebytes as anti malware and if you want a firewall
Comodo internet security is a gooden.
All of the above programs are free for personal use.
If you think that you're infecting, we have a HJT and a Virus remove section here on mcompute. We're more than happy to help.
The quickest and easiest way is always a clean install:
Backup your documents
Backup your drivers
Format your drive
Install Windows
Reinstall drivers
Move files back
I'm assuming that you don't have a Windows CD or that you don’t want to go through that process, so lets begin.
Create a new user profile
This is an important step and something that a lot of people don't mention, your old user profile probably contains a load of unneeded crap. You can create a new user profile from the control panel.
Note: Make sure the new account that you create is an Administrator.
Log out of your old profile and then log in to the new profile, you should find that most things have been set back to default, such as the visual styles and desktop wallpaper. Now that you have a clean profile delete the old one, make sure to tick delete files in the process.
Remove unnecessary programs
If you're the sort of person that likes to download everything you can under the sun, you're bound to have stuff that you don't need, some of it probably malicious and most certainly using resources thus slowing you down.
Programs can be removed the the control panel, then the add / remove programs menu.
Check your processes
Open up task manager, (ctrl + shift + esc) and go to the processes tab, here you can see all of the processes that are running on your computer. If you see any processes that you don't need or that you know are malicious, end them. Also see the msconfig section directly below.
Decide what runs at start up
When your computer starts up, a lot of program are also started by default. Open up msconfig, start > run > "msconfig”, select the “Startup” tab. From here you can untick the items that you know you don't need or ones that look suspicious. You can Google the names if you're unsure.
Turn off / disable unneeded features
Unfortunately in Windows having something look good results in having a trade off on performance. I recommend disabling all unnecessary features / visual effects such as sliding menus and shadows. If you can live with it, even the flashy aero theme.
Cleaning your registry / removing junk files
If you've had your PC for a few years, there's bound to be a lot of useless files and corrupt registry entries. When you install programs they store information in the Windows registry, if later you decide to uninstall a program registry keys can be left.
A very good program for this is http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner]ccleaner
I also recommend that you defrag your hard drive.
Perform an anti malware and anti virus scan
If your PC has suddenly slowed down or has started acting weird, you may have a virus. I personally recommend Avira as an anti virus, Malwarebytes as anti malware and if you want a firewall
Comodo internet security is a gooden.
All of the above programs are free for personal use.
If you think that you're infecting, we have a HJT and a Virus remove section here on mcompute. We're more than happy to help.