6 Ways to Increase Computer Performance

By: Deepak Gupta

High performance of a computer system is the factor that every computer user looks for. Here, from the phrase high performance of a computer system, I mean the speed of a computer that is how fast a computer responds to you. For example, you are trying to open a document but your computer takes more time to open the document than the usual time required to open the document. This means your computer's performance is low. There can be many reasons for a system's low performance, such as hardware configuration, temporary files, and startup programs. If your computer is showing low performance, you need to consider following tasks:

o Checking the hardware configuration o Executing the disk cleanup o Performing the virus scan o Uninstalling the unused programs o Customizing the startup programs o Cleaning your desktop o Using a pen drive

Checking the Hardware Configuration

A system with good hardware configuration provides good performance. If your system is giving low performance then first check its hardware configurations. To get a better performance from Windows Vista, your system's hardware configuration should be as follows:

o Pentium IV processor with 3.00 GHZ speed or Core 2 Duo o 1 GB RAM

If your system's hardware configuration is less than the aforementioned configuration, you need to upgrade your system. You can know the hardware configuration of your system by executing the following step:

Select Start -> Control Panel -> System.

Executing the Disk Cleanup

When you work on a computer, Windows creates some temporary files that may reduce your computer's performance. Therefore, you should continuously remove those temporary files. Apart from this, a computer contains a large number of files and folders among which some are not of your use. You should compress those files and folders. Compressing old files and folders increases the hard disk space while reduces the space for operating system to search for files and folders. This also increases your computer's performance. You should also empty Recycle Bin folder because the files and folders present in this folder also consume disk space. You can perform these entire tasks by executing the Windows disk cleanup utility. Let's now perform the following steps to execute the Windows disk cleanup utility:

1. Select Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup dialog box appears.

2. Select the system drive you want to clean and click the Ok button. Now, the system starts searching for the files and folders to free the disk space.

3. After the searching of files and folders completes, the Disk Cleanup dialog box appears again. This time it shows the space that can be cleaned. System segregates the searched files and folders in to various categories, such as temporary files and files and folders present into Recycle bin.

4. Select the check boxes besides various categories in the Disk Cleanup dialog box.

5. Click the Ok button after selecting the check boxes. The Disk Cleanup dialog box appears again to confirm the disk cleanup process.

6. Click the Delete Files button to confirm and continue the disk cleanup process. The disk cleanup process starts. After the disk cleanup process completes, the Disk Cleanup dialog box disappears.

Performing Virus Scan

A virus is a program that harms your computer and reduces computer's performance. The most common reason for a computer to come in contact of viruses is Internet surfing. When you surf Internet then many viruses may attack your computer and slow down your computer's performance. To get rid of viruses, you should execute an antivirus installed on your computer on regular time intervals.

Uninstalling the Unused Programs

An operating system contains many programs installed in it. Those programs use the computer's memory even when you do not use them. Therefore, you should uninstall the programs that are not of your use. You can uninstall the programs on Windows Vista by performing the following steps:

1. Click Start -> Control Panel. The Control Panel window appears.

2. Select the Classic View on the left pane and then double-click the Programs and Features option. A list of the programs installed on your system appears.

3. Select the program that you want to uninstall.

4. Right-click the mouse and select the Uninstall option.

A wizard to uninstall the selected program opens. Follow that wizard to uninstall the selected program.

Customizing the Startup Programs

Many programs load into computer memory on its startup along with the programs that are required to run the operating system. You may not need to use all of the programs that automatically start on computer startup. However, you are not using these programs; they utilize computer's memory and therefore, reduce the performance of your computer. Some of the programs, such as Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger, Google talk, Google updates, Winamp, Adobe updates, and so on start automatically on computer startup. You should change these programs' settings so that they will not start automatically. In Windows Vista, you can manage startup programs by performing the following steps:

1. Select Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt. The command prompt appears.

2. Type msconfig in windows command prompt. The System Configuration dialog box appears.

3. Select the Startup tab. It displays the list of the programs that startup automatically on computer startup.

4. Uncheck the programs that you do not want to start automatically on computer startup and click the Apply button.

5. Click the Ok button. Now restart the system to make the changes effective.

Cleaning your Desktop

When you start a computer, operating system loads the desktop items. Therefore, if your desktop contains more items, computer takes more time to boot and affects the system performance. You should not place heavy files and folders on desktop rather you should create shortcut of files and folders on desktop for their easy access. Shortcuts consume less computer memory than complete files and folders. A computer, which only contains shortcuts on desktop perform much better than a computer that contains heavy files and folders on desktop. You should take care about cleaning your desktop for better computer performance.

About the Author

I have been working as a Technical Content Writer for last three years. I love to write and share knowledge. I also work as a freelancer. If you like me to write for you, contact me at guptadeepak2353@gmail.com

Topics of my interest are -

How to do type of technical topics pertaining MS Office, Windows Operating system, and Internet, Health and fitness, Environment, Technical Writing, Online Writing, Make money online tips, Data Recovery, Software Reviews

You can also ask me for a topic to write on if the topic is not included in the above list.

Click to Have a look on More Useful Articles

 

(ArticlesBase SC #2557392)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - 6 Ways to Increase Computer Performance