How to make a computer faster

How can maintain my computer faster or increase my computer speed

By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer, help increase your PC speed, and help keep it running smoothly. This article help to make your computer faster, maintain your computer efficiently, and help safeguard your privacy when you're online.

Create a preventive maintenance plan for your computer

When people notice their computer's performance slowing, the most common reason is the hard disk. Your computer's hard disk is a non-removable area that holds all the information available from your computer. Over time, hard disks begin to lose their ability to store data efficiently.

You should clean the hard disk of temporary files, optimize (defragment) the hard disk, and check the hard disk for errors on a weekly basis.

Tip: In Windows 7, Windows 8  and Windows Vista, you can go directly to any of the tools mentioned in this article. Just click the Start button, and, in the Search box, type the name of the tool. When you see the name of the tool populate in the Search list, just click it. This works for the Task Scheduler tool referenced on some of the pages linked to in this article, as well.


Clean up your hard disk

Your computer amasses temporary files over time. These files can come from any number of sources, with the web being one of the largest offenders. After a while, these temporary files will slow down your computer. Use Disk Cleanup to:
·         Remove temporary Internet files.
·         Delete downloaded program files, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets.
·         Empty the Recycle Bin.
·         Remove Windows temporary files, such as error reports.
·         Delete optional Windows components that you don't use.
·         Delete installed programs that you no longer use.
·         Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore.

Tip: Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

Optimize your fragmented files

However, as fragmented files accumulate on your hard disk, your computer becomes gradually slower. This is because your computer has to go through all these fragmented files to piece the correct parts together again.

Disk Defragmenter (sometimes shortened to Defrag by users) is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end to end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

About once every week, you should run the Windows Disk Defragmenter utility.

Note: Windows 7, Windows 8 and most versions of Windows Vista are preconfigured to automatically run Disk Defragmenter on a weekly basis. Follow the directions for your operating system to confirm that Disk Defragmenter is already set up or to make changes to the existing schedule.

Remove spyware, and help protect your computer from viruses

Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the websites you visit to user names and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance.

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is another utility that checks computers running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software, including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom, and helps remove any infection found.

Check your hard disk for errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

Learnabout ReadyBoost

If you're using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can use Ready Boost to speed up your system. A new concept in adding memory to a system, it allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without having to add additional memory.

Schedule tasks

The best way to schedule tasks as described in the previous sections varies depending on how you use your computer. For example, if you shut down your computer every day, schedule the tasks to perform during a time when your computer is typically on. You can do this by editing the Task properties as described in the steps for each utility and operating system. On the Settings tab, select the Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed check box when creating the new tasks described in this article
To use Schedule Disk Cleanup/Disk Defragmenter to run automatically:

Disk Cleanup is a convenient way to delete files you no longer need and free up hard disk space on your computer. Scheduling Disk Cleanup to run regularly can save you the trouble of having to remember to run it.

Note

1.        When you schedule Disk Cleanup, it will open and then wait for you to make choices before deleting files from your computer.

2.        If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3.        Type the command (taskschd.msc /s) in run box (windows Key+R)

4.        Click the Action menu, and then click Create Basic Task. This opens the Create Basic Task Wizard.

5.        Type a name for the task and an optional description, and then click Next.

6.        To select a schedule based on the calendar, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or One time, and then click Next.

7.        Specify the schedule you want to use, and then click Next.

8.        Click Start a program, and then click Next.

9.        Click Browse, type cleanmgr.exe in the File name box, click Open, and then click Next.

10.     Click Finish.

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