Seven Simple, Quick Ways to Speed Up Windows PC Performance

If your PC seems to take forever completing even the most basic tasks, take a look at this simple guide to boosting PC performance. When the operating system is first installed on a PC, the system typically runs like a dream. But over time, as computer users fill their systems with games, apps and photos, these files take up space and IO resources, which result in a much slower computing experience. By following the steps outlined here, PC users will notice a marked increase in computer capacity and performance, allowing important applications to run at full speed. This eWEEK slide show uses industry information from Josh Ong, director of global marketing and communications at Cheetah Mobile.

Photos, videos, graphics and file data are notoriously duplicated throughout a typical computer user’s system or systems. To reduce the wasted space consumed by duplicate files, removed or deduplicate them. This can be done manually—which is well worth the effort—but there are also a number of very effective software solutions that help automate the process. Because certain apps and software also generate duplicate junk files that take up valuable storage space, the automated solutions play a valuable role is returning storage capacity consumed by this data as well.

It’s amazing how quickly applications, games and other programs can fill up a significant amount of space on your PC. It’s not unusual to download an application, use it once or twice, and then relegate it to the library of unused software on your system. These unused apps take up valuable storage space and possibly system IO if the software runs automatically when your computer is active. Navigate through “Apps & Features” to identify and delete the programs you will not use again and restore these valuable storage and system resources.

The first hard disk drive had a total storage capacity of 5MB. These days, a single photograph is often several megabytes in size. Fortunately, technology has evolved since 1956, and we now have a significant number of data storage options and capacities. In addition to increasing internal hard drive space, here are a few other storage options in widespread use today: external hard drive(s), Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, etc. Moving files into cloud storage or onto an external device will allow a low performance computer to run faster.

With every online click, users run the risk of exposing their computer to malware and viruses. Even if these programs do not cause noticeable harm, they will use your system resources and make a slow computer run even slower. Make sure to use an antivirus program to protect computers from harmful malware. Keep it updated and enable real-time protection.

Some Windows startup programs are essential, but others are not. Keeping these programs running all the time wastes system resources and slows down the computer. To remove unnecessary startups, press the “Windows” key + “R” and type in “msconfig.” Click on the “Services” tab, check “Hide all Microsoft services,” and unselect the programs you don’t want to run to enjoy faster system performance.

If you have followed the above steps and your computer is still running slow, you may want to reinstall Windows. This will remove junk files and all the apps and programs you no longer use. It will also clean your computer by removing any viruses and malware. Go here (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4000735/windows-10-reinstall)  for a step-by-step breakdown of how to reinstall Windows 10.

You could do all this work yourself, or you could use an advanced PC cleaning utility that will do much if not all of these activities for you. The best computer cleaning services should protect user privacy while providing features that remove junk files, update drivers, optimize the registry, improve system tuning and recover accidentally deleted files. There are both free and professional software solutions available to keep the PC clean and running smoothly without having to spend time monitoring and tuning PC performance manually.