Speeding Up Your Computer

Speeding Up Your Windows XP Computer – May 2008

Is your computer running a little slow?  Here are a few tips to help:

1. Use Windows’ built-in defragmentation utility to clean up your hard drive.  It is located in the Control Panel.  Select the Administrative Tools icon and then the Computer Management icon.  MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP FIRST!

2. Purchase more RAM for your computer.  It’s affordable and makes a big difference.

3. Empty the contents of the Prefetch folder in the Windows directory.  Windows will preload frequently used data and programs into this folder for quicker access, but over time it becomes clogged with items that are no longer used.  Emptying this folder every couple of months should do the trick.  Nothing critical resides in this folder so feel free to delete the entire contents.

To empty the contents of the Prefetch folder, go to C:\Windows\Prefetch.  From the menu in the top left corner of your screen, select View and then select List.  This will display the contents of the Prefetch folder in a list format.  Select the first file in the list by clicking the file name.  Scroll to the last file name in the list, hold down the Shift key and click on the file name of the last file displayed.  All the files in the Prefetch folder will now be highlighted.  Right click with the cursor positioned in the highlighted area and select Delete.

4. Run a disk cleanup monthly.  Double-click the My Computer icon.  Next right-click the C: drive and select Properties.  Click the Disk Cleanup button and delete all temporary files.

5. Make sure you are running anti-spyware software and that it is set to download new spyware definitions daily.  Run a scan of your computer weekly.

6. Anti-virus software is a must and like anti-spyware software, it should be set to download new virus definitions daily and a scan of your computer should be run weekly.  The scan can be set to run automatically in the middle of the night.

7. Remove programs that run automatically when your computer starts.  Click Start, click Run and then type MSCONFIG then click OK.  Select the Startup tab and uncheck anything you do not want to automatically run when you boot your computer.  Click the Apply button to save your changes.  Your computer will have to be rebooted for the changes to take effect. When your computer restarts, you will receive a notification that “you have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows Starts”.  Select the check box in this message and click the OK button.

8. Remove unused programs with Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel.  Make sure you have the media to reinstall programs you anticipate removing in case you change your mind.  Be certain you know what you are uninstalling as many device drivers have removal programs and removing the wrong one can make your video, LAN or other device stop functioning.

9. Make sure your computer is set to automatically download Critical Windows updates.

10. Empty the Deleted Items folder in Outlook frequently.

As a note of caution, do not perform any of the above-mentioned items if you are unsure of what you are doing without the assistance of our staff.