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How Do I Speed Up
My Computer?
First of all, you need to find out if your computer is worth investing the time
and money into what is necessary to speed it up. If you have a computer that’s
10 years old, it’s time to put it to rest and move forward into a new century.
If you have a
computer that’s 5 years old, it might be worth investing a little time and money
into it. If your computer is 2 years old, it is very likely worth the investment
to upgrade it, if it’s not a major upgrade.
Here are 4 tips to help speed up your computer:
Tip #1. Make sure it doesn’t have any spyware and/or viruses. It’s sometimes
difficult to tell if your computer has spyware or viruses on it except for the
fact that you’ve noticed a big slow down. The best way to check is to use an
antivirus program and antispyware program. See article on "What is the Difference
between Spyware and a Virus?" for more info.
Tip #2. Remove unnecessary items or Terminate and Stay Residents (TSRs) from
startup. If you have a lot of programs loading in startup, your computer will
take much longer to boot up because it has to load them in startup every time
your turn on the computer. When you install some programs, they automatically
install themselves into Startup. Most people are not sure what to remove and are
concerned about removing something from their computer. You’re not removing
anything from the computer when you remove it from startup. An analogy would be
if you go to the grocery store and you leave your car outside with the engine
running. It will make it faster for you to leave because you won’t have to turn
the key but it wastes a lot of resources (gas) while you’re in the store
shopping. Similar situation with the computer. When you have programs loading up
in startup, they’re just sitting there waiting for you to use them but while
they’re waiting to be used, they’re using up your computer’s resources. However,
the main programs you want to run in startup are your antivirus, antispyware and
firewall
programs. These days, you need protection all the time when you’re on the
internet. Worst case scenario is you remove something from startup that you
really didn’t want to remove. Go back into to startup and put it back in.
To disable programs from automatically loading, follow the below instructions.
1. Click Start / Run / Type msconfig and press enter.
2. This will open the "System Configuration Utility" window.
3. Within this window click the "Startup", uncheck each of the startup tasks you
no longer wish to load. If you are uncertain what startup programs are causing
your issues, try un-checking all of the items and then slowly start checking
each of the items until you determine the source of your issue.
Windows Vista: Type msconfig in the Start Search entry box and on the 'Startup'
tab remove the apps you don't want running.
Tip #3. Add more memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) to your computer. First,
you need to check to see how much memory you have in your computer. In Windows,
Right-Click on My Computer and Left-Click on Properties. If you have
Windows XP, I would recommend a minimum of 512 MB of RAM but 1 GB would be
optimal. My personal recommendations are more than what the manufacturer
recommends. If you have Windows Vista, I would recommend a minimum of 1 GB but 2
GB would be better. It also depends on what you are doing on the computer. If
you only use your computer to access the internet and email, the minimum amounts
of memory may be adequate. However, if you’re a major game player, you need to
almost max out the memory.
Now, after you have determined how much memory you want to add, you need to
determine what kind of memory your computer takes. The easiest way would be to
take it in to a computer store and let them check to see what kind you need.
Memory installation is so simple that most stores don’t even charge to install
it when you buy it from them. (We don’t.) The most common type and speed of
memory used today include RAMBUS PC-800-40, PC800-45, SDRAM PC/100/133, DDR-266
PC-2100), DDR-333 (PC-2700), DDR-400 (PC-3200) or DDR2-533 (PC2-4200), DDR2-667
(PC2-5300), DDR2-800 (PC2-6400), etc.
If you decide to install the memory yourself, here are a few words of caution.
First of all, make sure the computer is turned off. A better option would be to
simply unplug it after you shut it down properly.
Secondly, make sure you are grounded. In other words, don’t walk across the
carpet and then stick your hands inside the computer. Electronic components are
susceptible to damage from static electric discharge even when you don’t hear
the pop. Touch something metal like the power supply before you begin installing
the memory.
My final word of caution is to make sure you don’t install the memory in
backwards. I have seen several of my customers do this and it usually fries the
memory chip and sometimes the motherboard. You can even see the burned markings
on the
memory chip. When you insert the memory into the slot on the motherboard, make
sure to line up the notches and then press it down firmly into place. You can
usually hear a little click when it’s locked into place.
Tip #4. Replace the existing hard drive with a faster hard drive. If you have a
computer that’s a few years old, the hard drive may have only have an access
speed of 5400 RPM. If you’re not ready to retire your computer, replace the hard
drive with one that’s 7200 or 10,000 RPM. You will definitely see an increase in
performance. However, if you go to the 10,000 RPM speed, you will have to use a
Serial ATA hard drive and you may not have a SATA connector on your
motherboard. You can add a Serial ATA adapter or use a 7200 RPM IDE Hard Drive.
Here’s an example of how you can benefit from a faster hard drive. It’s been a
while but I had a customer who brought in a Pentium III 850 MHz computer and he
wanted to play DVDs. I increased his RAM from 256 to 512 and when we tried
playing a movie, the picture wasn’t smooth and was very jerky. He asked me what
he could do to get it to play DVDs. Well, my idea was to get a faster computer
but he didn’t like that idea. I didn’t have any faster processors, so I
suggested replacing his hard drive with a new IDE 7200 RPM hard drive. He agreed
on the pricing. We changed it out and then his movies were nice and smooth.
If your computer is running really slow and you’re positive that it doesn’t have
any viruses or spyware, then you may have a
failing hard drive.
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