New Year's Computer Overhaul

A quick maintenance and improvement session will get your computer back to its best
Jan 2011
by Robin Wark

Have you made a New Year's resolution? One that you might consider – and it is not too hard to keep – is to take steps so that your computer continues operating at its best.

There are several easy steps you can take to improve and maintain your PC's performance. They don't take too long and are cheaper than a gym pass.

Defragment your hard drive
Over time, your computer tries to cram all of its data into available spaces. This means files are divided into chunks and connected information is often not stored together. This means it takes your PC longer to find files. Defragmenting your hard drive, using utilities such ParetoLogic PC Health Advisor, reorganizes the data. This makes it easier for your computer to find things.

Get rid of viruses and malware
Viruses, spyware, adware, keyloggers, Trojans and other malware can hurt you and your PC in many ways. These malicious programs seek to collect information such as credit card numbers and banking credentials. As well, they can slow down your PC and cause instability. A fast-scanning solution like XoftSpySE Anti-Spyware can quickly find and remove various threats. Other defence alternatives, such as ParetoLogic Anti-Spyware PLUS, not only eject malware but prevent infections with active blocking technology.

Improve browsing speeds
You could optimize your web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, by changing the settings so that it does not keep pages in the history more than a day or so and reducing the disk space to use to 8MB. You can also remove temporary files. An easy way to do this is using PC Health Advisor. Another tip to consider is removing add-ons, plug-ins and browser toolbars that just slow you down and clutter things up. You can do this quickly with the help of the Browser Object Manager in various ParetoLogic programs.

Manage startup items
When your computer boots up, a number of processes start to run. Some of these are crucial to the operation of the Windows operating system or are important for other reasons, such as your anti-virus program. However, other programs and processes are just stealing resources. You can pare down the number of processes launching when you start your computer. This can vastly improve your startup times. It is easy to remove processes using the Startup Manager in various ParetoLogic programs.

Clean the Windows registry
The Windows registry is a complicated database that stores a variety of relationships, settings and preferences. Over time the database can become a mess with missing and unneeded information. This affects your computer's stability and performance. PC Health Advisor and RegCure Registry Cleaner effectively clean the Windows registry to get your computer back up to speed.

Get rid of the junk
While your computer can store a lot of data, it can also slow it down. To improve its operation, consider removing programs and files that you do not need on a regular basis. PC Health Advisor can also clean deeper by removing unneeded temporary items and duplicate files.

PC maintenance takes a bit of time, but you are rewarded with a well working machine. This will prevent frustration and problems down the line. Above are just some of the ways you can optimize your computer. Keep reading the Performance Solutions newsletter all year for more tips and information.

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