Lets Restore Some Of That New PC Speed! (Part 2)
Speed Up Your PC – In Part 1 we discussed some of the possible changes to your system that may help you restore that New PC speed. Let’s look at some steps that have the potential to provide significant performance enhancement.
For your Windows 7 PC
After using your PC for a while and installing all the software and utilities you “need”, many of those programs you have installed have modified your system to automatically start task(s) every time your system starts. Software authors are interested in providing the best experience for their particular package. They are not as concerned about the cumulative effect of all these programs that are getting loaded automatically, and are running in the background.
Each of the programs that are running in the background, consume memory and CPU cycles. These programs are usually the #1 reason your system tends to slow down.
Working through the list can be a bit tedious, but can be worth your time if speed is important. To find our which programs are running when you start your system, press the Windows Start Key and search for MSCONFIG.EXE. Select this program and you will be provided a window similar to the one shown below.
You will see several tabs; select the Start-up Tab and Windows will gladly show you all the programs that are starting when your system starts. MSCONFIG will provide you with the Start-up Item, Manufacturer, Command and Location. If you expand the column with the command information, by examining the directory path, you can determine just which program is associated with each Startup Item.
Use this list to identify the programs you no longer use, or perhaps use very infrequently. Using the “Programs and Features” selection in the Control Panel, uninstall each of the software programs you no longer need or use.
For the programs you use infrequently, you can choose to leave the software installed, but stop the start-up item from automatically starting. To do this simply remove the check in the box to the left of the item. Work through the list and then restart to effect the changes. You will find that many programs will run just fine, without the start-up item. Many of the programs will work just fine, but will take a bit longer for the program to start.
For each program or software package that you use regularly such as Dropbox, Google Chrome etc., it is best to leave the start-up item enabled.
For your Windows 8 PC
The Task Manager in Windows 8 is a great tool for examining all the programs that are running and just which ones are using up your system’s resources. You can search for Task manager in Windows 8 and launch. You will see several tabs, all of which can be sorted by clicking on the respective tab. With the Processes tab selected, you can quickly determine which processes are using up your CPU, Memory, Disk and Network. The Performance tab will provide with a historcial and real time graphic representations of CPU, Memory, Disk, Network utilization.
Just as with the MSCONFIG command in Windows 7, the Start-up tab will show you the programs that are being automatically started each time your PC is booted. Using the “Programs and Features” selection in the Control Panel, Uninstall any software you no longer need or use. This will help restore your system to it’s showroom new performance!
Ever try hiking with a large overweight backpack? You learn to carefully select only the items you need to take with you on your journey. The same is true for you PC. Keeping your PC clean of the old software you no longer need will help your PC perform at its best.