Obviously a hardware upgrade such as extra memory and/or faster processor will definitely improve you pc's performance, but when I want to increase my computers speed , I'll look at optimizing what I've already got first. I mean, it seemed pretty fast when I got it originally so what's changed ?
The years of installing and uninstalling programs, copying files off and on had taken their toll. My pc was running like a slug !
Now I do admit I was tempted to just wipe the thing and install Windows 7. I have used the beta version on a simliar spec'd pc and it was performing much better than my XP. Why aren't I running Vista ? Don't even go there ! A resource hungry, over sensitive drain on a pc's meagre resources. Give me XP or now Windows 7 any day. But that's for another article.
So I wanted to give my computer a speed boost but without buying any extra hardware. After many tests and trials, this is my recommendation to anyone in a similar predicment.
How to speed up your computer
1. Cleanup you hard disk
I am the world worst at organising my files, tending just to download things, then forget about them. Well, all those files cost disk space and when your disk space gets low , your disk access becomes slow. I'll explain this more in another article but trust me, the more you have on your hard disk, the slower it gets to access some files. So use control panel & uninstall programs you don't use anymore, delete files you don't need then empty your recycle bin.
XP & Vista come with a disk cleanup utility that will also help you delete all the temporary files left from browsing the internet. Start - > All programs > Accessories >System Tools > Disk cleanup. One word of warning - don't choose compress. In my experience this kills pc performance. Far better remove some files/programs if you are running out of disk space rather than compress.
2.Defragment your hard disk
Over time, files get scattered over the disk surface rather than being all in one place. This means that your pc has to work a lot harder to retrieve that information than necessary. This can cause quite a severe slow down. Ideally files should be stored nice and neatly all in one piece. For maximum performance, the files that are used the most should be on outter part of the disk as this is where the data transfer is fastest.
All versions of Windows do include a basic disk defragger. (Start->All Programs-> Accessories->System Tools->Disk defragment. These programs do a reasonable job of tidying your disk up, Windows 7 having the best version but they cannot compete with the specialist product , DiskMagik.
Why DiskMagik ? Windows doesnt have a Boot-time defrag. This is the only way to reorganise all the files on the disk as some important files like the pagefile are in use. Windows can't prioritze files(DiskMagik can) and a normal Windows defrag, kills a machine, whereas DiskMagik has exclusive "Proactive Defragmentation" technology. This extraordinary feature gives you the option to run DiskMagik silently in the background at all times. Using minimal system resources, and smart enough to sense periods of low activity to do its job, the proactive techonology will automatically defragment files as they become fragmented keeping your disk in peak operating condition all the time!
The hard disk drive on a Windows PC is by far the slowest component. Even high amounts of memory and a fast processor cannot overcome the limitations of a slow disk drive... and nothing slows a hard drive down more than fragmentation.
This extraordinary feature gives you the option to run DiskMagik silently in the background at all times. A MUST-HAVE to help get your computer to peak performance. GET YOUR TRIAL COPY HERE
End of Part 1.
Part 2 Registry & more coming soon...
