Improve Your System Performance Painlessly

By Jeff Ropelato

There are several small things that you should do to tune up your PC performance. First, clean. Get rid of all the spyware hiding on your machine. You might think your computer is uncontaminated because you only visit reputable sites, but if you cruise the Internet, you have spyware.

After you run a spyware program that deletes active spyware files, you are still left with references to those files in your computer registry. These traces will clog your registry over time, leaving your computer vulnerable to failure.

That's where Registry Cleaners can help out. Cleaners will eliminate all the leftover traces of spyware and scan your registry for possible problems, saving you from future headaches.

But even after you have scrubbed your computer with anti-spyware and registry cleaners, there are simple steps you can take to improve your PC speed further.

Minimize multitasking
As you work on your computer, you may have the tendency to leave all sorts of programs running simultaneously. Is that solitaire program still running that you were playing hours ago? Do you have a calculator program up just in case you might need it?

Only use programs that are necessary. Close the rest. For example, running scans on your computer is essential to make sure your machine runs smoothly, but after you have run an anti-spyware or anti-virus scan, close them down. You don't need these programs running. They suck up your computer's processor time and RAM.

And do you really need to be connected to the Internet 24/7? It's OK to work offline. Keeping open connection to the Internet uses up your system resources.

Learn what's lurking in the background
A good registry repair tool it should allow you the ability to see what programs automatically start up with Windows. Most of the time, you don't even know these programs are running, but some place a small icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. You can manually right-click on the icons to close them, but this won't keep them from loading up the next time Windows boots up.

With a registry repair utility, you can see these programs and choose which ones you want to disable. This will save your processor and memory resources-reserve these for programs you care about.

Economize-space doesn't last forever
Unlike outer space, your computer disk space does not go on forever. Our computers use space for a variety of things-caching files and images, virtual memory, backups, and of course, storing applications and files. As a general rule, you should never allow your available disk space to fall below five percent of total disk space. Clean house, get a larger drive, or both.

This is another area where registry cleaners come in handy. You can run file cleaners that will get rid of all the excess junk building up quietly in unseen corners of your computer.

Don't delete-uninstall instead
Windows not only keeps track of all your programs, it also stores the tools you need to uninstall programs. When you don't take time to go through the correct process to uninstall old programs, you'll have stale leftovers rotting in your registry.

A good registry cleaner can help you edit the Windows Add/Remove list, completely erasing all those leftover files from deleted applications. This frees up disk space that can be used for more important items.

Defrag the hard drive and the registry regularly
They are two types of defrags you should perform monthly (or even weekly if you use your computer a lot). You need to defragment your hard drive as well as your registry. Typically, you will receive a defragmenting tool with your operating system software.

What defragers do is rearrange and group scattered bits of program data together. Data becomes scattered with normal use since your computer will plug in data where ever it is most convenient at the time, filling holes left by programs that have moved. If your hard drive gets too cluttered, your computer may plug a new application into a half-dozen tiny slots. This partitioning makes loading time far longer.

Scandisk or another registry scanner can also find and fix most errors on your hard drive. Both will make your software programs run faster and more organized software speed your computer's boot time.

Registry defragers come with registry cleaning software. Like any database, your registry will become cluttered and fragmented with use and you should defragment the system to keep it running smoothly.

Adjust your restore settings
Windows XP reserves 12% of the hard disk space for restore points by default; the size of your hard drive is irrelevant. Restore points means "restore your computer to previous points in time." This system backs up your registry and other vital files regularly, usually when you install new applications. If your system is ever severely damaged, you can travel back in time on your computer to a previous point and restore your settings at that point. Typically, your operating system will store new reference points daily or whenever you make changes, such as installing a program.

So why mess with the 12% default to store these points? Doing so will give you more storage wiggle room on your hard drive. If you keep your computer clean you don't really need more than 5% or 6% of a large hard drive reserved for restore points; this isn't a full backup-it's far smaller.

You can manually lower this amount simply by right clicking on My Computer, then Select Properties. This will take you to your System Properties screen. Select the System Restore tab. In the middle of this screen you will see a slider bar that will allow you to decrease the amount of space Windows XP reserves. This will free up a lot more space for you to use.

If you get into the habit of taking care of your computer, it will take care of you. Like the rewards of brushing your teeth each day, regular maintenance is cheaper and faster in the long run than finding a cure after things go wrong. If you make these simple steps of computer maintenance a habit, you will give your system greater speed and stability and you'll give yourself peace of mind.