10 ways to make your computer run faster and last longer
Wikipedia says that people born before 1980 are not as computer savvy as those born after 1980. Well, I was born in '78 and so I have something to prove! Just kidding, my husband is a wiz with computers, and I have learned some things by watching him. So I have something to offer! Help. For all of you non-techno savvy people. If people did the following things to their computers often, then their computers would last longer. I have had the same laptop for six years and never had a virus! That's without Virus Protection Software, which, itself, can make your computer ridiculously slow! Delete any unknown or unused programs At the start menu, you can choose [control panel], or just do a search for it. Under [Control Panel], choose [Programs], then choose [Uninstall a Program]. Review all the programs that you have installed and if you find that you don't need some, delete them. Delete your cookies Go to your start menu and type in the word “cookies”. Then delete everything in you cookies file. These are just files that are put there by the websites you visit. Decide what starts up whenever you start you computer Go to your start menu and type in “msconfig” or run the program “msconfig” (without the quotes). In the General tab make sure that “Selective Start-up” is selected. Then go to the Startup tab. Here you can decide what starts up whenever you start your computer. You want to keep anything made by Microsoft, for example, as your CPU's system may need this file to run correctly. If you are not sure which programs are needed and which ones are needless, then just look them up online. Look up the name of the program and the company manufacturer on the internet if possible. Delete your browsing history Go to your internet browser's internet options and look for [History]. There should be an option to clear or delete it all. Clear download history In your internet browser's options, there should be an option for clearing you download history. It depends on if your internet browser is Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc. Empty the cache This option is also found in your browser's options. Clean your computer's fan with dust remover Dust is like putting a sweater on your electronics – not good!! and don't put your computer inside a cabinet or anything like that because you are just creating an oven in which your computer recycles the same air and gets it hotter every time. Anyone for some “Baked CPU?” mmmmm Download “autoruns” This program helps you see what programs are running and easily turn off the unnecessary ones.Remember to make sure nothing else is downloading with the program that you want. While downloading, the program should ask you if you want an [express] or [recommended] installation or [custom] installation. You can choose a [custom] installation, so that you can decide what gets downloaded. Download programs from reputable sites If you want to download software try to download them from download.com always choose “Custom download” and make sure of exactly what you are downloading. Sometimes, programs that you are downloading might want to download additional programs, such as, a tool bar or assign a default search engine. So you should choose if you want this/ these other program(s), which you might suspect and will just take up additional space and make your CPU run slower. Replace your old parts as needed You can order internal fans or cords online as they tend to go bad before all other parts. A new fan is pretty easy to replace and you can find instructions online. Today-1
