Thread: Tips to keep your PC fast and secure

1. Minimize the number of applications: Installing more and more applications is one of the major factor due to which your PC slows down.

2. Fragmentation: As more and more applications are installed, more files are copied to hard disk and the data gets scattered throughout the hard disk. When an application requires a file, the hard drive has to gather all parts of the file, scattered around the disk, which eventually makes your system slower.

Solution: Use a defragmentation application to occasionally defragment your computer.

3. Registry: The windows registry is a storehouse of information, specific to your computer. Such as your hardware and software settings. As more applications are installed and consequently removed, the corresponding information is not removed from registry. This causes additional errors, since windows “thinks” that a file or an application still exists, while in actual it does not.

Solution: Use a registry cleaner like ccleaner to remove invalid registry entries. Note that no application can safely remove all the invalid entries. Also occasionally defragment windows registry.

4. Services : A lot of modern applications now install what is known as “services”, which are essentially a part of the program which are run in the background with windows. The problem is that most of them are set to start with windows , which means that they use your processor, memory irrespective whether you actually run the application or not.

Solution: (only for advanced users) Set the unused services to manual mode, which means that the service will start if and when required.

5. Portable software’s: use portable softwares wherever possible. The advantages are many, but the ones which concern us here are the fact that they usually store their settings in .ini files and not in windows registry. Also they usually don’t have any services. The added advantage is also the fact that you don’t have to keep re-installing them, if you have to reinstall windows.

6. Choose appropriate security products: The number one reason for a computer slowing down is the presence of security applications which scan files in real time. So choose an appropriate security product.

7. De-crapify your new PC/Laptop: Most new branded laptops and PC bought from retail shops, have lots of trial softwares and games, which are essentially useless. So its best to get rid of them as soon as possible. Also many of them come with Google desktop search pre-installed. It can cause a tremendous slowdown initially due to file indexing activity.

8. Updates: Keep all your software up to date ,it ensures that all known bugs of the software can be kept away and also ensures maximum performance and security.

again good work!

Many members will find this useful.
Can't rep

No problem. Your comment is more than enough.

Originally Posted by meetdilip

No problem. Your comment is more than enough.

thanks!


But i wonder why people are not commenting!after all he has done hard work to find this info!encourage him!

Nice information, very helpful for newbies.

This is great information. keep it up..

Thanks Aboosoft

Yeah i know about Registry cleaner but all the other points are new and unique..thanks for the points

@meetdilip
REP+
ADD:
Also see a new feature in CCleaner.

FileHippo.com - Download Free Software

you can delete Old System Restore Points
selectively. Latest cannot be deleted.

@sam, essbebe

Thanks

Good work. Will give rep a little later. Can't do it right now.

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OK. Rep+ now. Also rated the thread.

Thanks ........................

Originally Posted by imrock

thanks!


But i wonder why people are not commenting!after all he has done hard work to find this info!encourage him!

cauz everyone knows this.

1. Minimize the number of applications: Installing more and more applications is one of the major factor due to which your PC slows down.

Its not the software, it the services installed by those software which runs in background even if we don't open the software.

2. Fragmentation: As more and more applications are installed, more files are copied to hard disk and the data gets scattered throughout the hard disk. When an application requires a file, the hard drive has to gather all parts of the file, scattered around the disk, which eventually makes your system slower.

Well, It was an issue with windows 98 and 2000. Improved a bit in XP and no issues of fragmentation in Vista or Windows 7. Windows 7 manages its perfectly. In-fact i am using windows 7 since beta and have not even fragmented my HDD since.

3. Registry: The windows registry is a storehouse of information, specific to your computer. Such as your hardware and software settings. As more applications are installed and consequently removed, the corresponding information is not removed from registry. This causes additional errors, since windows “thinks” that a file or an application still exists, while in actual it does not.

Again , its applicable to Windows 98,2000 and XP. No issues with windows 7. Reason : Old windows software's were built using VB 6.0 and hence it has used registry to store custom info. But with .Net Framework , all applications are .Net based and hence Registry use is ZERO. .Net has many features like isolated storage which can be used by application to save some custom info.

4. Services : A lot of modern applications now install what is known as “services”, which are essentially a part of the program which are run in the background with windows. The problem is that most of them are set to start with windows , which means that they use your processor, memory irrespective whether you actually run the application or not.

Yes. This is what makes PC slow.

Rest this is a good writeup. Cheers.

The best is to keep at least 10 GB free space in c drive and use diskeeper to defragment the files as the latest version 2010 has real-time defragmenting option.