50
Tips for a Super Fast PC
It's
that time again. Rid yourself of
all the old junk piling up on your
hard drives and make sure your settings
are where they belong. Follow these
suggestions to keep the old trusty
box in good shape and start the
New Year off right.
1.
Add remove programs: Unused programs
waste resources and space, be sure
to remove them using the Add/Remove
Programs Utility. Start/Control
Panel/Add Remove Programs/
2.
Tray icons: Icons in the system
tray signal programs that are open
and running. Too many can slow your
system to a crawl. Rt. Click, close,
and remove from the msconfig. Start/run/type
msconfig/enter//StartUp/ uncheck
the unneeded programs/OK/reboot.
3.
Junk mail: Use a spam filter to
remove junk mail before it infects
your system. Also remember to clear
your deleted email items completely.
4.
Remove video files: These are sometimes
large files. How many times are
you going to watch your neighbors
new baby tumble to the floor. Remove
these files when you're finished.
5.
Check running processes: Hold down
Ctl+Alt+Delete and then click processes
to see what's running on your PC
right now. Keeping your processes
between 20 and 30 will assure that
you're not overloading your PC.
6.
Back up my documents and email:
Backing up your system doesn't end
with letters and pictures. Be sure
to include copies of important emails
and the documents folder.
7.
Clean up your desktop: Stop wondering
where everything went. Clean up
old downloads and forgotten programs.
Set up a file system and stick to
it.
8.
Clear your cookies: Nothing could
be easier. In Internet Explorer
open your browser and click Tools/Options/General/Delete
Cookies/. It?s even easier in FireFox.
You can set FireFox to delete your
cookies each time you close your
browser. Open Firefox and click
Tools/Privacy/set to delete cookies
each time you close FireFox.
9.
Set browser security setting to
default. It's easy to forget that
setting you changed last week. Periodically
return your browsers security setting
to defaults to ensure adequate protection.
10.
Remove temporary files: An amazing
amount of data and files can build
up, taking space and slowing things
down. Remove the junk with PC Pitstop
Erase.
11.
Empty recycle bin: Putting information
is the recycle bin doe not remove
it from your system. Take the trash
out to keep things clean and tidy
12.
Clear IE cache: Clearing your browser
cookies insures that you are getting
the latest information form the
sites you visit. Use a program like
PC Pitstop Erase to make it easy.
You can also open you browser/select
Tools/Options/General/and delete
cookies, files, and clear your browsing
history from there.
13.
Optimize Internet connection: You
pay for you bandwidth every month.
Use Optimize 2.0 to automatically
adjust your settings and increase
your bandwidth in XP.
14.
Use a registry cleaner: Clear the
clutter from unseen areas. Use a
Free registry cleaner like RegScrubXP,
for safe and effective cleaning
of broken and obsolete entries.
PC Pitstop Optimize 2.0 does registry
cleaning in addition to other tweaks.
Try the Free Scan .
15.
Make sure your drivers are up to
date. Driver updates are extremely
important to the smooth operation
or your system. Use DriverAlert
to get the latest driver updates.
16.
Make sure your anti virus and anti
spyware signatures are up to date.
Signature files are the list of
malware from which you are protected.
Nothing can slow your computer like
spyware. Outdated antivirus and
spyware signatures are the same
as no protection at all. Be sure
you have the latest threats blocked
and slated for discovery and removal.
Update your Exterminate program
now.
17.
CPU benchmark: Many times your CPU
will reset itself incorrectly. The
PC Pitstop Full Test is an excellent
way to insure your 2.4.Gig computer
is set to give you 2.4Gig performance.
http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp
18.
Disk benchmark: Your system is only
as fast as it's slowest part. Receive
specific instructions on increasing
your drive speed and note the remarkable
difference "Raid" makes
to drive performance. You can receive
personal help raiding your drives
in PC User to User Help section.
19.
Graphics benchmark: After checking
out your 2D performance with the
video portion of our test, use a
benchmark similar to the ones offered
at FutureMark to see how your 3Dperformance
rates
20.
Make sure video acceleration is
enabled. Today's PCs offer even
more control over your choices for
a quality display or increased frame
rates. Click your desktop/select
settings/Advanced/Troubleshoot/.
Full acceleration gives you the
best performance while No acceleration
gives you the best visual representation.
21.
Set system restore for one month.
All drives are not created equal.
Adjust the space allotted to System
Restore to 3%. This should allow
for plenty of restore options.
22.
Disable UAC in Vista: Safety is
important but if you have work to
do disable UAC. Go to Control Panel/Type
your user account into the search
box/Click the turn On/OFF UAC entry/Uncheck
Use user Account Control/OK/.
23.
Check Internet connection speed
versus rated speed. Use our free
test to compare what your ISP says
you should receive against what
you are really receiving.
24.
Check Internet receive buffer: It's
your choice. You can use our Free
test to check your receive buffer
size and adjust it yourself, or
you can use Optimize to make the
adjustment for you. Vista users
will not need to make this particular
adjustment.
25.
Check browser cache size: Use the
Pitstop Full Test to check your
browser cache size and show you
how to change it. http://www.pcpitstop.com/
26.
Check browser cache overflow: Keep
you web pages displaying current
content and loading fast. Use a
setting between 10 and 100 megabytes
to get the best of both worlds.
27.
Get a free battery if your system
is under battery recall: Go to your
manufacture and check to see if
your battery has been recalled because
of fire danger. Chances are it has.
Do it now!
28.
Check your DirectX installation:
This collection of Microsoft applications
has a direct effect on how your
games and video content is handled.
To view your video content correctly
be sure it is up to date.
29.
Look in Device Manager for Disabled
Devices: Did you find one? It could
be no driver, or it could be a device
that needs to be removed from your
device manager. Reboot your system
to be sure it's not from software
problems and run your Add/Remove
Hardware Wizard. Start/Control Panel/Add
Hardware Wizard.
30.
Run a periodic Disk Check: For a
quick check just go to Start/run/type
chkdsk/OK. To check your hard drives
and recover bad sectors go to Start/My
Computer/Rt click the drive/select
Properties/Tools/Check Now/You can
now select Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors. A reboot
is required.
31.
Use a memory-checking tool: Nothing
can create unusual behavior in your
PC like a bad stick of memory. Running
a memory check is a must. I like
the free Memtest86+. It does require
making a floppy or cd but if you're
having weird errors there is no
better way to check.
32.
Clear you fans of any debris: Most
desktop models give access to front
intake fans that should be cleaned
regularly. Turn off your computer
and take a look. Canned air is the
easiest way to clear these areas
of dust and debris. Do this near
your cat. It will love it.
33.
Check your systems temperatures:
Heat is the enemy of all computers.
If your system does not have an
included Temp Utility be sure to
check your systems website for what
they suggest. I've always liked
SpeedFan.
34.
Set your Receive Buffer Size: Safety
is great but safe and fast is better.
If you are using XP or earlier,
your system is not optimized for
broadband Internet access. Run the
Pitstop Full test to learn how to
set your Receive Buffer Size.
35.
Defragment your hard drive: It doesn't
take long to scatter files through
out your drive. The more fragmentation
you have, the longer it takes for
your PC to find data. Get into the
habit of defragging on a schedule.
While there are some excellent free
programs out there like DisKeeper
Lite, none of them go as far as
Disk MD. In addition to being an
excellent program that offers complete
defragmentation, Disk MD even defrags
your Windows XP restore points and
organizes your information so it
is more easily accessed. It's my
favorite Pitstop program.
36.
Dust off the monitor:It produces
heat and needs to breathe like the
rest of your computer.
37.
Check your UPS:Route all your connections
though it, including your Internet
connection. Get rid of the rats
nest behind your desk.
38.Wipe
down your keyboard and Mouse: Remove
any batteries or connections and
give them a good once over. Be sure
they are completely dry before reconnecting.
39.
Check your power supply: Always
one of the first components to fail,
check that the fans are clear and
free spinning.
40.
Check your cables:Plastic gets brittle
so replace your Internet cables
regularly.
41.
Clean your peripherals: Clean your
printer heads, check ink cartridges,
dust off your router, and get them
ready for another round.
42.
Get those Microsoft Updates: If
you don?t have your PC set to automatically
update, now is the time.
43.
Get a Firewall: There's more to
protection than virus and spyware
removal. Prevention is the best
cure.
44.
Remove unused Windows Programs:
You can use Add/Remove Programs
to remove unused "Windows"
programs like Windows Messenger.
They are on the left side of the
Add/Remove menu.
45.
Turn off old Guest Accounts: Start/
Control panel/ User accounts/ Guest.
46.
Change your passwords: Get into
the habit of changing your passwords
often and do not store them on a
sticky note by your pc.
47.
Compact your old Outlook Express
emails: This is more about privacy
than space. Deleted messages are
never gone. Compacting before deleting
makes them harder for hackers to
recover.
48.
Turn off your PC: Stop the increasing
threat of worms and hackers. They
can't break into a pc while it's
turned off. Leaving it on 24/7 only
makes your utility company happy
and sucks more dust into your pc.
49.
Reduce resources wasted on visual
fluff. Increase virtual memory and
get a huge increase in performance.
Right-click My Computer/Properties/Advanced/Settings/Adjust
for best performance.
50.
Try one new program: Firefox, Thunderbird,
or OpenOffice.
Author:
Steve
Hogan at PC Pitstop
