Basic tips on how to speed up your PC

The following tips can help improve your computer's performance. All these examples use Microsoft Windows XP but can be easily used on PC with any versions of Windows operating system (including Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows Vista).

• On this page:
  • Remove unused software
  • Remove temporary files

Tip 1 - Remove unused software

Run once a month

Uninstalling software that is not used anymore allows releasing disk space. But this process removes also number of entries from the Windows registry which manages the hardware and software resources of a computer, contains settings, options and all necessary information of the operating system. Almost every piece of software that is installed on a PC added some information to the registry. Windows uses registry all the time and the bigger the registry the slower system is.

To see the list of all programs installed on you machine you'll need to go to the Start menu, select Settings, select Control Panel, and then Add or Remove Programs. It may take a few seconds for this page to load but once it is finished, it will display a long alphabetical list of installed programs. Don't meddle with items that are completely unfamiliar with - they may be required by the system. But if you find an application that you no longer use – uninstall it by clicking the Remove or Change/Remove button on the right of the program's name and follow the prompts. Add or Remove Programs in Windows 2000 and XP reveals the size of the installation, as well as how recently and how often it was used.

Tip 2 - Remove temporary files

Run once a month

To be continued...
Please come back in few days. Thank you.