How to Speed Up a Slow PC?

How to Speed Up a Slow PC?

8-Ways to Speed Up your Slow PC

The great thing about PCs (non-Apple/Macintosh computers) is that they're relatively inexpensive, operate a boatload of programs and there are plenty of makers and styles to choose from. You can buy a desktop, laptop or even a combination PC/tablet. But after a while, all PCs can start to show their age and suffer some wear and tear. They can run slower, catch a bug (virus), and have problems starting up, opening programs or getting on the Internet.

You might think it's time to run out and buy another computer, but hold off just a bit. There are adjustments you can make to your system's hardware and software to help your PC run a little bit faster. And with a few tips and tweaks—maybe with assistance from a tech-savvy IT (Internet technology) friend—you can clear out your computer's cobwebs and get more speed without having to break the bank. (Except for buying a pizza for your IT friend!)

Don't be afraid! There's little you can do to break your computer, but there are a handful of things that might fix it. Start with these tips*:

1. Change the power settings. Open up the Hardware and Sound section in the Control Panel and make sure the setting is on High Performance.
2. Learn how to use the Resource Manager. Under the Control Panel, find the Task Manager (Windows 7, 8 and Vista). Click on the Performance tab and find your way to the Resource Monitor, which can help you find programs that are slowing down your computer.
3. Clean up your Startup folder. A lot of programs open up every time you start up your computer (if you notice how long it takes to boot up, that's why). More than that, many programs run in the background and drain your system. There are programs that can show you what programs open at startup, and you can disable those you don't really need.
4. Scan for malware and bugs. PCs are very susceptible to infections by malware (malicious software). Run a malware scan on your computer right away and continue to do it every few weeks. There are free malware scan programs available online.
5. Keep Windows updated. This isn't the same as upgrading to the next Windows version (like going from Windows 7 to Windows 8). Updating your operating system means keeping the version of Windows you use current by installing official updates, which can fix known problems. It all takes place online. Go to the Control Panel and you'll find the Windows Update setting in the System and Security tab.
6. Clear up browser extensions. If you have souped up your Internet browser with add-ons and extensions, that could cause a browser slowdown. You can go into your browser's settings and see which ones you want to keep or delete.
7. Reboot! Sometimes simply turning off your computer for a few minutes (not simply restarting it) will magically take care of a few PC problems. You can try the same tip with your router and modem if you're ever having trouble connecting to the Internet.
8. Clean the computer's internal fan. When a desktop computer overheats, it can slow down and ultimately crash. Overheating is caused by blocked air vents or too much dust and debris on the fan. It's easy to remove the back panel and, using a can of compressed air, blow out the dust. See if that helps. It's also a good tip for preventing overheating in the first place.

Read more

How to Create an Image of PC Before Upgrading to Windows 10

How to Create an Image of Your PC Before Upgrading to Windows 10

Windows 10 is the biggest and most aggressive Windows rollout to date. Before you take the plunge you need to image your hard drive so, should you wish to return to the familiarity of Windows 7 or Windows 8 you can do so with the click of a button.

Note: This tutorial details how to create a bit-for-bit backup (a disk image) of your current Windows system disk so that you can later restore your computer using that image. If that’s not what you’re looking for and you’d like to actually copy your disk bit-for-bit over to a brand new hard disk (a disk clone) we’d encourage you to check out our detailed tutorial on the matter: How to Upgrade Your Existing Hard Drive in Under an Hour.

Why Do I Want To Do This?

There’s nothing worse than making a major change to your PC and then finding out that change breaks your workflow (like an old app you rely on doesn’t work anymore) or it outright breaks your PC because the leap to a new operating system leaves your hardware in need of new (and as-of-yet unreleased) drivers.
Over the years we’ve covered plenty of ways to use the tools built into Windows to perform snapshots, create backups, and otherwise help you to restore your computer to a prior state if your hardware upgrades or such go awry. When it comes to a change as big as jumping from Windows 7 or Windows 8 to the barely charted waters of Windows 10, however, you don’t want to rely on snapshots and rollback features to help you return to the safety of a prior version of Windows. You want the clear and precise ability to wipe the entire drive clean and restore it, bit for bit, to the exact state it was in before you even started the upgrade process.
In order to do that we need to image the drive. We want a perfect pre-upgrade copy we can call upon to restore the system. This drive image will remain clean and unchanged independently of anything we do to the computer during the upgrade process and thereafter so even if we format the drives, even if we use Windows 10 for six months and decide we really don’t like it, we can turn right back around and use the image we’ve created to turn back the clock and restore our computer to the exact state it was in before the upgrade.
We can’t emphasize enough how important this step is. We’ll complete it using free tools, it doesn’t cost anything (unless you need to purchase an extra drive to store the image on), and it hardly takes any time (especially when you compare it to the hassle of reinstalling your old version of Windows and reconfiguring everything).

What Do I Need?

As we highlighted in the introduction this procedure is free (unless you need an additional internal or external hard drive to house the drive image). To follow along with us today you’ll need the following things:

• The PC you wish to backup.
• READ MORE.........

Read more