Operating Systems have the tendency that, in time, to work harder and harder. The big number of installed programs, bad configuration and the multitude of active services are just a few of the reasons for which the performance of your system decreases with time.
Hardware upgrade is not the only solution to increase the performance of your computer. You don’t really have to invest a lot of money for a better processor and memory to have a faster computer.
Most of the times, the operating system can be optimized with the help software. And no, we are not referring to formatting and reinstalling the operating system. There are other options.
Below, you will find 10 software methods to increase the speed of your computer.
Less start-up applications
The main reason for which your operating system boots harder after a while is the long list of start-up programs, that are opened automatically when your computer boots the operating system. Over time, some of the programs that you have installed start-up along with the system. And this results in Windows booting very slow.
You have to remove the non essential software from the list of start-up applications. To do this, you have to type msconfig in the RUN menu and hit ENTER.
In the System Configuration which opens you click on the Startup Tab. You go there an uncheck the programs that you don’t want to start-up every time you boot your computer. After you made the changes, click OK and reboot the computer.
Deactivating useless services
The operating system uses a big number of services, each serving a specific function. The problem is that Windows also keeps active many services that the user does not need. They make the system run very slow.
So, another idea is to stop the services you don’t need. To open the services window of your operating system, type services.msc in the RUN field.
Near each service it writes if it is active and if this starts automatically. To manage a service you have to double click on it. If you want to disable it you have to choose the Disabled operation from Startup Type. So, this way it will no longer start the next time you boot your computer.
It is very important do to this if you know what you are doing. Some services are essential for the system and if they are shut down it may cause some problems. Before shutting down a service, it’s best to first read it’s description.
Here is a list of the services that you can shutdown:
- Application Experience
- Error Reporting Service
- Desktop Window Manager Session Manager
- Diagnostic Policy Service
- IP Helper
- Offline Files
- Portable Device Enumerator Service
- Distributed Link Tracking Client
- Protected Storage
- Secondary Logon
- Server (If your computer does not connect with any network)
- Tablet PC Input Service
- Themes
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
- Windows Media Center Service Launcher
- Windows Search
- Remote Registry
- Windows Time
Less programs in general
A useful advice for rookie users is to only install the programs they need. In other words, install a small number of applications. Don’t be in a hurry to install every program you find.
Try to have on your computer only the programs that you really need. The more applications you install, the more harder your computer will run.
Less visual effects
The visual effects also play a negative role on your system’s performance. If you do not own a very powerful computer and you want to make it fun fast, you either have to deactivate some of all the effects, or you let Windows manage them automatically.
For this, you have to right click on Computer, then on the Advanced System Settings option. In the Advanced tab you click on the Settings button from Performance. There, at Visual Effects, you have multiple operations: you can deactivate only a few options, you can choose best performance or you can check ” Let Windows Choose what’s best for my computer”.
Registry optimization
Windows Registry get bigger with every program you install. This is why, the performance of your computer is also affected.
There are many applications out there which the purpose of optimizing the registry by removing the useless keys. One of the best program is CCleaner. It will analyze and clean your Windows Registry.
Hard Drive Clean-up
Another reason why your computer is slow is due to all the files you left behind. We can mention the browser cache and temporary files.
To delete the files you no longer need, you have to right click on the desired partition in Windows Explorer, then click on Properties and then click on the Disk Cleanup button. In the Window that opens you have to pick the types of files you want to delete and click on OK.
Disable the Windows included programs.
Windows includes a lot of programs. Some of them are really useless and you can disable them. By disabling them you get rid of all the elements that come with them, from files to registry keys and services.
In Control Panel, at Programs and Features, you have to click on the Turn Windows Features ON or OFF. There all you have to do is to un check all the components you don’t need. After you made the changes you have to reboot your computer.
Use a good anti virus software and configure it properly
The anti virus software is one of the biggest resources eaters. It runs all the time, scanning all the accessed files. But no all anti virus software applications are the same.
This is why it’s important to pick an anti virus that does not require many system resources. Microsoft Security Essential is such an anti virus. It offers the best detection rate for a free anti virus software.
If you use another anti virus, that requires many system resources, you can at least configure it so it doesn’t require as many resources.The configuration method depends from software to software. Some applications have more profiles, based on the scanning type and consumed resources. The idea is not to scan so often and to avoid the types of files which are not targeted by viruses.
Defragmentation
Another classical method of maintaining your computer is to defragmentate it on a regular basis. You can use the Disk Defragmenter from Windows, or another similar software.
Activate Write Caching Option
The performance of your system can be improved by activating the Write Caching option.
To do this, you have to right click on the Computer icon and pick Manage. Go to Deice Manager, double click Disk Drivers and again double click on the hard disk icon that appears there. In the Policies Tab you check the Enable Write Caching on the device option.
Following the advice mention above you can keep the performance of your system over time. These solutions are meant to keep your system in shape and to avoid performance degradation with time.
