Before you pay a professional or purchase extra utility software, try these free and easy steps.
OfficeMax970-330-6173
4759 West 29th Street, Unit 1 Greeley, CO OfficeMax 970-330-6173
4759 West 29th Street, Unit 1
Greeley, CO
Hours M-F 8-9, Sa 9-7, Su 11-6*
Staples970-377-3004
4333 Corbett Drive Fort Collins, CO Staples 970-377-3004
4333 Corbett Drive
Fort Collins, CO
Recycling Services Recycling Desk $3 Ink & Toner Credit Hours Mon-Fri: 8:00am-8:00pm Sat: 9:00am-7:00pm Sun :10:00am-6:00pm
Computer Central Inc
(719) 346-5177
381 14th St
Burlington, CO
Go West
(970) 242-4155
1024 25 Rd
Grand Junction, CO
Hewlett-Packard Company
(970) 635-1000
Loveland, CO
OfficeMax970-482-1643
2211 South College Ave. Unit #500 Fort Collins, CO OfficeMax 970-482-1643
2211 South College Ave. Unit #500
Fort Collins, CO
Hours M-F 8-9, Sa 9-7, Su 11-6*
Staples970-461-3035
1665 Rocky Mountain Ave. Loveland, CO Staples 970-461-3035
1665 Rocky Mountain Ave.
Loveland, CO
Recycling Services Recycling Desk $3 Ink & Toner Credit Hours Mon-Fri: 8:00am-8:00pm Sat: 9:00am-7:00pm Sun :10:00am-6:00pm
Innerwall Inc
(719) 264-2700
2060 Briargate Pkwy
Colorado Springs, CO
Networks Unlimited Inc
(970) 243-3311
2526 F Rd Unit 201
Grand Junction, CO
Gray Matter PC Llc
(303) 682-5202
1114 Main St
Longmont, CO
|
Steps
- Run Microsoft Update. Go to START -> All Programs -> Windows Update and install any updates your computer needs.
- Make sure your drivers are up-to-date. Go to START -> Control Panel. Click on Classic View if available. Open the System properties and select the Hardware tab. Click on Device Manager. Now go through each folder, right-click each item, and select Update Driver if available.
- Update any anti-spyware or anti-virus programs. If you don't have these programs, see the bottom of this page for a list of free anti-spyware and anti-virus programs.
- Run your anti-spyware and anti-virus programs. Remove any spyware or viruses that are detected.
- Clean up your registry. This is made extremely simple with the use of a program such as Crap Cleaner (see below).
- Remove any programs that run at startup. Some of these are necessary, others are not. You can go to START -> Run and enter msconfig to run a utility to remove these.
- Uninstall any programs you do not use or need. It is best to uninstall programs prior to a defragmentation, as the newly-acquired free space will generally be located all over the hard drive, thereby giving rise to fragmentation.
- Defragment your computer.
Warnings
- If you are unsure what a program is, don't remove it until you know for sure whether you need it or not. Also, don't go into your registry and clean it on your own unless you know what you are doing; you can really screw up your system this way.
Sources and Citations
- http://www.DeBog.com Speed up slow computer
- Free spyware removers: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html AND http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
- Free virus removers: http://free.grisoft.com
- Crap Cleaner: http://ccleaner.com
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Speed Up Any Computer Using Any Version of Windows. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.