Your computer’s been running really slow lately. Your browser takes for ever to open and when you want to write a Word document it’s like writing in molasses. These simple to use tips may help you to clean up your computer so it runs fast again.
Prefetch
1 . Click on the start button (usually found on the bottom left hand corner of your Windows screen), then click on Run in the right side of the menu.
2 . Type prefetch into the run box and hit enter.
3. When the window pops up press and hold down the ctrl button on your keyboard and then hit the A key.
4 . Once everything turns blue hold down the ctrl button again and hit the D key. * If you get a message asking you if you want to delete the files, click yes.
5 . When everything is gone, close the window.
* If you don’t see Run on your menu; 1) right click on the empty space on the menu 2) click Properties 3) go to the Start Menu tab and click the Customize button 4) scroll down the list until you find Run Command, but a check mark in the box 5) click OK. The start menu will now have the Run command listed.
Disk Cleanup
1 . Click on the start button. Click on Programs or All Programs. Go to and click on Accessories, then System Tools and then Disk Cleanup.
2 . Chose the C: drive from the menu.
3 . Place a check mark in all the boxes, you may have to scroll down to check them all. Click OK. If a box pops up asking if you want to delete the files, click Delete Files.
MSConfig
1 . Click the start button. Click on Run. In the Run box type msconfig.
2 . When the MSConfig window pops up, go to the Startup tab. *
* note: The programs listed here are all the programs that open every time you start your computer. Some of these programs may be necessary for your computer to run properly. You may have such things as your sound driver, firewall, antivirus software or other things that you need. Be very careful when unchecking items from this list that it’s not something that you really need.
3 . Uncheck any programs that you don’t want or need to start up when you start your computer. Sometimes software that you don’t use often is listed here, like Adobe Reader, Internet Explorer, an email or IM program, RealPlayer or anything such as those. You can start these programs later as you need them, there’s no need to have them running in the background taking up space if you are not using them.
4 . Click Apply and Close. It will ask you to restart your computer, go ahead and restart.
Defrag
1 . As the computer is restarting, press on your F8 key repeatedly until you get a list of startup options. Select Safe Mode from the list.
2 . Click on the start button. Go to Programs or All Programs. Then go to Accessories and click on Disk Defragment.
3 . Select the C: drive to defrag and start the defrag.
* warning – this will take a long time if it hasn’t been done in awhile. Do not use the computer while it’s running.
4 . When it’s done defragging the computer, restart the system as you would normally
** If you can’t run defrag from safe mode, you can run it from normal startup mode. When running defrag from normal startup mode you must first turn off all programs that are running and also turn off your screensaver. The more you can turn off, the better the defrag can do it’s job, also, some computers can’t run defrag with the screensaver on.
Malware
All this should definitely speed up your computer. If you’re still having issues then you may have adware , a virus or some other form of malware on your computer.
1 . Run a virus scan with whatever antivirus software you have installed on your computer. Before running the scan, make sure that the software is updated.
2 . If you’re having trouble running a scan or you don’t have antivirus software, you can run a free online antivirus scan from Trend Micro.
3 . If you want to do a thorough check you may want to consider also running another program after you’ve finished running your antivirus scan. AdAware is free software that you can use to rid your computer of malware.
If you have done all these things and your computer is still not running properly, you may want to take it to your local computer repair service center. Many computer stores like Best Buy or Staples offer this service. Also, your local Internet service provider may offer a service where they’ll come out to your house and attempt to fix computer problems.