The Windows Speed Up Guide – Part 1

There’s no question that your PC using Windows will slow down over time. There are simple steps you can take to reduce disk fragmentation, uninstall “bloatware” and other programs you are no longer using, and clean up your registry. In addition, you need to ensure your system is not infected with malware, spyware or viruses. In a Part 2, we will examine some other steps you can take to speed up and maintain your system including addressing your hardware.

If you find your system has malware or other undesirable software, you need to examine the programs you are using to prevent this type of infection in the first place.

Your system may find that you have numerous unnecessary programs installed such as browser toolbar addons or other add-on programs that were installed in the process of installing desired programs. This is a common mistake…  JUST SAY NO ! Don’t install these add on programs. They are rarely of use to you, and serve only to fill up and slow down your system.

The primary cause of Windows slowdown is software. If you don’t need it don’t install it, if you don’t use, uninstall it!

Step 1: Uninstall Programs Using the Windows Uninstall Utility

To uninstall a program, in most cases you don’t need a 3rd party uninstall program.  Use the uninstall feature built right into windows. You access this through the control panel: click on “Programs”, and then “Uninstall a program”:

Scan the list and find those programs you no longer need and double click on that program icon to initiate an uninstall. You may find multiple versions of a program, in which case you will need to remove the older versions, one by one. Remove all programs you don’t use and don’t need. This may take a while, since you will probably find numerous programs that need to be uninstalled. Take your time and go through the entire list. Once you complete this task proceed to Step 2 and 3.

In some cases, the Windows uninstall utility may not be able to uninstall a program. This usually happens in the case of those pesky nag programs which you definitely want to delete. In this case you may need to use an uninstaller program such as the Revo Uninstaller. Once you are finished with the Revo program you may want to uninstall it as well.

Complete all the uninstall activities, before you move on to step 2.

Step 2: Clean your System of Unneeded System Files

There are several good programs you can use. I recommend either the JV16 Power Tools by Macecraft software or CCleaner by Piriform. My favorite is JV16 Power tools, but the CCleaner program will produce similar results.

The JV16 program may look a bit daunting at first, but it is actually quite easy to use and very powerful. To begin simply select “Clean and Fix my Computer”, accept the default settings, and then simply follow the prompts.

Once JV16 has completed it’s scan, it will return a list of issues it has detected. At this point, use the menu to select all the errors it found, or press Cntl-A to select them.

Then just click on the Fix button and it will work it’s magic.

The program may ask you if you want to do a registry compact and if you want backups. Doing a registry compact is always good idea, however I recommend you wait until the completion of this step 3. I have never found a need to use the backup, so I just bypass this option. You may need to reboot at this point, if prompted and then move on to Step 3.

Step 3: Clean your Windows Registry

Let me caution you to be careful when dealing with the registry directly.  It is much safer to use a program that is tested and proven to handle this task.

Continue to use the JV16 program for this purpose. While “Clean and Fix my Computer”, has taken a quick pass at the registry, to complete a comprehensive registry clean, use the Registry tools option. Select Registry Tools, and then the Registry Cleaner. Again just follow the prompts.

Once the initial stage has completed just select all or Cntl-A and press Fix. Again you can select the back up option if you wish, but again, I have never found a need to use the backup, so I bypass this option.

You can follow this by a registry compact selection and allow the computer to compact the registry upon re-boot.

I recommend you repeat this process a couple of times per year, or when you do a significant number of installs or uninstalls. Once you complete this process, you will find your system is more responsive and performs much better after the removal of the software “dead weight”, and the registry optimization.

Click here for Part Two for steps to complete the tune up/speed up of your PC!