How to improve your computer's performance

Over time, with regular use and the downloading and installing/un-installing of files, your hardrive and Windows can become affected and performance can drop significantly. To keep your computer performing at its best follow these steps every few months:

VIRUS SCAN - Viruses and trojans can have a major effect on your system performance. Scans should be scheduled weekly but it is also worth running a deep scan using your Virus software periodically.

DISK CLEANUP - To remove unwanted files from your harddrive and clear space for those you do use, run 'Disk Cleanup'. From the Program Menu choose 'Accessories' / 'System Tools' / 'Disk Cleanup'

 DISK DEFRAG - Your hardrive becomes disorganised when files & programs are deleted or un-installed. For a much more powerfull defrag than the standard Windows offering, install an application such as Smart Defrag for free (make sure to deselect the installation of any secondary free applications), and choose 'Defrag and Fully Optimize' from the Defrag drop-down menu. This will take several hours to complete.

  REGISTRY CLEAN - One of the most common causes of installation problems and issues with running software, the WIndows Registry can become corrupted over time. To clean it , download an application such as Little Registry Cleaner for free (make sure to deselect the installation of any secondary free applications), click 'Scan Registry' and then when complete click 'Fix Problems'. This may take some time to complete.

WINDOWS UPDATE - Your system may not run certain software as expected if your Windows components are not up-to-date. Run Windows Update from the Program Menu