These are my own personal "suggestions" on how to make your computer run faster. Never attempt doing things with your computer if you are not knowledgeable about your computer. Proceed at your own risk.
These tips are based upon my emachine personal computer and how I get the best performance out of it. If you have a Macintosh or Dell or other type of computer these tips may not be as helpful or even applicable.
Disk cleanup
Disk cleanup can be performed manually or set automatically. Go to the bottom left of your screen and click Start- All Programs- Accessories- System Tools- Disk Cleanup. I usually right click on the Disk cleanup link or option and "pin it " to the start menu so I can find it easier. A box will appear usually to clean Disk C.Click "ok" and it will calculate how much can be cleaned. Check the appropriate boxes or all boxes and select ok. This will clean your disk.
Disk Defragmenter
Its located in the same place as your disk cleanup Start- All Programs- Accessories- System Tools-Disk Defragmenter. After clicking that I get a choice of Drive C and Drive D. Click on C and then click Defragment from the choices. It will defragment your files automatically. This may take some time if it hasn't been done in awhile and you can watch the progress. After that has done you can also click on Drive D and defrag it as well. I also pin this to my start menu.
Firefox
I run a webrowser called Firefox. Its like Internet Explorer but I find it to be much faster. For those already using Firefox I suggest checking into a Firefox addon called Fasterfox 3.8.2Lite. I have been getting some very good performance out of this particular addon.
Performance
What I normally do is click on Start - control panel - system - advanced - performance - settings - and check the box titled adjust for best performance and apply.
Display
I run only 16 bits of color on my computer by clicking start - control panel - display - settings - color quality - medium ( 16bit )
RAM
Many computers come with the ability to install more RAM. Its all about RAM. RAM is random access memory. My emachine originally came with 512 mb of RAM and for 55 $ I was able to purchase an extra Gig of RAM. This required me to have to install it myself however. If you don't know anything about computers, have a qualified computer guy install it for you. The main picture of this hub is a "stick of RAM". Usually inside your computer is an extra slot for more RAM. You will have to check around to see if your model of computer is capable to have more RAM and how much it can hold. If you don't know what you are doing DON'T DO IT.
Storage
Some other tricks I use are not storing anything on my computer. I learned early on that my needs for a computer are best served by navigation ability other than storage. I use websites to store things. I use my Yahoo notepad to keep information. I use Youtube to store videos that I make or have. I use many sites to keep links I need or for photos that I like.
There are many places you can keep your stuff. If you load your computer down with music and photos your computer will eventually slow down. Instead of turning my computer into a music library, I use websites with playlists and video players. They have lots of songs and videos and I don't have to store anything on my computer! There are plenty of places you can store or keep these things.
There are many places on the net where you can upload, backup or store photographs online. I think these places are better equipped to safely store and keep that kind of material, than on my computer, where they take up space.
Security
Instead of Norton or McAfee security systems I use AVG free anti-virus software. I find that my computer will run just a little bit faster without some of the more well known security software and programs. Remember that some secuity systems, programs and software are not compatible with each other. Make sure you know what you are doing before changing the security and anti-virus protection on your computer or just don't do it!
At your own risk
Remember these ideas are just my personal suggestions and thoughts and please proceed at your own risk when attempting any of these ideas.
Some more aggressive things I have done to my lowly 80 G Emachine are: I have done complete destructive restores at times, setting it back to its original state ( if you don't know what you are doing do not do this). I then remove programs like msft money and big fix and a few other programs I don't use.. I also remove Norton and McAfee and install free AVG for my security instead.
