Ceraon
05-06-2010, 11:17
A PC can get slow not only from lack ram or because you have too much programs running. A PC can get "slower" each day after using it. Why?! Because fragmented files/temporary files(most unusable )/dead registry/ unused programs(installed, used once and not removed) are formed while you use a PC and that can make your PC slower if you don't perform maintenance on your PC once in a while.
Disk Cleanup
In short:
The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk
You can do disk cleanup once month to ensure that you aren't keeping unnecessary old data/space. You can find Disk Cleanup at: Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Disk Cleanup. I recommend right clicking it to and choose "Pin to Start Menu" for easy access.
For advanced instruction you can follow this guide (http://forum.cabalonline.com/showpost.php?p=838471&postcount=7). but you can usually just choose C: after starting the program and just delete everything which shows up on it.
Disk fragmentation
- "What does disk fragmentation exactly means?"
Adding and deleting files from your hard disk is a common task. Unfortunately, this process is not always done very efficiently. For example, when you delete a bunch of little files and add a new large file, the file may get broken up into multiple sections on the hard disk. The computer will still read the newly added file as a single valid file, but the drive will have to scan multiple parts of the disk to read it. Because hard disk seek time is one of the most significant bottlenecks in a computer's performance, this can drag down your computer's speed quite a bit. If you have a ton of "fragmented" files on your hard disk, you might hear extra grinding, sputtering, and other weird noises coming from your computer.
Note: Disk defragmentation is not needed for Solid State Drives (SSD). Only do it with Microsoft certified programs for SSD and official SSD Trimming programs that are recommended for your SSD.
To defragmentate your hard disk drive(s), you can get a software like Smart Defrag (http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html) or Auslogics Disk Defrag (http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/#overview) both are freeware programs.
To use the "Disk Defragmentater of Windows":
Open "My computer" > Right click on disk drive C > properties > tools > disk defragmenter or
Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Disk Defragmenter.
Doing this daily is not necessary, once a month and it should be all fine.
Registry cleaning
- Why should you clean registry? What exactly do they do?
What does registry mean?
The Windows registry is a database repository for information about a computer's configuration. The registry keep growing when you use Windows. As it does so, it attracts obsolete and unnecessary information, and gradually becomes cluttered and fragmented. With the growing of the registry, it can degrade the performance of the whole system and cause many weird software problems.
For registry cleaning you can get software such as: CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner). It's a good idea to do a registry clean after you have installed/uninstalled something.
Unnecessary programs that startup with Windows
With Windows startup some programs are made to turn on automatically, please make sure what programs you don't need running all the time or running at all then go here:
Start Menu > Run > msconfig > Startup paragraph (untick programs u don't want to turn on with windows startup, apply, exit and reboot computer)
If you have programs that you don't use anymore, you can better uninstall them then.
Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > choose programs to uninstall.
While playing a game you don't really need all the stuff running on your PC to play. Many of you may close unnecessary programs by yourselves, however some may not know what they can close down and how to... For those of you , you can use a software to do it instead with similar results. Such a software is GameBooster (http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html)
*Note: If you are unsure if the file you had downloaded is safe to open, you can use VirusTotal (http://www.virustotal.com/) to check the file.
Disk Cleanup
In short:
The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk
You can do disk cleanup once month to ensure that you aren't keeping unnecessary old data/space. You can find Disk Cleanup at: Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Disk Cleanup. I recommend right clicking it to and choose "Pin to Start Menu" for easy access.
For advanced instruction you can follow this guide (http://forum.cabalonline.com/showpost.php?p=838471&postcount=7). but you can usually just choose C: after starting the program and just delete everything which shows up on it.
Disk fragmentation
- "What does disk fragmentation exactly means?"
Adding and deleting files from your hard disk is a common task. Unfortunately, this process is not always done very efficiently. For example, when you delete a bunch of little files and add a new large file, the file may get broken up into multiple sections on the hard disk. The computer will still read the newly added file as a single valid file, but the drive will have to scan multiple parts of the disk to read it. Because hard disk seek time is one of the most significant bottlenecks in a computer's performance, this can drag down your computer's speed quite a bit. If you have a ton of "fragmented" files on your hard disk, you might hear extra grinding, sputtering, and other weird noises coming from your computer.
Note: Disk defragmentation is not needed for Solid State Drives (SSD). Only do it with Microsoft certified programs for SSD and official SSD Trimming programs that are recommended for your SSD.
To defragmentate your hard disk drive(s), you can get a software like Smart Defrag (http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html) or Auslogics Disk Defrag (http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/#overview) both are freeware programs.
To use the "Disk Defragmentater of Windows":
Open "My computer" > Right click on disk drive C > properties > tools > disk defragmenter or
Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Disk Defragmenter.
Doing this daily is not necessary, once a month and it should be all fine.
Registry cleaning
- Why should you clean registry? What exactly do they do?
What does registry mean?
The Windows registry is a database repository for information about a computer's configuration. The registry keep growing when you use Windows. As it does so, it attracts obsolete and unnecessary information, and gradually becomes cluttered and fragmented. With the growing of the registry, it can degrade the performance of the whole system and cause many weird software problems.
For registry cleaning you can get software such as: CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner). It's a good idea to do a registry clean after you have installed/uninstalled something.
Unnecessary programs that startup with Windows
With Windows startup some programs are made to turn on automatically, please make sure what programs you don't need running all the time or running at all then go here:
Start Menu > Run > msconfig > Startup paragraph (untick programs u don't want to turn on with windows startup, apply, exit and reboot computer)
If you have programs that you don't use anymore, you can better uninstall them then.
Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > choose programs to uninstall.
While playing a game you don't really need all the stuff running on your PC to play. Many of you may close unnecessary programs by yourselves, however some may not know what they can close down and how to... For those of you , you can use a software to do it instead with similar results. Such a software is GameBooster (http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html)
*Note: If you are unsure if the file you had downloaded is safe to open, you can use VirusTotal (http://www.virustotal.com/) to check the file.