Contrary to popular belief, computers do age. As you might have noticed, the longer you use your computer the slower it runs, particularly a system running on Windows XP. The most likely reason for your system slowing down is the increasing level of demand you put on your hardware with animated desktops, various kinds of helper apps, custom cursors, flashing icons, stock tickers and RSS readers. All these add up to overload your system. However, you don’t need to run to a computer technician every time your PC slows down. Here we will talk about how you can boost the speed of your Windows XP PC.
The System Overhaul
The first strategy to jolt your system back from sluggishness is to do a complete system overhauling. Back up all your computer files and reformat your hard drive. Then reinstall XP from scratch and reload the applications you need. However, the down time may be a couple of days as you restore everything. Regular PC users often do this once a year to boost the system’s speed. There are other ways of increasing your system’s performance too without resorting to such extreme measures.
Get rid of Adware, Malware and Spyware: One of the most common reasons for an XP system slowing down is the presence of spyware, adware and malware. Once your system is inflicted with these viruses, many of your system’s resources are rendered useless. The best option is to use an updated antivirus or an Internet Security Suite. There are various popular options to choose from. You can even go for a trial version first, and then if you like the performance you can buy the full version. Once these anti-malware and anti-virus software are installed, make sure you update them regularly as everyday thousands of new viruses are added to the internet. Check out our instructions on how to remove “Bloatware” from your PC.
Clean Computer Registry
Sometimes you might uninstall an application without using the ‘Add or Remove Program’ option in the Control Panel or maybe a file gets moved from the registry. Eventually, this misplaced information grows and clogs the registry, thus slowing down your PC and leading to error messages and system crashes. To avoid such a scenario, first create a backup of the registry. Then get yourself a registry cleaner to clean your registry and boost the system performance. Registry cleaners are available both commercially and as freeware.
Clean Up Your Disk
This is a very easy process. Click the ‘Start’ option in the bottom left corner. Now click ‘Run’ and type ‘cleanmgr.exe’ in the field. Now, click ‘Okay’ to start the clean up process. However, this process may take some time if you have never done it before.
Remove Unwanted Programs from Start-Up
Certain programs start every time you boot your system. These unwanted or extra programs keep jockeying for the control of the CPU at the same time, which leads to a further increase in boot time. The more the number of startup programs, the longer it will take for the system toboot and activate. One way to manage the programs in the startup list is as follows: first Run ‘msconfig’ and then choose the Start Up box.
Now uncheck all the programs you do not want to run. However, the removal of startup programs requires a bit of knowledge about Registry Editor or MSConfig as even a small mistake will render your system useless.
A quick and easy way to handle this situation is to use third party software called Start Up Control Panel. After the software is installed in your system, open the Control Panel and click ‘Start Up’. Now disable all the programs you do not want to be loaded automatically.
Following these tips will help you save a lot of time that you currently spend waiting for applications to open. They will also help you save money, as you won’t need to rush of to a computer shop to increase the performance of your computer.
