Things I Do to Keep My Computer in Shape

Remember how well your computer worked when you first bought it? Windows loading in under a minute, Internet Explorer opening in less than a second… Seems like a distant past, doesn't it? Well, for some it does. But there are ways to keep your pc in shape and prevent Windows from slowing down to a crawl.

I'm no expert but I know a few things about computers. So here's what I do:

1. I avoid installing and uninstalling software on my pc (actually, I have a solution to install and uninstall software and still keep my computer clean).
   
2. I allow applications to run on Windows startup only if I really need that.
   
3. I use a registry cleaner to clean up Windows once in a while.
   
4. I optimize and compress Windows registry about once a month.
   
5. I avoid installing toolbars and other add-ons unless I really need them.
   

Every piece of software uninstalled from your pc leaves a bunch of registry entries behind. Even worse, some programs leave unused files behind them. I don't know why this happens, maybe the programmers are lazy, I don't know. Anyway, all this rubbish left behind slows down your pc. So what can you do to avoid this? The obvious solution is to install only the application that you really need. But since I like to test various programs, this option simply doesn't work for me. So I use a program that takes snapshots of my entire system before and after the installation of any software and then creates a log of changes made to my pc. I use an older version of Ashampoo Uninstaller but you can check out the newest version, which is just as good if not better. It simply tracks all the registry keys, files and folders that a certain application creates. When I want to uninstall that particular software, I fire up Ashampoo Uninstaller and it removes every trace left behind. This way I can test a lot of programs and I don't have to worry about Windows slowing down.

Applications running on startup slow down Window too. At first, Windows starts all by itself and it's ready for work in under a minute. But then, various programs add themselves to the start-up list, your tray bar fills with little icons and Windows takes ages to load. But, do you really need all these apps to start with Windows? The answer is no, you don't. Yes, you need antivirus, firewall and antispyware to run on start-up, and that's all I keep on my start-up list. But you don't need your IM program, because you can open it yourself with a single click if you want to use it. You don't need Nero to check for updates every day, because you can do that yourself once a month. You don't need Winamp Agent to start because you never use it and so on. You get the idea. A good application you can use to check what programs are set up to start with Windows is CCleaner. Just open it and go to Tools->Startup. You can use CCleaner to clean your pc too and best thing, it's free. You can get it here if you want:
http://www.ccleaner.com/.

I won't write about cleaning and compacting registry at this point as I have a lot to tell about the subject and I intend to write a new post later. But I have to mention Internet Explorer toolbars and other add-ons. Toolbars are fun and sometimes useful but they slow down Internet Explorer. When you open a new instance of IE, it checks to see what toolbars to load and then loads them all. This takes time. Then, each toolbar does its own processing and may slow down your pc too. Not to mention some poorly written toolbars may crash IE entirely. So I only use Google Toolbar. I like it because it helps me search faster and it gives me access to Google Bookmarks. Plus, it works on Firefox too.

This is what I do to keep my pc running properly. I mentioned Ashampoo Uninstaller before. You can find more details about it here:
http://www.ashampoo.com/frontend/products/php/product.php?idstring=0703
If you want to buy it with a 30% discount, follow this link:
http://www.downloads32.com/discounted-8.html
Note this is an affiliate link and Downloads32.com may get a few cents if you buy through them. If you have any problems with that, just go directly to Ashampoo.com. I'll write a post about affiliate links later so come back soon.