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    Optimize PC start-up time

    You could be the only person in the neighbourhood to possess a super-fast computer. I have heard a lot of people telling me this “when we bought the computer four years ago, it was really fast. Now it seems to be very slow” and there is no easy way of telling you this but trust me, you are not alone. Every computer no matter what Operating System or what hardware it is running on, tends to slow down over time and several factors are responsible for that. However, there are some things you can do yourself to bring back some of that speed. If you are planning to run new software on an old slow hardware (3 to 4 years is old!), this isn’t the article you are looking for and probably Moore’s law (Gordon E. Moore was the co-founder of Intel) is what you are looking for (just kidding).

    Follow the steps below and keep your wallet where it belongs. If you are unable to follow the instructions below, comment below, write to us or call us and we will assist you (Please take a look at the Services page and is only available to local customers at this time)

    Step 1: I have been to several homes and have found that they have installed programs that they had no idea what they were for. So, first things to be uninstalled are the useless browser “toolbars”. Browser toolbars are light applications that sit in your Internet Browsing Software such as Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer. If you are looking for search toolbars, all of the fore mentioned browsers today have them integrated unless you need some specific feature like sports updates, then go ahead keep it the way it is. Please note that we classify most of the toolbars as “Ad Ware” programs because if you are aware or not, they are conducting research on your habits like a lab-rat. Install Revo Uninstaller Free Edition (make sure you uncheck all the additional programs that come with it. VS Revo Group probably won’t like that we told you that). Select the application you are no longer using and click the Uninstall button. The built in uninstaller will start up (if there is one) and follow the onscreen instructions for that. Once the uninstall wizard has exited, set the scan mode to moderate and click the scan button. Wait for it to finish analyzing the registry entries. Revo will then produce a list of entries. Be very careful here because if you delete the wrong key you could end up with a system with far more problems. Select ONLY the BOLDED entries (select the parent item if it is bolded so that all the child entries will be selected for you). Click the Delete button and proceed. The program will now attempt to find any leftover files or folders. If any are found, go ahead and delete them. You are done! Repeat the same for all applications (note that some applications will not be listed in Revo Uninstaller so use Start > Control Panel > Uninstall a program or Add or Remove Program utility)

    Step 2: Next is to disable unwanted start up Entries. For that click on Start > Run or press Windows Key (on your keyboard) and simultaneously press R. In the window that appears, type in msconfig and press OK or hit the Enter key.  Go to the Startup tab and disable applications like Instant Messengers, non-security applications, and if you are really sure that an application is not necessary at startup, uncheck that too (again, do not attempt this step if you are unsure of what to disable. Comment below and we will help you)

    Step 3: Up next is Disk Defragmentation. Day by day, files on your hard drive get scattered all over and we call them fragments. If you remember the time when CD’s were popular, you may understand this better (Except for the new iPod Generation, we all know what they are). You are familiar with the fact that an Audio CD (not an MP3 CD), can hold up to 12 audio tracks. You are also aware that if you were playing song 1 and if you punch in track 12, the pickup or the reader will have to move all the way out to get to the track. However, if you time with a stopwatch the time it takes for  go to go from track 1 to track 12 and track 1 to 2,  you will find that, track 2 starts playing a little faster than track 12 (it may only be a difference of microseconds). Similarly, if files on a hard drive are fragmented, the head will have to take a round trip all around the hard drive to read just one file. Each time the head goes up and down to connect the files, it takes time. Defragmenting applications reduce the fragments and consolidate them thus making the files faster. There are several tools including the one built right into windows. Install one of these applications and you should be fine 1. Defraggler 2. JK Defrag or if you are willing to spend a little for a worry free experience, try 3. O&O Defrag

    Step 4: Scan your system for infections using Malwarebytes

    These basic steps will squeeze out a lot of speed out of your system for the most part. There are more things that can be done to gain a lot more speed but they will be discussed in a future article. Comment below regarding the article or if you need help.

    Manuel Mathews
    Manuel Mathewshttp://manuelmathews.com
    Manuel is the founder of StrataGear. He created the blog as a place to share his passion for science and technology with the rest of the world. In addition to StrataGear, he also founded Pixlan, specifically Pixlan Entertainment whish is a short film production brand.

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