Fountain Of Youth For Your Computer

Do you have your pc for quite some time and you find it running a bit slow? or do some programs not work properly anymore?

Or do you think that your pc makes too much noise or looks filthy? I’ll give you some tips to put your pc in top shape again in no time.

Light Software

If your pc is getting slow, you can make him a lot faster by using “light” software. e.g. replace Adobe Reader with the freely available PDF Xchange Editor, which is a lot faster ( you don’t need the paid version to open PDF files).

Replace Internet Explorer with Chrome and replace an expensive antivirus software with a light weight antivirus like Avast Free Antivirus.

Are you still using Nero or Roxio to burn CDs? Replace it with CDBurnerXP.

A big list of decent, light weight software is available at Lifehacker. Watch out! This list is a few years old, but most of the software is still used today.

Tip: You can remove the unnecessary programs through the control panel or by using a program called Revo Uninstaller Free.

Also take a minute to install CCleaner, this program removes all the unnecessary files from your computer. This also speeds up your computer a lot!

Stop Using Wireless Technology

Are you using a wireless mouse, keyboard or wireless internet (wifi)?

Try swapping them for their wired counterparts.

A keyboard and mouse with a cable not only saves you a lot of batteries, they also don’t need a driver, which speeds up the booting process of your computer.

‘Upgrading’ from wifi to wired internet (network cables) often leads to much faster surfing/transferring files between computers.

Tip: If you don’t have network cables, a powerline network might be a solution for you. For more info, go to Homeplug

Calibrate Your Monitor

When you’re buying a new computer or a new monitor, you should calibrate it.

In other words, you should install the colors correctly. Never did that? Follow all the steps as described on the website Monitorcal and use a tool called QuickGamma  to install your monitor correctly.

You have to use the buttons on your monitor (or in the monitor menu) to adjust the settings.

Tip: If you don’t know where these are located, download the user manual from the manufacturers website.

Cleaning!

Dirty components can also be the cause of a slow pc.

This way, dust can make its way into your pc, keyboard and fans.

If you’re dealing with a desktop: it’s easy to open it up and clean it (e.g. with a spraycan of “compressed air”.  I like to use my big air compresser for that but go easy on the Bars there).

The speed of the fans can be manually adjusted on some computers with a tool called Speedfan, which results in less noise.

Watch out! If your pc automatically shuts itself down, it most likely overheated and it’s necessary to speed up the fans.