PC Fast Fix

Waking up one day to realise your personal computer struggling to bootup is almost guaranteed. This in fact is as close to reality as the soaring global warming threats.  But the solution might be simpler than you could imagine. A few basic steps will help to fine tune your computer performance.

Try the below listed steps. They might sound obvious and too simple to ignore, but they need to be put into action

1.)    Shield your computer from virus attacks

No matter how impractical and worthless it might seem, but investing in good antivirus software does the trick. Yes, investing in good software would in the long run prove more economical than a downloaded free version of the same.

2.)    Optimize disk space

By freeing up and optimizing the available space on the hard disk you actually enhance the performance of your computer. Delete files and folders you no longer need and get rid of the trash that’s present in your system. Also make sure that your recycle bin is regularly filtered off unwanted data

3.)    Clear your desktop

Every file on the desktop consumes operating memory. Thus reducing the desktop files or converting them to shortcuts will do the trick.

4.)    Reduce memory access time

This can be done by following processes like defragmentation and reallocation of memory spaces so that access time for various memory operations can be minimised.

5.)    Automatic start up

Avoid automatic start up setting for programs as they utilise operating memory. The boot up of the system can thus be improved by minimising the number of programs initiated with every start up.

6.)    Scan your system for errors

Your system is essentially full of files, which over time run the risk of getting corrupted. Also the disk could develop bad sectors which could make the task of data storage and retrieving difficult. Thus frequently schedule system scans.

7.)   Keep Software Up-to-Date

Upgrade your software whenever there is an option to do so. This keeps software in good shape and reduces security threats.

8.)    Limited installations

Don’t run reckless installations for programs you will probably never use. Repeated installations grab memory space and cause clutter.

All the above steps will definitely help you increase your computers speed and hence let you take care of all your daily routine chores a lot faster and with a lot more efficiency than currently. With changing technologies and new and threats to your computer showing up everyday, maintenance is required.

There are many automated tools available, most of the best downloads you will find on this blog.

Tags: PC Optimization, PC Speedup, Windows by admin
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All of your USB devices are allocated part of the Windows bandwidth. So to keep an eye on this and see how much your USB devices are using, try this:

- Go to “Control Panel” -> Click on “System”
- Click the “Hardware” tab
- Click “Device Manager”
- Expand the “Universal Serial Bus Controllers”
- Double click on the first controller
- Click the “Advanced” tab

There you have it, you can now view the USB usage. Also note, if your allocation does reach 100%, you will receive a nasty stop error.

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Fix Errors and Optimize Your PC – Free Download

Tags: PC Optimization, Windows by admin
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Internet Explorer 7 has a few tweaks, and some of them are actually quite useful. Here is a little tweak that will enable you to zoom in on text. If you have bad vision (like me), then this will be really handy.

To zoom in on text, hold down “CTRL” and scroll the mouse button forwards or backwards. Obviously forwards zooms in and backwards zooms out.

You can also do the same thing with the keyboard. Just hold down “CTRL” and press the + or – button the keyboard.

Now you can finally read all of those annoying webpages with tiny text.

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Free Download – Fix Internet Explorer Errors

Tags: PC Optimization, Tweaks by admin
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If you want to clear the Windows page file during shutdown then you will need to perform the following edit to the Windows Registry.

The key you need to edit is in the following location:

“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management”

Double-click on “ClearPageFileAtShutdown”. You then need to set the value to 1.

Alternatively if you don’t want to clear the page file during shutdown, then just ensure that this value is set to 0.

Tags: PC Optimization, Windows Registry by admin
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If you plan on doing any editing to the Windows XP Registry, it is a very good idea to make a backup first. It is also a good idea to keep a backup anyway, just in case something goes wrong, you can always roll back to a properly working registry.

OK, here is a quick way to backup your registry:

1) Start -> Run -> Type “regedit” and click “OK”
2) You should now have the Registry Editor open
3) Select “File” -> “Export”
4) Type a name for your backup and select where you would like to save the registry
5) Under “Export Range” click the “All” button
6) Then click “Save”

Thats it, your Windows XP Registry is now backed up!!

Tags: PC Optimization, Windows, Windows Registry by admin
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Are Windows Media Player errors slowing down your PC performance?

Over time it is common for users to experience problems with Windows Media Player. Errors can be specific or they might be increased slowness, frequent crashes, freezes and blue screen problems.

As your computer becomes cluttered and the Windows Registry fills up, it is common to experience a variety of the problems listed above. The fastest and easiest way to fix these problems is by keeping your registry clean and uncluttered. This means removing corrupt entries, deleting invalid entries and fixing existing entries.

The problem is that the Windows Registry is very difficult to edit and should only be touched by an expert. Luckily there are some great programs out there that will clean your PC registry and fix the majority of errors.

You can try a free scan here. It will detect any current PC errors and registry problems on your PC.

Tags: Computer Security, PC Error Repair, PC Optimization, Windows by admin
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Lets look at 3 very quick ways that you can speed up your pc using some of the disk tools available in Windows XP Service Pack 2.  If you are using Windows XP, it is very likely that you have service pack 2 installed. If you don’t, then go and install it now.

Disk Cleanup

Cleaning up your disk should be done to improve PC performance and also to free up space on your hard drive. Over time, plenty of junk can build up on your hard drive and this slows everything down.

To do this, we use a tool called disk cleanup. This will remove temporary files, empty the recycle bin, remove temporary internet files and remove programs and components no longer being used.

1) Click start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup

2) If you have more than one hard drive, you will need to select the drive you wish to clean up, then click on ok.

3) When the disk cleanup begins, it will take a few minutes to analyse your disk. This will vary depending on disk size and the number of files.

 4) On the disk cleanup menu, you can now select which items to remove. It will also provide a calculation of how much disk space will be gained.

5) If you wish to clean up Windows components and programs, click on the more options tab. You can then remove programs/components by clicking the Clean up button and selecting which programs/components to remove.

Disk Defragmentation

Files stored on your computer are often fragmented, with parts of the file stored separately on the hard drive. Over time this can make data access quite slow.

By running the disk defragmentation tool, it attempts to store the files in one piece, which makes data access faster and improves overall PC performance

To defragment your hard drive:

1) Click start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter

2) You will then see your hard drives and the capacity, free space, etc. You can then choose which hard drive to fragment and click Defragment.  The Analyze button will give an estimate of how long the defragment process will take. Sometimes it can take quite a while, so you may want to click the Analyze button before performing the defrag.

After the defragmentation is done, you can view a report. When you are done, click close.

After you cleanup and defrag your disk, you should notice a decent improvement in PC performance. It is important to do this on a regular basis to keep your PC in top condition. Once a month should be enough to keep your PC nice and fast.

Remember, you can try our free scan to improve speed and fix errors.

Tags: PC Optimization, PC Speedup by admin
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By now you should have a system that starts up pretty fast, so lets look at how you can speed up shutdown times.

Speed Up Windows XP Shutdown

Note: These cool tweaks will require the Windows Registry to be edited and should only be performed if you know what you are doing. All edits to the Registry are at your own risk.

1) Don’t Clear the Paging File 

Everytime XP shuts down it clears the paging file. This can take a bit of time, so if this is switched on, here is how you can turn it off.

goto: start->run, then type: regedit

Browse to the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Double click on ClearPageFileAtShutdown, and set the value to 0. Close the registry editor and reboot.

2) Kill Open Applications Faster on Shutdown

When XP shuts down it can take a hell of a long time to close applications. By changing these settings, you can speed that up quite a bit.

In the registry editor, goto: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Change the following values (set them to something much lower, eg: 2000):
WaitToKillAppTimeout
HungAppTimeout

Now also change those same values in:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

3) Kill Services Faster on Shutdown

This will reduce the amount of time XP waits to kill services during shutdown.

In your registry editor, goto:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Edit the value, WaitToKillServiceTimeout, and set it to something much lower, eg: 2000.

Thats it. Now you should have a super fast XP shutdown.

Tags: PC Optimization, PC Speedup by admin
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There are a ton of cool little tweaks that can get Windows XP running alot faster than it is right now. A fresh install is generally fairly fast, but over time it gets bogged down with all kinds of software, adware, spyware, registry entries and other junk. So lets look at some quick ways to get more speed without doing a re-install.

Speed Up Windows XP Startup

If your system is anything like mine, it has a ton of useless software installed and startup can take forever. Well there are luckily two little tweaks that can dramatically increase startup/bootup times on XP.

1) This is a powerful little tool that allows you to control items that load during startup. Click start->run, then type in msconfig, click ok
2) Click on the startup tab and then select the programs you don’t want to run on startup. Be careful here. We recommend doing only 1 or 2 at a time, and only select programs that you know. As you can see, i have turned off Skype during startup.

3) After you are done, click ok. After reboot you will get a message saying that startup items have changed. You can just ignore that.

Cleaning up the Startup Folder 

Windows XP also has a startup folder in your profile and cleaning this up is another tweak that should see some increased performance.

The startup folder contains a bunch of shortcuts that run on startup. They are only shortcuts, so you won’t be removing the actual program. It just wont start on startup every time.

Goto:

c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
note: username will be your Windows XP username.

Once you are in the correct location, remove shortcuts for any programs that you dont want to run on startup.

Thats it, now you have a fast starting Windows XP. For more performance try the free download of Regcure

Tags: PC Optimization, PC Speedup by admin
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Personally I am trying to avoid the upgrade to Vista for as long as possible, but here is some quick info on the speed comparisons of XP and Vista.

With all the tests we have run in the office, Vista has not shown any improvement over XP performance.  The first problem is that Vista requires more powerful hardware. So by the time you upgrade your hardware and install Vista, you will have a system that ran as fast as your old hardware with XP…Doesn’t seem all that great, especially since we haven’t seen any groundbreaking improvements in Vista that warrant the need to upgrade.

However, if you run Vista on decent hardware, it is better than XP at multi tasking on dual-core PCs. You will also need decent RAM and graphics processing capabilities if you want to keep Aero switched on.

Overall, the majority of users will probably find much more enjoyment in using Windows XP on decent hardware.  In our office space, we are upgrading all of our hardware and just opting for no OS, and then happily throwing on XP.  The performance is pretty damn good.

Tags: PC Optimization, PC Speedup, Windows by admin
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