How to Spring Clean your PC for the Year Ahead

Is your PC or laptop moving as slow as a snail? If so, it’s time for a quick spring clean!

Before you dive on it, it’s best to have a trusted cleaner installed on your PC. CCleaner is a free, easy to use software – contact us at The Computer Guyz if you need any help setting it up.

Once you’ve installed your software, follow these 5 simple steps...

1. Clean out all your duplicate files and junk files.

As your computer gets older, it fills up the hard drive with data, which makes your computer slow. Why? Because it has to sift further and further to find what it needs. When you remove all the junk and duplicate files it will speed it up.

Use: http://www.easyduplicatefinder.com/

2. Delete programs you don’t use or need.

Windows has a helpful tool that can help you get rid of all the programs you don’t use anymore. All you have to do is go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features; from there you can look through and uninstall all the programs you don’t use.

3. Defrag your hard drive.

Defragging is to tightly pack together all the remaining data so that your PC or laptop can do what it needs to do productively. This process should speed up your PC, even if it is by a tiny percentage. 

Here’s how to do it: Go to All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter -> Defragment Disk. You can also schedule you disk to be defragged every week or as you like by clicking Configure schedule.

4. Disable start-up programs.

When you start your PC and a bunch of programs auto load at start-up, you’re probably going to have to wait around for a while. Disabling these programs and using them only when you need them can really speed your PC or laptop up. Type in “msconfig” into the Search bar, click Startup and un-tick any of the programs that don’t need to launch when you start your PC.

5. Clean up your desktop.

Make your life easier by fixing the state of your desktop. All your documents and files should never be stored on your desktop - they should be organized and stored in folders! Next remove any unused shortcuts from your desktop too and Auto arrange your icons by right-clicking.

Spring cleaning your PC or laptop shouldn’t be a chore, why? Because there are quick and easy methods to speed it up without any hassle!