If you have an older PC running XP, check out these tips to get more life out of that investment! These steps can add a couple of years to the life of your PC and increase its performance.

Several key steps are discussed in this Blog. If you are not comfortable performing these, TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com  offers a flat rate PC tune up. Towne Lake area customers, call us at 770-591-3660, or use our contact form . Cashiers - Sapphire Valley, NC customers, call us at 828-553-3989.

1. Empty the Trash!

Storage on today's PCs allows us to keep more and larger files. The problem is all those files grow, and grow and grow and we tend to let our files accumulate. Some become dated, others are duplicates, and still others belong to programs we no longer use. Whatever the reason, they add up to unneeded files, take up space and force Windows to keep up with the clutter.

Navigate to your My Documents folder, and any other folder in which personal documents are stored, and make a simple decision: Do I really need this or not? This goes for photo and music files that can take up a tremendous amount of space.

Then run Disk Cleanup:

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk to improve the performance of your computer. The tool identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.

Use Disk Cleanup to:

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files such as error reports.
• Remove optional Windows components that you don't use.
• Remove installed programs that you no longer use.
• Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore.

Tip: Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.
b. In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list.

 

Choose the files that you want to delete.

 

 

 

 

 

c. Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK.
d. When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click Yes.
e. I personally delete everything but Office Setup Files.

After a few minutes, the process completes and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes, leaving your computer cleaner and performing better.

2. Old Programs and Old Printers

After you clear out unneeded files, your next project is to examine the programs you've loaded over the years. Do you still need them all. How about that HP Color Printer you installed in 2006 and discarded in 2008?

Go to the Control Panel, select Add/Remove, and find any program you no longer need and uninstall it. Don't simply delete a program — many programs contain dozens, if not hundreds, of files in various directories; deleting just the main executable file will leave those fragments behind and contribute to clutter, and possible system instability.

3. The Registry, this is the only way you should change this file, but it is a must.

Like a truck, car, or other mechanical device, your computer's System Registry needs a tune-up. Over time, registry settings — the main file controlling the look and feel of your computer — become so full of useless code; it can act as a brake on computer speed and also lead to freeze-ups. Try CCleaner  which will also clean out old files. This will help your PC boot faster too.

4. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer.

Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

 

A.Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.

B.In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click the Defrag button.

 

 

 

 

5. Finally, check your memory. Most computers with XP purchased 4 or 5 years ago came with 512meg of RAM. That was OK then, but this is now. Memory is cheap, max it out! Use this tool from Crucial to detect your memory as well as what you need to upgrade.

These steps will buy you another couple of years of PC use. I still have clients running 100% XP based PCs and are quite happy doing so!