So here I am sitting in the library doing some boring WW1 stuff. I decided to write this. This Guide is for those people who don't know a whole lot about computers and maybe for those who do. Anywho....here goes... Antivrii Yes, along with the freedom of the age of information comes the computer virus. Nowadays you simply CANNOT use the internet without an antivirus. Here is a few words on some antivirii that can save you time money and frustration AVG Antivirus Free This simple and free antivirus is the best preforming and most thourough AV I have ever seen. It is also fast and doesn't require tons of memory to run. It also updates about once a week (minimum) which makes for good updated virus scans. It can be found [Here] Spyware and Adware While using many sites on the net, these site may install small tracking systems or 'cookies'. These enable the site to remember you and make things go faster. However, some sites like to install trackers that will monitor the sites you go to for statistical purposes. Not only are these privicy invading, they are also just taking up space. Spybot Search and Destroy, when updated before every scan can keep your computer running adware and spyware free. It can be found[Here] Keep your computer Running Fast There really is no program out there that can increase the maximum speed of your computer. This all depends on your memory, HDD and computer. What I'm going to talk about is RAM or 'Random Access Memory". These little chips are essential to keeping a computer running smoothly as they will carry any little bit of information that your computer needs to store. A good amount of RAM to have is 256 megs. However, the more the better. A good program for clearing unused information in your RAM is Memturbo. It can be found [Here] Another problem many people face is their temporary internet files taking up too much space. These temp. internet files are pictures and information from every little site you visit. These are stored so that the next time you go to the site, it will load a bit faster seeings as you already have these images and small bits of information stored on your computer. Cleaning these out is a good idea every few months. But remember, when you clean these out, the webpages you normally visit will load a bit slower the first time you visit them after clearing the temp files as they are storing the information again. A program that can aid you in cleaning these out is Windows Cleanup It can be found [Here] Probably the most manual way to make your computer faster than it's current state is to Defragment it. Your computer's hard drive will, over time spread things all over it that should be grouped together. A defragmentation will group these together and save a bit of space and make your system run cleaner and better. (Caution - Depending on your system, this could take DAYS - Literally) Windows comes with a defragmenting program. This can be accessed by going to Start>>Programs>>Accessories>>System Tools>>Disk Defragmenter. I recommend that before you defragment, goto the run menu and type 'scandskw' (without the ' and ' ) Make sure "standard" is checked. Windows defrag cannot run if there is an error in the system and this will fix any errors. I'm running out of time, so we'll let this be part one. If you have any questions, post them under this. For now, happy computing.
Thanks for sharing this . I do these things except... the defragmentation. 11 G data on this hard drive written till July... I'm gonna put my computer in my living room and let it run for a day pretty soon... Other suggestion : Update Windows and other software often You should keep your computer's software updated. By doing this, you ensure you have less chances of somebody using a weakness in software to hack in your computer. You can update your version of Windows [here] Keep your drivers up-to-date Download the most recent driver for your video and sound cards, modem, etc. This can be responsible for a dramatic improvement of your computer's performance . Also, check for the latest version of Direct X. You can download Direct X at the link I posted for Windows. nVidia (GeForce, TNT) video cards ATI (Radeon) video cards Creative (SoundBlaster, Audigy) audio cards
Another tool I highly recommend is System Mechanic 4 This tool does loads of things for you, ranging from defragging RAM to cleaning junk files. It is available [Here] The version you can download is a 30 day trial. Keep in mind that the older versions of System Mechanic were cracked and many serials were circulating around the internet. They have blacklisted everyone of those serials and you cannot use them. Although I do have the serial, I dont know if I can give it to you. That would be at the descretion of a MOD or ADMIN
If you use the wrong serial it can result in screwing up your PC . There's also some trick to get 30 more days, it's about changing something in the Registry but don't try this if you don't know how it works. Also try SiSoftware Sandra (download [HERE]. It analyzes your computer and tells you what to do to enhace it's performances.