I’m certain that we have all seen them, software programs that promise to have your PC “Running just Like New”. I’ve seen many people use them and most have to admit that the programs did little or nothing to speed up their computer. In some cases these programs have even crashed their computers.
What these programs typically do is remove orphaned or invalid registry entries. This will usually shrink the registry by 150-800 entries. Sounds good right? Well when you consider that the registry is made up of many thousands of entries, removing a few hundred really isn’t that impressive. After they remove the orphaned entries, they may compress or compact the registry, moving entries to make the file size smaller.
Will these processes speed up your computer? Yes, a little. What these programs all fail to take into consideration is how many programs are running on startup. The more programs you have running at once, the less processing power and memory your computer can give to the more important programs and processes.
Lets look at a computer as if it were a person… If you are trying to write a research paper, you need to put all of your attention into writing the paper, right? Well, lets add into the mix a stereo playing distracting music, a dog barking, a cluttered desk and your neighbor’s baby screaming. None of them are really requiring your attention but your mind has to bounce around a bit more than it should to work on your research paper. Just think about how much more you could accomplish if you removed the screaming baby, barking dog, cleaned up your desk and put on more soothing music. This is what you really need to do in order to speed up your computer. “So how do I speed up my slow Computer?” I’m glad you asked, here are a few simple steps!
- Make sure your computer has enough RAM (memory)
- For Windows 2000 and XP, you should have a minimum of 512MB.
- For Windows Vista and Windows 7 I recommend having a minimum of 2 GB.
- Remember, more is always better!
** Warning: Editing the registry can be dangerous and Biden PC does not warrant any changes that you make.**
**If you do not feel comfortable doing this, Biden PC can do it for you for the small fee of $15.00**
- Download Autoruns from Microsoft. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
- Unzip the file and run autoruns.exe.
- Look at the bottom left corner of the window. Don’t do anything until is says “Ready”.
- Once it says “Ready”, click on the “Logon” tab. That is all we are going to concern ourselves with.
- Find the line below “Explorer.exe” and start unchecking boxes. DO NOT UNCHECK “Explorer.exe” OR ANYTHING ABOVE IT.
- Most things here can be disabled. Things like iTunes, QuickTime, Adobe, Google Update… These can all be disabled.
- Do not disable your Antivirus (Norton/Symantec, McAfee, Avira, AVG, CA…)
- Do not disable “cftmon.exe”
Once you have disabled what you feel comfortable disabling from the system startup, reboot your computer and enjoy how much faster it is. Feel free to share this information or like with your friends.
Tim
Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.
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