If your computer has started to slow down, there are many options for speeding it up. Below, we show you some of the best tips for speeding up your PC, some from previous HTG articles and some described here.
Turn off Startup Programs
Clean Up Unnecessary Files on Your Computer
As you use your computer, files collect in all kinds of places. Windows and programs running in Windows create temporary files and log files. Files you have deleted may collect in the Recycle Bin, if you don’t empty it often. When you browse the internet, browsers create temporary files, sites put cookies on your computer, and the download history and form history grows. CCleaner can help you clean up your computer. You can
set up CCleaner to automatically run on a schedule and you can also
create a shortcut to run CCleaner quickly and silently.
Schedule a Task to Perform Disk Cleanup
Windows provides a built-in Disk Cleanup tool that removes old files and temporary files to help you reclaim hard disk space and possibly speed up your PC. It’s a good idea to run the Disk Cleanup tool on a regular basis, such as weekly or monthly, depending on your computer usage. You can use the Task Scheduler in Windows to
set up a task to run the Disk Cleanup tool on a set schedule.
Remove Malware, Spyware, and Adware
If you have malware, spyware, or adware on your computer, that can affect its performance. The articles below describe some tools that help you get rid of malware, spyware, and adware and also how to get rid of fake antivirus applications that are actually viruses in themselves.
Turn off Windows Features
Disable the Indexing Service in Windows
The Search Indexing service in Windows scans through the files and folders on your system and records information about them in an index file to speed up the search process. However, this also consumes resources on your system and can slow it down. If you don’t do a lot of searching through files and folders, you can turn off the indexing service to free up some resources and speed up your computer.
Open the Start menu and enter “services.msc” (without the quotes) in the search box. Press Enter or click on the services.msc link when it displays.
In the right pane on the Services dialog box, scroll down until you find the Windows Search service. Right-click on it and select Properties from the popup menu.
The Windows Search Properties dialog box displays. Select Disabled from the Startup type drop-down list. Click OK to accept the change and close the dialog box.
You are returned to the Services dialog box. Select Exit from the File menu to close it. Reboot your computer to finalize the change.
Reduce the Delay of the Start Menu Display
By default, there is a delay before the Start menu and its submenus display. If you want to make the Start menu open faster, you can change a key in the registry to accomplish this.
Open the Start menu and enter “regedit.msc” (without the quotes) in the search box. Press Enter or click on the regedit.msc link when it displays.
If the User Account Control dialog box displays, click Yes to continue.
In the tree in the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop key. In the right pane, scroll down until you find the MenuShowDelay data value. Right-click on the name and select Modify from the popup menu.
In the Value data edit box on the Edit String dialog box, enter a new value between 0 and 4000. This indicates how many milliseconds it takes for the Start menu and any submenus to display. We don’t recommend you use 0 as the value. It might make it hard to navigate through the menus. Click OK to accept your change.
Select Exit from the File menu to close the Registry Editor. Reboot your computer to apply the change.
Fully Uninstall Unused Programs
Change the Number of Recent Items Shown on the Windows 7 Start Menu
Delete Unnecessary Items from the Send To Menu
Limit the Number of Items in Each Folder
If you have lots of files in a single folder, it can slow down Explorer. It’s best to create multiple folders and spread out the files among the folders.
