Hello! I’m a PC. . . and I’m slow. . .

Having worked at various helpdesk and desktop support positions I cannot begin to count the amount of calls relating to computer performance that I have handled, especially that of PCs. Ticket after ticket the complaints pile up, statements like “dreadful speeds,” “constantly freezing,” and “the hour glass again” are repeated over and over again as users attempt to express their frustration. I dare not to mention the “really upset” users and the choice of words used to describe their problems, but who can really blame them.

So…what is the best approach to making a computer run like new? Of course a fresh installation of Windows would deal with most issues, but unfortunately it is not always the best tactic. Many users cannot afford the down time associated with a reimage, it’s not the reimaging process itself that is time consuming, but usually the busy IT department schedule. Besides most computer images only contain basic office applications, common system components and peripheral drivers. To add on most users don’t have the same applications installed on their PC and creating an image for every user is quite overwhelming and space consuming, definitely not a very good practice.

With this in mind, I have put together a list of the top 10 things that have helped me in resolving most issues involving slow PC performance. (Note this list is based on Windows XP Pro, however, some of these steps are also helpful in improving the performance of Windows Vista. Also some of my suggestions are not feasible for helpdesk/desktop support, more for personal use.)

Please feel free go give your feedback; I’m sure there are a few things that I might be missing.

1. Freeing up disk space is a great place to start. There are a few places that need constant maintenance. Cleaning these locations will greatly improve system performance:

• Windows Temp Files: %temp%
• Windows Prefetch Files: %systemroot%/prefetch
• IE Temporary Files, Browsing History and Cookies
• Java temporary files from Java Console
• Don’t forget to empty the Windows Recycle bin
• Remove any unused programs and applications.
• Remove any unused browser toolbars or plugins.

(If you need help finding any of these locations feel free to send me an email)

2. After freeing as much disk space as possible it is a good idea to run a disk defrag. However, I would suggest using an application like SmartDefrag (free and downloadable at: http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html). If you prefer to run the default Defragmenter program in Windows note that the program cannot defrag any file that is currently open, which includes all system files, the Windows page file, and the Windows registry.

To truly optimize the speed and performance of your computer, defragging the system files, Windows page files, and Windows registry must also be done. [Windows is constantly accessing these three aspects of the operating system during normal operation.]

It’s a great thing that Microsoft did not leave us in the dark; they do provide a free product that can help us in defragging files that are constantly in use. PageDefrag, which is available through the Microsoft download page, will defrag your computer during the system boot so as to avoid any files being locked up by Windows.

3. By default in Windows operations systems, paging files are controlled by Windows. These files fluctuate in size and can cause plenty of disk fragmentation. I personally like to set the paging files to a location different than the boot location, preferably a different hard disk, but a different partition also works.

When configuring our Virtual Memory make sure to use the “custom” option and keep the initial size and maximum size at the same value.

When deciding the total Amount of Virtual Memory to allocate the rule-of-thumb is: 3X the amount of RAM you have, e.g. a computer with 512MB of RAM would need 1536MB of Virtual Memory.

4. After Uninstalling a program/application in Windows XP, it is easy to see that it has been deleted, after all the shortcut in the desktop no longer works or points to a location that is unavailable, surely it no longer resides within your system. The truth is that most programs even after uninstalling themselves leave a lot of garbage behind, random files or folders, shortcuts, links, and even registry entries.

It is great practice to keep the Windows registry clean. Delete broken shortcuts, missing shared DLLs, invalid paths, and invalid installer references.

A simple way to provide maintenance of the Windows Registry is to use CCleaner (free for download at: www.ccleaner.com). There are a few other programs, feel free to explore. *Never forget to backup your registry before any kind of modifications.

5. A personal favorite of mine is to disable the XP boot logo, this is not a crucial step, but it does help to speed up the Windows boot time.

Here’s how to do it:

1. [Run msconfig] Click Start > Run; type: msconfig
2. Select the BOOT.INI tab
3. From Boot Options check: /NOGUIBOOT
4. Click Apply > close msconfig.
5. Restart your computer for changes to take effect

[To re-enabled the Windows Splash Screen uncheck the /NOGUIBOOT from msconfig.]

6. Don’t forget to check your RAM! Windows XP runs best on a minimum of 512MB of RAM while Vista requires a minimum of 1 GB.

7. A frequent issue that causes computer performance issue is infections of spyware/malware and/or viruses/trojans. There are many programs to prevent and remove such threats, but not all work as efficient as others.

My favorites are:

• Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoft.com/single/trialpay.php)
• SUPERAntiSpyware (http://www.superantispyware.com/)
• AVG AntiVirus (www.avg.com/free)

*Of course all of these are free versions.

8. Try to replace slower hard drives with faster more efficient disks. Avoid hard drives with speeds slower than 7200 RPM, if your motherboards supports serial hard drives consider replacing your PATA drives with SATA or SAS.

9. There is a risky option; I only recommend this to “technically savvy” – Over Clock your processor. I have done successfully on a few computers, I’m not going to lie, I have damaged a few others in the process. If you are interested in attempting to over clock your processor please email me for more information.

10. Your last option is to drop it all and switch to a MAC :)