How to Tune-Up Your Own PC

It can be likened to changing the filters and cleaning out your
furnace/air conditioner a couple times a year. It's easy enough to do
yourself, but it is even easier to have your "guy" come in and do it,
pay him and be done with it. That way you know it's done right and you
didn't have to mess with it yourself, right?Cleaning up your PC is
much the same. Just about anyone is capable of doing it, if you want
to take the time and have the right tools to do it with. Or, you can
take your PC to Staples or Best Buy or the guy down the street, and
pay him to do it for you. Whatever your choice, its something that you
should do regularly. As soon as you notice your computer start to run
sluggishly; as soon as you notice that it takes longer than normal to
boot, that it seems to take forever to load a page...take the time to
do a bit of maintenance...before it stops completely.The same tools
are available to you that are available to the "big boys" like Staples
and Best Buy. The first thing that you should have on your PC and run
on a regular basis is anti-virus software. There are a couple of free
ones out there-AVG free is one of the most reliable and recommended.
Norton is not free but is well worth the peace of mind it offers. This
is one tool that you should absolutely not do without and the first
tool you should install if you start having problems with your
PC.When's the last time you defragmented your hard drive? "What?" Yes,
some people have never heard of this. As PCs have gotten more
user-friendly and smart, some of these "old fashioned" terms have gone
by the wayside, but that doesn't make it any less important to do.
Basically, after being used for a long period of time, large programs
become "discombobulated" or fragmented, becoming scattered across
numerous sections of your drive. When trying to run that program, the
computer then has to search harder to gather all the pieces together
in order to run the program. In Windows 7 there is a preinstalled
Windows Disk Defragmenter tool but you may have to look for it under
System Tools in older Windows Operating Systems (OS). Defragmenting,
especially if you have not done it before, can take anywhere from a
few minutes to a few hours, so perform this operation when you know
it's okay to have your PC down for awhile.Another thing that can slow
your PC considerably is leaving fragments of applications that you
have deleted on your PC. There are many times that you download an
application that you decide you no longer need. Even removing the
program through your control panel add/remove program feature may
leave fragments behind that can gum up the works of your computer. The
best way to remove unwanted applications is to use the tool designed
for the job, which would be the application's own removal tool. If you
cannot locate that tool, do a web search for "the application's name"
removal tool.Finally, regularly clean up large files. Transfer old
files that you want to keep to CDs or to an online storage facility.
Regardless of how much memory you have on your PC, it can get clogged
up and full, causing your PC to slow down.Now, isn't that easy? Four
simple steps that you can do yourself; four simple steps to a
healthier, and smoother running PC.