Faster Computer Performance, Part (2)

3) Stop All Those Automatic Startup Programs

Stop those unneeded programs that startup automatically when your computer boots up. Just about every program that is installed on your computer, seems to want to start up when your computer starts up. This slows down your laptop computer very quickly and quite dramatically. They slow down your computer during shut downs and start ups. They also eat up valuable computer memory that you could being using for live active programs.

So go through your computer programs that you have installed one by one. Go to their program preferences or program options and uncheck automatic program startup. You can also run a free Windows utility program called " MSCONFIG " to stop some programs from automatically starting up.

How to access MSCONFIG:

• Start | Run | and type MSCONFIG in the Open line. Click OK  
• Click on StartUp tab in the System Configuration Utility window 
• Uncheck those programs you don't want to automatically run at Windows boot-up time. 

• You will be very surprise to see an incredible difference in your laptop computer speed. But only after you eliminate those unnecessary startup programs. 

Or watch video on 'How To Use MSCONFIG' to learn how.

If you are unable to watch this HOW TO video, you will need to download and install the latest Adobe Flash Player plugin.  It is safe and virus free to do so.  

    Turn Your Speakers On

 If you like these suggestions, you may also like my additional recommendations on speeding up your laptop boot-up. You can find them on my site at Speed Up Your Slow Laptop Boot-up.

4) Unclog Your Windows Registry

Everything and I mean everything, that has ever been installed or un-installed on your computer is listed in the Windows registry. Your computer registry grows like one hungry monster and never stops eating. And it never goes on a diet. It retains everything forever.

The bigger it gets the slower your computer will get. Over time, it gets so clogged up, that it even gets corrupted causing computer errors. You know, those unwanted blue screens with a bunch of numbers and letters that mean nothing to you. When it gets clogged up, some programs will even stop working. The congested Windows registry will slow down your computer constantly until you perform a clean up.

Don't wait until your computer crashes before doing a registry cleanup. The best free and safe way to clean up your computer registry is to run a free registry scanner and cleaner. You can find one that is recommended by user reviews by searching the internet.

Caution: Always perform a Windows Registry backup before performing any registry cleanup procedure. A full Windows backup is also highly recommended too.

5) Windows Vista ReadyBoost

If you are using   Windows Vista, you should really look into ReadyBoost. A free utility tool included in Vista that allows you to use a USB flash drive or a memory card to act as additional memory. ReadyBoost will improve your laptop computer performance without having to add additional system memory. It does this by using your flash drive or memory card as a drive for disk cache. This is all done without having to spend more money on additional memory sticks too.

6) Clean Up Your Desktop

We are all guilty of Windows desktop clutter.  Some of us have way more desktop icons than we know what to do with.  Every time I turn around another desktop icon seems to appear on my desktop.  Everytime your PC starts up, it has to load all those icons and their properties into RAM, this does take time and slows your PC down. It eats up your memory and slows down your boot-up speed.  Delete those unused desktop icons.  You will see a nice speed improvement on Windows boot-up time. 

If you like these suggestions, you may also like my additional recommendations on speeding up your laptop boot-up. You can find them on my site at Speed Up Your Slow Laptop Boot-up.