PC Rejuvenation Guide

So your computer has seen its heyday and now it seems that it is slower than it once was. Your computer is “hanging” when opening relatively simple applications, it takes what seems like a lifetime to finish loading into Windows, and often you get issues trying to do anything at all that could be considered intensive.

This guide is here to help you revive your computer and restore it to a level of performance that you may feel is lost to you.

We’ll start with in-Windows tools, moving on to third party software, and then finally, hardware changes or upgrades.

Please remember this guide is written at an intentionally basic level so that it remains accessible for computer novices. If you’d like more in-depth assistance with bringing your PC back to its former glory, feel free to head over to our forums and ask away!

So first..

In-Windows Fixes
Startup
Over the life of your computer, you’re going to install software packages. That much is a given. Frequently, when you do, the software asks for permission to start when Windows does. As time goes on, and as more applications add themselves to your Windows startup, your boot time becomes greatly extended. Not only that, but with all these suites running in the background, it can hog your computers memory (RAM) and make your computing experience similar to running a marathon tied to a 1000 lb weight.

To remedy this, a relatively simple fix is to remove unused software packages from your “Startup” – to do this, open your start menu and click “Run.” Type “msconfig” (without the “), and hit enter. You’ll be presented with a system configuration box.

msconfig

Click the “Startup” tab, and you’ll be presented with a list of installed software that will start when Windows does. Typically, the longer this list, the lengthier your boot time will be.  To improve this, remove the checkboxes from the software items you don’t need to use every single time you boot. Don’t remove things that you don’t recognize. A quick Google search will yield information on anything you may be unsure of.