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3 Simple Steps Anyone Can Do to Speed Up and Clean A Computer

Whether you use your computer for personal use or work, all of us know all too well the frustrations of waiting on a slow computer.

The speed of your computer ultimately comes down to several factors but the 3 biggest factors are:

  1. Malware on the PC,
  2. running out of space on the computer, or
  3. the hardware in your computer could be outdated or having issues.

We’ve put together a few steps anyone can do to help alleviate the issue.
Even if your computer isn’t running slow, these are good habits to get into on a regular basis if you want to extend the life of your computer, just like a car.

You can also read our blog post on How to Optimize Your Computer for Faster Startup and Performance.

Step 1: Clean the PC

The first thing you should take care of is malware and freeing up space by running a clean on the computer.
You can use many free online tools such as Ccleaner or Malwarebytes.

CCleaner

CCleaner is helpful because you’re removing tracking cookies as well as garbage data to free up space on the hard drive.

  • Start by selecting the Ccleaner link above.
  • Locate and select the ‘Download’ button under the free version and this should prompt a download on your browser.
  • Wait for the file to finish downloading, then select it to install.
    • If you’re asked to ‘Run’ ‘Save’ or ‘Cancel’, select ‘Run’.
  • If you’re not asked this, the install window should just pop up.
  • Follow the on-screen prompts to finish installing the program. At the end you should have a big blue button saying “Run CCleaner” click this and it should open the program.
  • You should already be on the tab you need to be on when the window loads. To be sure, look at the tabs in the left-hand side panel and make sure ‘Easy clean’ is selected. In the middle of the window you’ll select ‘Analyze’. This will estimate what needs to be removed.
  • Once the scan is finished calculating you will be given 2 results, Trackers and MB size of Junk that it was able to find.
  • Below that, select ‘Clean All’ to remove these and you’re finished!

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is a great scan if you’re trying to remove serious malware impacting your system such as trojans, rootkits and other threatening items. Not only can these slow down the PC but can cause serious issues to the system as well.

  • Start by selecting the Malwarebytes link above.
  • Locate and select the blue ‘Download’ button in the top right-hand corner of the window. This should prompt a download on your browser. Wait for the file to finish downloading, then select it to install.
    • If you’re asked to ‘Run’ ‘Save’ or ‘Cancel’, select ‘Run’
  • If you’re not asked this, the install window should just pop up.
  • Follow the on-screen prompts to finish installing the program.
  • Once you’re finished installing, the first window should take you right where you need to be. Select the ‘Scan Now’ button.
  • You’ll wait for the scan to complete and once it does you’ll verify all the items are checked, then select ‘Quarantine Selected’.
  • After Malwarebytes is finished removing those items you’ll be asked to restart the PC. Select restart and once the computer comes back up you’re all finished!

Step 2: Startup Menu

Start YOUR Windows Computer FASTER: How to Disable Startup Programs in Windows 10

Your startup menu is where you can decide which programs on your computer should automatically start running when you boot up the computer. You can use the startup menu to choose which programs you want starting and which ones need to wait to boot when you open them.

  • You can get to this by right-clicking on your taskbar at the bottom and then selecting “Task Manager”.
  • Or on your keyboard, you can also select Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
  • This will bring you to a window giving you multiple options, select “Task Manager”.
  • You will have a bunch of tabs at the top and you want to find and click ‘Startup’.
  • This will give you a list of the programs you can disable/enable.
  • Click the program you wish to edit, then click the ‘Disable’ button at the bottom of the window to turn off any programs you don’t need starting up automatically.
  • Try to do this with as many programs as you can, so that your PC doesn’t have to run so many things at once.

Step 3: Uninstalling

The last thing you can do is uninstall any programs you don’t need.
To do this,

  • start by clicking your Start menu in the bottom left-hand corner or hitting your Windows key on your keyboard.
  • You’ll then start typing ‘Control panel’
  • Control panel will appear where you’ll then select it.
  • In the new window, adjust the view by selecting the drop down menu in the top right-hand corner of the window, next to “View by:”.
  • Change this to ‘Category.’
  • Under Programs should be an option for ”Uninstall a program” click that.
    • You should now have a list of the programs currently installed on the PC.
  • To uninstall the program, simply right click and select “Uninstall”.
  • Follow the on screen prompts to uninstall the program.
  • **Don’t remove anything you don’t recognize! If you’re unsure, you can google the name of the program or you can use this site to search how many other people reported removing the program: https://www.shouldiremoveit.com/

Want to take additional steps to clean your computer?
Check out this link for more: https://www.helpcloud.com/?hcs=clean%20computer

Conclusion:

If you’re not seeing a difference in the speed of your PC after going through these methods, then it may be time to look at the parts in your computer or reach out for professional help. Some common hardware issues that can cause these issues are hard drive space is too small, slow processor, slow graphics card etc.

At times this can mean a whole new computer and other times it can mean simply upgrading a part or two.

If you’d rather have a pro take care of all of this then consider HelpCloud Technician by-the-hour.