Now delete any programs you never use.
Click Start-->Control Panel-->
Double click the Add or Remove programs... icon. Click each
redundant program in turn and click its Remove button.
Some programs create huge files which can clog your hard disk.
The Zone Alarm firewall stores log files and they grow like Topsy. You
will find them in the Internet logs folder. To delete them you will need
to turn Zone Alarm off first.
Windows creates a huge file called hyberfil.sys If you wish, you can disable Hibernation to prevent this file from growing.
Broadband: I have heard people say they are thinking of going on to broadband because their computer is slowing down. Broadband has no effect whatsoever on the speed of a computer; it only changes your telephone line so that it can carry more traffic.
Slow start up:
Your computer at start up may be loading a whole bunch of unnecessary
programs.
Find out what is being loaded:
Click
Start-->Run-->
and in the little field which appears type
msconfig
and click
OK. On the next window click the tab labelled
Startup
. You will see a list of start up programs with ticked boxes.
Write down the names of all the start up programs except for the obvious
ones which contain recognisable letters like avgcc, mc, hp. e_s because
they refer to a program you have on the computer. Look up the others
on the internet by typing their names into a search engine
.
When you see the search results, beware of adverts claiming to remove
the start up programs, they cost money and are usually dodgy. If the
search results indicate that some programs do not need to run at start up,
go back to the msconfig start-up tab and un-tick their boxes. Then close
the window and restart the computer. When the computer has re-started, a
grey panel will pop up, tick the box in the bottom left hand corner so
that it will not show that panel again.
Is AVG anti-virus automatically scanning when you switch on? This daily activity is unnecessary and it seriously slows down the start-up process. I only scan my computer for viruses (manually) every two or three weeks or when odd things are happening. If you did not cancel the automatic scanning during your installation, you can stop this activity by double clicking the AVG icon on the Desktop. Then on the top menu click Tools--> Advanced Settings . On the left hand panel, click the plus sign in the box labelled Schedules, then click Scheduled scan. Un-tick the box labelled Enable this task and click Apply. On the left hand panel click Program Update Schedule. Un-tick the box labelled Enable this task to remove the tick and click Apply then OK.
Automatic updating: Most people do not like being interrupted by AVG's automatic update. Especially if they are on Dial-up. I like to update when it is convenient, not when AVG dictates. The new version does not let you change from automatic to manual update, but there is a work-around. On AVG's top menu, click Tools--> Advanced Settings. On the left hand panel, click the plus sign in the box labelled Schedules , then click Virus database update schedule. Find Run at a specific time and change the time to say 03.00am. Un-tick all the square boxes except under Task settings where Enable this task must be ticked. Click Apply and OK .
Slow shut down: the same start up programs may also be causing slow shut down. Spies are a common cause.
Warning: Immediately delete any emails offering free programs which say they will either remove spies and viruses, or speed up searches, or speed up the internet, these are spies; they will do the exact opposite of what they claim. Follow this golden rule:- if you receive an email from an unknown sender, or an email about a virus, or an email offering free programs, delete it (Shift+Delete). Make absolutely sure you have disabled the Preview pane in Outlook Express otherwise you are wide open to the latest type of virus. Click Remove Preview pane for instructions on removing the Preview pane.
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