Speed Up Computer

Over the past several posts, I’ve given readers a good outline for a regular maintenance plan that can help to avoid slow computer syndrome. If you perform these maintenance tasks regularly, you’ll keep your computer in good working order. You’ll also avoid some common pitfalls that accumulate over time and rob your computer (and you!) of good performance.

When Maintenance Isn’t Enough

Nothing can take the place of regular maintenance. If you perform these basic tasks on your computer regularly, you’ll get good, reliable performance. If you regularly maintain your computer, and you’ve maximized your RAM, your hard disk is not approaching 75% of its capacity and you’re still experiencing slow computer performance, your next best bet is to use a registry cleaner to address problems that routine maintenance won’t touch.

On a PC, programs are supposed to have an uninstaller that works. The uninstaller is supposed to remove all traces of the program when you use it. Sometimes, uninstallers work well and other times, they leave behind useless information and instructions written into the registry. Your computer has to read and interpret this information each time it boots, and often while you’re using the computer, whether the offending program is still installed or not.

Over time, this abandoned code accumulates in the registry, increasing the likelihood that something will go wrong. For example, information in the registry may cause a computer to wait for a response from a long-removed program. Since the program isn’t capable of responding, the computer must “time-out” on the request. In other words, it sits there patiently waiting for a response that will never come.

Keeping your registry clean and free from this kind of “debris” can really improve the performance of your computer. Registry errors can indeed rob your computer of the performance it had when it was new. Using a registry cleaner like RegistryBooster can help identify troublesome code left behind in the computer registry. Removing this unnecessary registry data can improve the performance of your computer significantly and help you get more out of your computer system.

In addition, RegistryBooster can detect and repair or remove registry errors that may cause your operating system to become unstable and crash. When you run Registry Booster, you’ll get a complete diagnostic report that shows you exactly where potential problems exist in your registry.
To speed up a slow computer, try RegistryBooster. You’ve got nothing to lose but slow computer performance.

Photo Credit: Jude Doyland, via Flickr

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, but there are many, many reasons a computer can slow down. The biggest culprits are a lack of physical memory, lack of hard disk space (which includes badly fragmented hard disks), slow network response, and registry errors. I see certain situations that can cause computer slowdowns often enough that they bear repeating, however.

AV Programs Do Compete With Each Other

Anti-virus (A/V) programs are a godsend when they work properly, and a slow torture when they don’t. Most computers come with a trial-version of any of a number of A/V programs; some computers come loaded with multiple different A/V applications. Layer on top of that the specialized anti-malware applications and you should be able to build yourself a pretty hardened computer, right?

Well, not exactly. A/V programs are indispensible, and I would never recommend that a user go without some type of ant-virus protection. Microsoft now includes a malware detection tool with its operating system, however the Microsoft tool isn’t meant to prevent malware infections in real-time. The Microsoft tool only detects and removes active infections of the most “popular” malwares making the rounds. It isn’t a substitute for full-blown A/V protection.

If some protection is good, more must be better, right? Again, not exactly. Layering multiple different A/V software programs onto your computer can be a recipe for disaster. A/V programs do compete with each other and can shut down themselves or the competing program. In addition, these programs can interfere with each other. This interference can absorb a lot of CPU time and may actually reduce the overall effectiveness of your A/V protection.

When it comes to A/V software, your best bet is to buy one and stick with it. If you’re unhappy with the program, or find something more to your liking, uninstall the old A/V software before installing the new software. If you’re not sure you want to go that route, at least disable one A/V program before you try out the other. When you’ve made your choice, eliminate the program you decided against and keep the winner updated at all times.
Photo Credit: Taber Bain, via Flickr

Apple has put together one of its “Mac & PC” commercials that focuses on operating system freezes. While the commercial may be funny, a frozen operating system is not, especially when the sudden stop has no rhyme or reason to it. It almost always interrupts something important, and freezes (or crashes, if you prefer) can do additional damage to your operating system and applications that may not be readily apparent. These problems almost always defy your best attempts to speed up your computer.

Thawing Out A Frozen Computer

So how do you get a handle on OS freezes? Sometimes – though not often – a freeze-up can have a readily identifiable trigger. Each time you access a certain piece of hardware, or every time you run a particular application, your computer may freeze. When the trigger can be identified, the problem is usually somewhat evident. Application freezes can be caused by corruptions in the application files that make the computer hang when it tries to access the damaged files.

In most cases, however, a frozen OS isn’t attributable to any one thing. One minute, your computer is running fine, the next it’s been stopped dead in its tracks. Here, one of the “usual suspects” is leftover bits of programming code in the computer’s registry.

These orphans have been left behind by other applications that have long since been removed. The registry becomes loaded with old instructions for allocating and configuring resources. The computer still follows these instructions because it has no way of knowing that the instructions are no longer necessary, or that the application that uses them is no longer on the computer. Perhaps the application is still there, but it’s been upgraded and now needs different resources to operate.

After awhile, the computer is left with a confusing mish-mash of old and new code. Sometimes these instructions contradict each other. When that happens, the OS is forced into an unpredictable state, and the end result is often an operating system crash.

Unfortunately, the registry isn’t a straightforward place. It is a database that is located across multiple files, and has thousands upon thousands of lines of code that mean little to anyone except the computer itself. How do you find and eliminate these little “zombies”?

Many people choose to use a tried-and-true registry cleaner like RegCure. RegCure has been downloaded more times than any other registry cleaner on the market, and it works to eliminate the root causes of poor computer performance. Run regularly, RegCure will have your computer operating as designed in no time flat!

Photo Credit: Jasmic, via Flickr

In a Windows-based computer, a clean registry is critical to proper operation of the entire operating system. New applications write to the registry all the time. Uninstallers are supposed to remove these registry entries and restore the registry to its proper condition, but often these entries are overlooked. They’ll also be overlooked if you remove programs by deleting them instead of following the recommended uninstall procedures.

In addition, programs like spyware and adware make unauthorized entries in your computer’s registry. The number of entries in the registry has a direct bearing on how well your computer performs. Unnecessary registry entries from old, abandoned software, or old configurations slow the performance of the computer. Errors in the registry and in other files on the computer make extra work for the computer at boot-up, and can conflict with each other. The result is a computer that simply doesn’t perform the way the manufacturer intended it to.

How To Keep Your Registry Clean

No one – and I mean no one – recommends that you edit your registry manually if you can avoid that. The registry is too important and too vulnerable to careless changes. Instead, having a capable registry cleaner as part of your PC toolkit is recommended. RegCure is just what you need to keep your computer operating in top condition.

RegCure does more than just mind your registry. It gives you very precise control over your registry. You can clean the registry manually, or you can clean it automatically. RegCure keeps you informed as to the progress of your system cleaning, and is completely compatible with all Windows operating systems. Your registry will not only be cleaned, it can be maintained easily and most importantly your registry (along with the rest of your files) will be backed up. You can deal with accidental deletions, file corruptions, and other data damage quickly and easily.

The built-in scheduling function means that you can “set-and-forget.” Once RegCure is installed and configured, your computer will be scanned, cleaned, and backed up automatically. You don’t have to remember to do or start anything.

Benefits Of A Clean Registry

The first time you run RegCure, you’ll be surprised by what the program finds. Old registry entries from programs you no longer use; broken DLLs that do nothing except slow your computer; and corrupted, useless files. RegCure will eliminate all of these from your computer’s registry. Once you’ve finished your first scan, you’ll quickly see the benefit of RegCure in the form of faster performance.

If your computer is slow, don’t replace it; clean it with RegCure!

Photo Credit: Manuel W.