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Slow Computer?   (page 2 of 3)
By Joy Stapleton   

When you've finished with your selections click the Apply button, and then click on the Close or OK button. You will then be prompted to either restart the system, or exit without restarting. You can choose either option, but be aware that the changes you've made won't take effect until you restart the system.

On Windows XP, the next time you start the system, if the System Configuration window pops up just click on the checkbox where it says, "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration…" and then click the OK button.

On Windows Vista, the next time you start the system you'll see a balloon pop up to inform you that Windows has blocked some startup programs. Click on the icon that it's pointing to, select Run blocked program, select System Configuration Utility, and click on the checkbox where it says, "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration…" and click the OK button.

Disk Cleanup is another utility that can help speed up your system by reducing the number of unnecessary files that are on your hard drive. Click on the Start button, select All Programs, select Accessories, select System Tools, and click on Disk Cleanup.

Disk Cleanup will remove Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Recycle Bin files, and other Temporary files.

If you have more than one hard drive you'll be prompted to select the drive that you want to clean up, and then the utility will start calculating the amount of space you can free up on that drive.

This process can take several minutes depending on the size of the drive. When the space calculation has completed Disk Cleanup will then display a scrollable list where you can select items for deletion by clicking on their associated checkboxes.

You can also view the files before they're deleted by highlighting an item and clicking the View Files button. Deselect the checkbox of any items that you wish to keep. When you're done with your selections click the OK button, and then click the Yes button when prompted.

The Disk Defragmenter is a much more lengthy process, but it can also significantly increase the speed of your system.

Fragmentation occurs because of the constant addition, deletion, and modification of files, as well from installing and uninstalling software applications.


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