5 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer

Is your PC/Laptop running slow? Find out below 5 ways in which you can speed up your device and save a cost of getting a new computer!

Clean up your desktop

We get it, storing items on your desktop is easy to do and can quite easily become a habit. But by doing this the computer can slow down, why? Because the computer will have to load up all the screens you may have open, plus all your desktop items at the same time.

Having a large amount of icons can also slow the start-up time as not only is the computer trying to load up background items on start-up but your desktop to. Instead, put your desktop items into a folder, then there is much less for your computer to have to display, meaning less processing power being used.

Choose the right antivirus

Antivirus, they all do the same thing right? Wrong. While they all work in the same kind of format when it comes to computer scans, they are very different when it comes to the perfomance of the software, clogging up your computer with redundant files and overloading you with notifications. The likes of Norton, AVG and Kaspersky and the worst for this.

At ATS we use award winning antivirus from ESET for all of our Cyber Security and there are good reasons why we do. To find out more on ESET and our installation contact us here

Another important aspect for your antivirus is to always make sure it is up to date, otherwise it may not be protecting you from the latest threats draining your performance.

Uninstall redundant programs

Redundant programmes are only going to be eating up your memory and perform background actions even though they are not activated. To put it simple, if you dont use them then get rid of this. You will see instant speed in your performance.

For the programmes you do need, make sure you check the permissions, as they may be doing more than you think. An example of this would be checking a programmes permission to see if it loads on start-up of the device, if it doesn’t need to be, revoke the permission.

For Windows 10 users, you can check what programmes have what permissions by lauching Task Manager and clicking on the Start Up tab. Here you will see a list of of programmes loading up on start-up. Simply go the the programme and right click and click ‘Disable’. This will now prevent it from loading when you start your computer.

Give your computer a clean

Before you get your cleaning products out, keep reading! We are talking about the junk the computer builds up over time (Cookies, Recycling bin). Over time your computer will build up files it simply does not need any more and it is time to get rid of them. This can be a big culprit as to why your computer is running slow!

We would recommend a free software called CCleaner which you simply just download and run. We would advise to run this software every fortnight to keep on top of things. 

Give your computer a break

Just like us, computers need a break to. Modern day devices are capable of being left on but every now and then you should give it a rest and completely turn it off. This will allow the computer to install any updates that need to happen and keeps your computer up to date.

Turning off isn’t just putting your laptop lid down. We mean turning the computer off completely. 

OFFER

If you have followed all of the tips above and are still having troubles with your computer speed then do not fear the worst. Sometimes it can be a case of a componant needing to be upgraded, in particular upgrading a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) to a SSD (Solid State Drive).

One of our skilled technicians will be able to look at it for you and advise accordingly.

If you contact us using the code CLEANUP we will offer you 15% off our Health Check service.