Speed up your computer, for Free! A CleaningGuru How To Tutorial.
By CleaningGuru
----[ Introduction ]----
Hello Reader, I am the Cleaning Guru and you are here reading this because your are the helpless victim of a very dirty computer, or maybe your just looking for a quick tip on keeping your computer up to par? No matter who you are, for you will learn something either way.
This How to Tutorial will consist of 2 parts. What you can do yourself. And what you will need a program for. For the second section, proper links will be included allowing access to the programs more easily.
----[ Section 1: What you can do yourself ]----
Welcome to section 1! I bet your sitting there in frustration wondering why I haven't began yet so now I believe is the time to start. This tutorial will be broken into tasks, much like a task list you would make when cleaning your house. The tasks do not need to be completedd in any particular order but they can be done in the order give.
Task 1: "Appdata"
Within every windows computer, there is a folder called "Appdata". This folder accumulates much junk, and must be cleaned manually from time to time. This is how to do it:
Finding the "AppData" folder
What the above pictures enable you to do is find the AppData folder. It is originally hidden.
What you must do now is find the AppData folder, the location can be found by following the address bar in the picture to the right. Replace "Alex" with the username of the current computer user.
Finding the "Temp" folder
The next step involves you going to the "temp" folder and deleting ALL of it's contents. Don't worry, this is safe. To reach the "temp" folder you must open the "AppData" folder, and then open the "Local" folder, and finally scroll down until you find the "temp" folder as seen in the picture to the right.
And so concludes Task 1: "AppData"
Task 2: "prefetch"
Task 2 will involve you both deleting the contents of the "Prefetch" folder, as well as disabling "Prefetch" all together if you so wish.
Deleting the "Prefetch' folder is quite simple. All you must do is follow the address bar in the picture to the right.
Disabling "Prefetch"
To disable "prefetch" you must type in "Services" into the search bar. Then you must Scroll down until you find the "Windows Search Application". Double click it, and select disable. The effects may only take place next time you restart your computer. Follow the pictures below for a better idea of how to do the above.
What is Prefetch?
The windows site reads and I quote,
" Each time you turn on your computer, Windows keeps track of the way your computer starts and which programs you commonly open. Windows saves this information as a number of small files in the prefetch folder. The next time you turn on your computer,Windows refers to these files to help speed the start process.
The prefetch folder is a subfolder of the Windows system folder. The prefetch folder is self-maintaining, and there's no need to delete it or empty its contents. If you empty the folder, Windows and your programs will take longer to open the next time you turn on your computer."
What this means is that every single thing you've opened has created a file within the "prefetch" folder to help speed up the time it takes to open. In essence this is helpful, but sometimes there are things we open once that we never open again. Deleting the contents of the "prefetch" folder helps optimize it's use. The reason it can be beneficial to remove "prefetching" all together is because "prefetch" is always running in the background and may take up precious computer resources for lower end computers.
And so ends Task 2: "Prefetch"
Task 3: Download Folder
This is by far the easiest task I have for you. All it involves is accessing your "downloads" folder and deleting the contents you no longer need. This may seem obvious but I have cleaned out gigs worth of junk from peoples "downloads" folder. The location of this folder can be found in the picture to the right. Just follow the address bar.
And so ends Task 3: Download Folder
----[ Section 2: Programs that do it for you ]----
Welcome to section 2! If you've made it this far then hopefully you've already noticed a difference on the speed of your computer! If not maybe these programs can help.
Advanced System Care [By IObit]
- http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html
The above link will lead you to the download page of one of my favorite programs. This program can do just about anything you heart desires when it comes to computer care. Not only is it easy to use, but it offers a free version as well!
HitmanPro [by surfright]
- http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro
Hitmanpro is a malware scanner that I use quite often. It gives you the ability of a one time use of scanning your computer for any malicious programs and files on your computer that can be hindering performance. Again, their is a free option.
Search Everything [by voidtools]
- http://www.voidtools.com/
This nifty little program is one of the most useful tools to have on your computer. All you have to do is type in what your looking for and this thing will search your entire computer for anything named what typed. it's also free.
GameBooster [By IObit]
- Game Booster 3.0 Free Download, Speed Up PC for Top Gaming Performance
Don't let the name fool you. While it is useful for gaming, it can also be used to disable any unnecessary background programs which will in turn increase the speed in which your computer does everything else.
------------------ Conclusion -------------------
And so Concludes my How To Tutorial on cleaning your computer. I do hope you have learned and prospered from my knowledge and I hope you enjoy a faster, more efficient computer!
CleaningGuru out.
Comments
I often clean computers manually and oddly enough, get some sense of enjoyment out of it but often because of lack of time, I use ccleaner. I prefer it as it also does registry cleanup and so far over the years it has not done any damage during the process. I only run it manually however, I like have as few things start-up with my systems as possible and especially don;t want a program that deletes things starting up with the system or when I login.
http://www.squidoo.com/desktop-support-malware-vir
Thhis was a very good hub/post however. Thank you.
Rain Defence 3 months ago
Useful info for many, something that you could add is that if you install ccleaner, then you can have that delete your temp files & empty your recyle bin automatically every time you start the computer.