If your field of work requires you to have a PC that can successfully carry out complex tasks, including gaming, editing or anything else that requires the operation of any kind of heavy software, you might want to consider optimizing it. An unreliable machine can be bad for productivity, quality of work and may even result in you losing valuable data.
There are a lot of different factors that can put a damper on your PC’s performance. It could be harboring malware or cookies, the system could be cluttered with unnecessary data or it could simply be due to the outdated hardware. These issues can cause problems like lag, longer boot-up times and apps crashing frequently. Fortunately, however, there are ways through which you can easily optimize your computer at home, without requiring professional help that you’d have to pay for.
Here are some ways through which you can improve your PC’s performance on your own:
Restart Your System
If you’re someone who uses their computer quite frequently and barely ever shut it down, there’s a good chance that there are a lot of applications open in the background, different software that you are not actively using are still running and taking up RAM storage. When you open a lot of tabs or browsers while doing research, this can also cause your PC to slow down and lag while you work. You can easily solve this by shutting your computer down and restarting it. This will automatically close everything and let you start over, without you manually closing everything yourself – all you really have to deal with after this is startup apps.
Disable Startup Programs
When you turn on your computer, there are certain apps that launch automatically by default. These programs usually ask for permission to do this when you initially install them, but for pre-installed programs that were already in your PC when you got it, you may have to turn that feature off manually. You often don’t realize that these programs are running in the background unless they start impacting your computer’s performance, so make sure to check for these anyway.
You can check for startup programs by checking the taskbar right after you turn on your PC; this will tell you which programs have launched automatically. There might be some programs that are difficult to detect; you might find them in hidden icons, so make sure to check those too.
Create a Backup for Data
Just like temporary cluttering of data can worsen your computer’s performance, data that occupies permanent memory can be worse. This is because at a certain point, so much data piles up that it’s difficult to even try to remove it in a machine that barely functions due to the load. There is also a good chance that your Windows might crash due to the burden and you lose some valuable data. For this purpose, it is important to create backups for all your important data, and then delete it from your computer, so you can free up space and utilize it in doing other, more important tasks than simply harboring data.
Remove Viruses
Viruses or malware can be one of the main reasons for a PC to not perform well. There are programs that can get into your computer through any external source, and then threaten all your data, personal information, and overall smooth operation of your computer. The most common indications of viruses are random messages popping up on your screen, alerts from your computer or actions being performed without you doing anything.
The best way to deal with viruses is to avoid them to begin with by installing an antivirus, but if you already have a virus in your computer, you can still use the internet to install a software that will clear everything and remove the viruses for you. If you have Windows 10, you will be able to do this easily using Windows Defender, which already comes with the OS.
Update Regularly
An outdated operating system and drivers are one of the main causes for the subpar performance of your computer. This is something debatable, however, because a lot of people now prefer Windows 7 over Windows 10 due to a variety of different features that were subjectively better in the old version. Regardless of the version of Windows you prefer, you need to keep your drivers updated. You can do this by going into setting and looking for the “Update and Security” option.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like anything to be updated unless you’ve allowed it, you may want to disable automatic updates, since new updates aren’t always desirable. They change the interface, software operations and a lot of other things that you might not be able to get familiarized with, which is why it’s always best to test the update elsewhere before getting it for yourself.
Conclusion
It’s always important to make sure your PC is running at its full potential. It’s especially important now, considering that most of us are depending on it for our full-time work as well as our entertainment. Your digital TV package deals might take care of your entertainment needs, but what about your work? If you want a reliable machine, you need to take proper care of it.