Computer gotten slow on you? This happens over time due to the many programs you install. They typically come with additional files, registry entries, toolbars and start-up items that all combine to make your computer feel sluggish. You can do some simple computer maintenance regardless of your experience to keep your computer running smoothly. If you have not done it in months, or even years, then this could take hours to do the first time but it will be faster if you do it routinely. If you find this overwhelming please don’t give up; see the bottom of this guide for all-in-one suites that can do it all for you.

1: Uninstall any programs you do not use

As mentioned, all these programs you have installed are filling up your hard drive. If you no longer use them now is the time to uninstall them. Windows uninstaller and poorly designed installations mean that removing a program does not always remove everything. This is why we recommend an uninstaller like IOBit Uninstaller or Revo Uninstaller. Yes, it seems silly to add a program to remove programs but trust us on this one.

Here is a brief tutorial on using IOBit Uninstaller by Majorgeeks:

2: Clean your hard drive of junk files

Windows does have a junk file cleaner but it isn’t very good. CCleaner on the other hand gets a lot more junk files out of your computer while still being safe and fairly conservative. Simply open CCleaner, and the cleaner section should be open by default. Click “Run Cleaner” and wait. CCleaner has a lot of options you can look at later to suit your needs but save that until you get familiar with the program.

Here is a brief tutorial on using CCleaner by Majorgeeks:

3: Defragment your hard drive

Simply put your computer has a lot of unneeded junk files on it and they are scattered all over your hard drive. Picture a box of tacks and the tacks are your files. If I ask you hand me a yellow, red and green tack you would do it quickly and easily. If I tossed that box of tacks all over the floor and asked you to get me a green, yellow and red tack then it would take you longer. Defragmenting your hard drive can place everything on your hard drive in a way that makes it faster for your computer to access files faster. Microsoft includes a disk defragmenter but it isn’t very good. Instead, consider Auslogics Disk Defrag or IOBit Smart Defrag.

Here is a brief tutorial on using Auslogics Disk Defrag:

4: Remove startup items:

This is a little more difficult than the other steps so I saved it for last but don’t skip it! Startup items are a huge culprit on the average computer. See all those icons in the lower right corner of your screen? Those are all being loaded on startup, and those are not all of them either! If you’re wondering why you have to wait a minute to use your computer after startup, it is because all of those items are loading after Windows has started robbing you of valuable system resources before you open your first program.

You have 3 choices here depending on your comfort level; Option 1 is basic and better than nothing. Option 2 uses CCleaner since you already have CCleaner and Option 3 requires another download but can help you identify startup items you don’t recognize.

Option 1: A simple way you can do this is to right click on an item you do not want to run in that lower right corner and look for properties, settings or options. From there look for “start with Windows” or similar and uncheck it.

Option 2: Now for the things you do not see. Using CCleaner you can look at Tools, Startup and see all the items that are loading. Here you need a little knowledge but you can use some common sense. It is safe to remove printer startup items if you do not use your printers advanced features, for example. You could also Google some of the startup names to see what they are. With CCleaner you have the advantage of being able to disable and item and remove it later once you know you don’t need it. Typically you find a lot of items from Java, Adobe, QuickTime and iTunes that do not need to be there.

Option 3: If all of this seems a bit overwhelming and no one can help you then you might be able to get some help identifying what these startup items are with a program called WhatInStartup. On the far right this can show you what company is running the executable so you know what is what.

Keep in mind all computers have (and need) some startup items. Examples included your anti-virus, drivers and any program you use frequently. If you are not comfortable doing this step, at least try to remove a few things. It makes a huge difference.

At this point your computer should be running like new or maybe you made it this far and just don’t want to tackle all 4 steps. We understand that so here is how you can do it without a lot of effort on your part:

Letting a single program do it all for you

The above 4 steps can be a little overwhelming, especially for the person who simply wants to use their computer and not spend time managing it. These programs (known as suites) can do everything listed above and a lot more including malware scans, optimize, fix errors, give you system information and more. Advanced System Care and Glary Utilities are our top picks. They can do everything you want for free but to have them run automatically and get all the features you will want to upgrade to the pro version if you feel you need it. Advanced System Care is often offered for as little as $12.97, a real bargain in this category.

Here is a brief tutorial on using Advance System Care by Majorgeeks:

Finally if you completed all 4 steps and you are still running slow, you should do a complete malware scan:

Making sure hidden malware is not the problem

If your computer is still slow and you were able to follow all of the steps up until now then you might consider a good malware tool to make sure there aren’t hidden problems on your computer. Most computers that I clean that have been neglected tend to have accumulated programs like MyWebSearch that slow your computer down. At this time we prefer Malwarebytes Anti-malware or IOBit Malware Fighter (also included in Advanced System Care 5 above)

Here is a brief tutorial on using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware by Majorgeeks: