8 Top Tips to Keep Your PC Running Smoothly

By Alison Bryant 

 

There are lots of helpful tips to keep your PC running smoothly, but there are also lots of steps that you can and must take. There’s nothing more irritating than a computer that runs slowly and takes forever to load Internet pages. If you use your PC for work purposes, it’s even more important to know how to take care of your computer and keep it working efficiently. So here are some tips on how to keep your PC running smoothly.

1. Anti-Virus

It’s absolutely essential to have a good anti-virus program on your computer. There are some good free versions, although they will obviously not offer the same protection as a paid version. Once you’ve installed the anti-virus, run it regularly, and make sure that you update it frequently.

2. Defrag

As new files are added to your computer, the pieces start to get scattered. So ,when you want to look at the files, it takes longer to locate them. Defragging brings the pieces of the files back together, so it will be quicker to open them.

3. Delete Unwanted Programs

Leaving programs on our computers that we no longer use takes up space, and means that the computer is running programs unnecessarily. So every now and then, check if there is anything that you could do without, and if so, remove it. Do be careful that you don’t accidentally remove anything important though!

4. Delete Browsing History

Deleting your browsing history isn’t just for when you’ve got something to hide! It’s also it’s also one of the best tips to keep your PC running smoothly. The longer you leave it before removing temporary files, the more slowly your computer will run. So make it a regular event – it only takes a matter of seconds.

5. Windows Updates

In order to keep your PC running smoothly, it’s important to ensure that Windows Updates are installed when they become available. This is easy to find in the program menu, and you can set it to install updates automatically, so you don’t even have to think about it. It’s an effortless way to keep your PC running smoothly.

6. Run Fewer Programs

If your machine is running slowly, it may be that you have too many programs open at the same time. The more that you ask it to do, the more slowly it will run. So try closing programs that you don’t really need, and see if that speeds up the computer.

7. Backup

It’s a very good idea to backup your files regularly. No matter how much you do to keep your PC running well, there’s always the chance that something will go wrong. So keep a copy of everything important, on an external drive, disk or remote location such as Sky Drive.

8. Tech Friend

A once-over by an expert eye can help keep your PC running smoothly. So a technically-minded friend is one of the most useful people to know! If you have a friend who knows about computers, ask them to give your machine a tune-up and it will soon be working more efficiently.