Computer Tune Up
by Dave Clingman
 

Published in Guadalajara Reporter,
October 10, 2009

A computer needs an occasional tune up just like your car does.  As computers age, they tend to slow down.  Macintosh users have an advantage here over Windows, since Macs don't slow down as much with age.  There are several reasons for this slowdown, and there are solutions.
While a Macintosh computer will simply run a program when commanded, Windows likes to keep track of everything, writing information to the computer hard drive.  As more of this information accumulates, Windows takes longer to keep track of it.  This makes for longer start up and shut down times, as well as slowing the computer's working speed.

Removing programs that you no longer use can increase your computer's speed.  Macintosh computers run programs as separate entities, so to remove a program from a Mac, simply move the program's icon from the desktop or hard drive to the Trash Can.
To remove a program from Windows, however, you'll need to go through an "uninstall" to remove the little pieces of the program that Windows has placed throughout the computer.  To uninstall a Windows program, click on the "Start" button at the lower left of your computer screen, then on Control Panel (with some computers, you click on Settings, then Control Panel), and then double click "Add or Remove Programs".  If you do not know what some of the programs in the resulting list are, leave them alone.  Windows needs some of these.  Only remove the programs you installed but aren't using anymore.

A hard drive is like a book where the computer's information is written.  But unlike a book, new stuff is not always added in an orderly fashion.  Sometimes the data is written in little fragments in several different places.  Putting these fragments together, a process called "defragmenting", lets the computer read just one page in the book rather than having to look at several different pages for the information.

Again, Macintosh comes out the winner in this regard.  Macs do not get fragmented as easily, and the newer versions of OS X automatically take care of defragmenting for you.  Defragmenting a Mac can actually slow down the computer by moving necessary files to less accessible locations.  Because of this, Apple does not recommend defragmenting your Macintosh computer.  To read more about this:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1375
The Windows hard drive, on the other hand, enjoys a good defrag now and then.  Here's the commands you need to follow:

1.  Start - (All) Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup.  Put check marks in all the boxes in the left column, then click "OK".

2.  Start - (All) Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Defragmenter.  Click on your hard drive "(C:)", and then click "Defragment".

Both of these processes take a long time.  So, I suggest that you start each one on a separate night before you go to bed.

These actions should help make your Windows computer run faster.  Mac users, you don't need to worry about these particular problems.
 

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