How do you guys speed up your computers?

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AcidBrandon18

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I'm not extremely tech savvy and my ASUS laptop has recently slowed down to a crawl. It's running Windows 8 and I have decent Internet security with this Kaspersky thing they gave me when I bought the computer. I rarely download things, aside from the weekly bombcasts, and never play games on it. I did a system restore not to long ago and that kind of helped. So I was wondering if you duders had any advice on what I could do to improve the performance of my laptop, preferably something that doesn't require money.

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ShockD

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#2  Edited By ShockD

Regular reinstall of your OS is my best bet (like once a year). Other than that there are loads of free utilities that can help you regain some speed but I think that's a temporary solution.

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CaLe

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#3  Edited By CaLe

You shouldn't need any kind of anti-virus, especially if you rarely download anything.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Run this once in a while to clear out some of the crap that builds up. Make sure you untick the things you don't want it to delete. I'd say also check all of the stuff you have installed and remove the things you don't need. I'd personally start with getting rid of the anti-virus/firewall, but that's just me.

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AcidBrandon18

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@shockd: How would I go about doing that? Is there an option within the computer or do I need the installation disc? Because Win 8 came installed on the computer.

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WickedFather

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ctrl+shift+esc then sort by cpu usage and see if there's anything chewing up cycles. End the process, don't be scared, it'll restart again when you reboot. Then see if things are running better and you're not missing some vital widget. Sometimes even normal stuff goes mental so you might need to reinstall it or just get rid.

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isomeri

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Dust creates heat and will eventually slow down your computer as your CPU and GPU try not to overheat themselves. Buy a can of compressed air and give your laptop a good dusting after it's been turned off for a while.

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Tennmuerti

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Push the Turbo button.

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Justin258

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@acidbrandon18: You can try a Windows 8 refresh. I'd explain it but I'm on a phone. Google it.

Otherwise, check your Kaspersky subscription, run a scan, and look in your list of startup programs to see if there's anything in it you don't want. Also make sure you have no toolbars and run a Super Anti Spyware scan.

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monetarydread

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#9  Edited By monetarydread

@tennmuerti: My 486 had one of those. I don't know why anyone would have run their system in 386 mode instead of 486 mode, but the option was there. My only guess is applications that were dependant on an exact CPU timing, like if you were to install a win95 game on a current system.

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emprpngn

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#10  Edited By emprpngn

@acidbrandon18: You can try a Windows 8 refresh. I'd explain it but I'm on a phone. Google it.

Otherwise, check your Kaspersky subscription, run a scan, and look in your list of startup programs to see if there's anything in it you don't want. Also make sure you have no toolbars and run a Super Anti Spyware scan.

This. You wouldn't believe how many computers I see come through the shop where the customer is complaining about their browser being incredibly slow, and they've got 10 toolbars loading up. A lot of toolbars also have entries in startup, so definitely check msconfig.

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CynicalBuzzard

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I push the easy button.

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Kidavenger

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#12  Edited By Kidavenger

windows key and r

msconfig

services tab

check the box to hide all microsoft services

deselect everything else

click apply

startup tab

click to open task manager

disable everything under the startup tab

restart

Don't worry about turning off stuff you actually use, the next time you open that program up, it will switch back to it's default startup settings.

Doing the above fixes most slowdowns, if you are still having issues, start looking into those registry cleaners or reinstall your OS; since windows 7 came out I've never had to reinstall though.

You may want to go into your internet browser settings and clear out all cookies/browser history/etc.

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MideonNViscera

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I buy a new one. Strangely I completely lost interest in my computers about 10 years ago.

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joshwent

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Defrag!

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Kidavenger

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If you decide you want to reinstall, you may want to wait a few days, 8.1 is coming out tomorrow I think, if it's anything like the preview, it will be a completely new install of the OS.

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Justin258

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@believer258 said:

@acidbrandon18: You can try a Windows 8 refresh. I'd explain it but I'm on a phone. Google it.

Otherwise, check your Kaspersky subscription, run a scan, and look in your list of startup programs to see if there's anything in it you don't want. Also make sure you have no toolbars and run a Super Anti Spyware scan.

This. You wouldn't believe how many computers I see come through the shop where the customer is complaining about their browser being incredibly slow, and they've got 10 toolbars loading up. A lot of toolbars also have entries in startup, so definitely check msconfig.

Yep. This is largely what I do at my college's IT office. Turns out that a college without any computer-oriented majors is full of kids who don't work well with computers.

windows key and r

msconfig

services tab

check the box to hide all microsoft services

deselect everything else

click apply

startup tab

click to open task manager

disable everything under the startup tab

restart

Don't worry about turning off stuff you actually use, the next time you open that program up, it will switch back to it's default startup settings.

Doing the above fixes most slowdowns, if you are still having issues, start looking into those registry cleaners or reinstall your OS; since windows 7 came out I've never had to reinstall though.

You may want to go into your internet browser settings and clear out all cookies/browser history/etc.

Mostof thetime, a registry cleaner like CCleaner works just fine. Once in a while, though, you can fuck up a computer by using one. Just keep that in mind before you run one.

Another of CCleaner's major uses is cleaning out cookies, browser history, and other internet junk. This is what you should download the program for - an easy wipe of all of your junk.

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Budwyzer

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Take it for a car ride. 0 to 60mph in 3.4 seconds!

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IAmNotBatman

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#18  Edited By IAmNotBatman

msiAfterburner?

P.S. Be fucking careful using this though, do your homework.

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ninnyjams

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Do not listen to anybody here recommending you use a registry cleaner. There is no such thing as a credible savvy computer user who honestly believes it's a good idea to run an automated tool to clean your registry. A bloated registry is like, reason No. 957,958,293,201 down the list of things that could slow down your computer. Even something as well-regarded as CCleaner has a bad registry cleaner that can permanently cripple your Windows Update.

But do use CCleaner.

The guy who recommended that you don't need an antivirus or a firewall is also turning up the trolling knob to the max. What you don't need is a third-party placebo firewall or a bloated antivirus. In other words: you don't need Kaspersky. Download Microsoft Security Essentials -- or whatever they call it with Windows 8 now. Make sure that and Windows Firewall are enabled -- these tools have been fantastic since Windows 7. Download Malwarebytes Antimalware, the free version, and use that for on-demand scanning -- not always-on access. Doesn't hurt to keep it installed.

Your computer screeching to a halt can easily be the result of an infection, and contrary to the belief in this post, clearing out your cookies and other junk data is unlikely to fix that.

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Hamst3r

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@tennmuerti said:

Push the Turbo button.

Download more RAM.

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MrDurden

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Have you tried rubbing it with cheetah blood?

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MildMolasses

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#22  Edited By MildMolasses

I have a hamster wheel hooked up to my cpu. You have to change out the hamster every week or so

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k9

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Cleaning registry making your computer run faster is one of the biggest internet hoaxes out there. It does nothing. I would recommend uninstalling the Kaspersky virus scanner for starters. Windows 8 default anti virus program (Windows defender) is good enough. That should help. What other programs do you have starting up by default? Post a screenshot of task manager - startup if you can't figure out which ones to disable.

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ch3burashka

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#24  Edited By ch3burashka

Those ads on porn sites are really keen on cleaning you computer. Give it a try.

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ShaggE

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"Why won't you be fast!?", I scream, shaking my fist at the case. I then pull up a shady website and threaten to click on one of the fake "Download NOW" buttons until it speeds up.

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TobbRobb

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CCleaner and making sure there isn't a lot of things on autostartup through run>msconfig. It's generally a good idea to make sure you aren't close to capping out on hard drive space, they tend to run slower when filled up.

Also check out if your browser have a bunch of unneccessary addons installed. You can generally disable everything around the core browser to make it faster.

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TyCobb

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#27  Edited By TyCobb

@hamst3r said:

@tennmuerti said:

Push the Turbo button.

Download more RAM.

But the turbo button is a real thing. 33MHz to a whopping 66MHz!

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Clonedzero

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I put wheels on mine.

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ArbitraryWater

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Make sure to stick a can of compressed air in there every once and a while.

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fisk0

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#30 fisk0  Moderator

@cale said:

You shouldn't need any kind of anti-virus, especially if you rarely download anything.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Run this once in a while to clear out some of the crap that builds up. Make sure you untick the things you don't want it to delete. I'd say also check all of the stuff you have installed and remove the things you don't need. I'd personally start with getting rid of the anti-virus/firewall, but that's just me.

I'd say anti-virus software is pretty vital, but these days you don't need so fancy/bloated stuff like Norton and the likes, Microsoft Security Essentials does the job well enough.

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irrelevantjohn

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Just slap in an SSD and most of these things shouldn't be a problem. Also make sure nothing is resource intensive.

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EXTomar

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In general, I keep "the gaming PC" pretty clean instead of installing anything and everything. Beyond that, upgrades to video card and hard drive, especially switching to SSD for system, does a lot. If you need to go beyond that the price tag goes up enough you might as well start with a brand new system.

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CaLe

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@fisk0 said:

@cale said:

You shouldn't need any kind of anti-virus, especially if you rarely download anything.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Run this once in a while to clear out some of the crap that builds up. Make sure you untick the things you don't want it to delete. I'd say also check all of the stuff you have installed and remove the things you don't need. I'd personally start with getting rid of the anti-virus/firewall, but that's just me.

I'd say anti-virus software is pretty vital, but these days you don't need so fancy/bloated stuff like Norton and the likes, Microsoft Security Essentials does the job well enough.

Yeah, he said he had Windows 8 so I assumed he already had it built-in. That said, I've never had mine detect anything in the year or so that I've been using it and reckon I'd get by just fine without it.

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Krataur

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For everyone recommending MSE, know that Microsoft has publicly stated they're not really supporting or updating it anymore. For some people, it will still be fine when combined with common sense and Malwarebytes or something, but for actual protection it's not recommended anymore by anyone.

Read more here.

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bigjeffrey

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blow out the dust, i used some compressed air on mine and holy shit on the amount of dirt that was in there. Did speed up my laptop.

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shinboy630

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@fisk0 said:

@cale said:

You shouldn't need any kind of anti-virus, especially if you rarely download anything.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Run this once in a while to clear out some of the crap that builds up. Make sure you untick the things you don't want it to delete. I'd say also check all of the stuff you have installed and remove the things you don't need. I'd personally start with getting rid of the anti-virus/firewall, but that's just me.

I'd say anti-virus software is pretty vital, but these days you don't need so fancy/bloated stuff like Norton and the likes, Microsoft Security Essentials does the job well enough.

And MSE is built into windows 8, so in reality you don't need to download anything else.

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CByrne

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Meet me in the alley in 20 minutes...

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ProfessorK

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About compressed air, be careful around your speakers. I'm sure it's a well known thing but it can blow them out(pun not intended) happened to me a few years back.

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SexyToad

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AgnosticJesus

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NOS

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Video_Game_King

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This is what you should download the program for - an easy wipe of all of your junk.

But didn't frequently wiping my junk get me into this mess in the first place?

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Justin258

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@believer258 said:

This is what you should download the program for - an easy wipe of all of your junk.

But didn't frequently wiping my junk get me into this mess in the first place?

No, you shouldn't get in a mess for wiping your junk. I'd say it's a bigger problem if you just stick your junk in any place you can find.

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limpbishop

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#43  Edited By limpbishop

Get a SSD (Solid State Drive) - I just swapped to a Samsung 840 EVO - and the different is mind blowing:

Old Drive:

No Caption Provided

New Drive:

No Caption Provided

Booting up takes less than 10 seconds, opening a 200 mb file in Photoshop about 4 seconds, etc.

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cloudnineboya

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give the hamster more cheese so it will rrun faster. works every time you should give it a go it never fails.

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intro

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Push the Turbo button.

Try some of the other suggestions first, but I'd recommend this too. My PC was decent, but I couldn't play the BF4 worth heck and then my buddy showed me the turbo button (look in the manual for its location), then it played on ultra at 120FPS. Turbo is awesome, but your PC might overheat.

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jayjonesjunior

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Cocaine

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Ravenlight

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my ASUS laptop has recently slowed down to a crawl.

Blow some compressed air into the fan. You might be overheating and slowing down due to a dust-clogged fan. This is a pretty common thing with laptops.

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Nekroskop

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A combination of red LEDs(to speed it up) and Blue LEDs(to cool them down. I also have a pack of green LEDs(which are for graphics, I think)

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emprpngn

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#49  Edited By emprpngn

@krataur said:

For everyone recommending MSE, know that Microsoft has publicly stated they're not really supporting or updating it anymore. For some people, it will still be fine when combined with common sense and Malwarebytes or something, but for actual protection it's not recommended anymore by anyone.

Read more here.

I read that a few days ago.

Bums me out, as MSE is the most lightweight AV I've found. Guess we know why now.

I'm generally very cautious online (I work in IT), and have kept using it thus far, but I'm looking to make the switch to something else. AVG and Avast both score pretty high, but I'm not looking forward to something hogging resources and having constant reminders in the UI to purchase the full version.

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Evilsbane

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@krataur said:

For everyone recommending MSE, know that Microsoft has publicly stated they're not really supporting or updating it anymore. For some people, it will still be fine when combined with common sense and Malwarebytes or something, but for actual protection it's not recommended anymore by anyone.

Read more here.

I read that a few days ago.

Bums me out, as MSE is the most lightweight AV I've found. Guess we know why now.

I'm generally very cautious online (I work in IT), and have kept using it thus far, but I'm looking to make the switch to something else. AVG and Avast both score pretty high, but I'm not looking forward to something hogging resources and having constant reminders in the UI to purchase the full version.

Avast is Much better than AVG, AVG has a become a resource hog Avast is pretty light (If a Dell Demension 3000 with 512mb RAM can run it come on) and you can just flip on gaming/silent mode and it shuts up and does its job and I don't have it bother me ever or I wouldn't use it.