Riverbank It management

Your computer seems to gradually get slower. It has always been one of those mysteries about PCs, and you can overcome it. We offer three options – a regular security check and clean-up, tune your computer for speed, and finally just rebuild it from scratch.

Why does your computer get slower?

The main reason is the accumulation of ‘stuff’. Every time you install a new piece of software, eg for your iPod, your camera, or that new version of Office, you are adding to the burden on your computer. Most programs have some small part that sits permanently in memory; that’s how your computer recognises your camera and automatically fires up the camera software. Every program in memory has to be managed by the computer, and the memory used for these programs can’t be used for other applications. Each of these applications also has to be loaded from disk when you start the computer, which is why your computer takes longer to start up.

New software is also written for new computers. As computers get faster, software gets fatter because it is smarter or nicer to use. So when you install an upgrade on your old computer, the software runs more slowly.

Other stuff accumulates in the form of temporary files. These temporary files gradually build up and your computer takes longer to find things because it has to search through an ever-growing list of files to find the one it wants.

The final and more sinister possibility is spyware or computer viruses. Millions of computers across the globe have been hijacked and are used surreptitiously to send spam e-mails or to attack other computers or sites. Computers protected with quality anti-virus software and professionally managed are unlikely to be compromised in this way, but home computers are very vulnerable.

Give your computer a regular check-up

The best way to keep your computer up to speed is to give it a regular check-up. Things you should do include:

• Check that your anti-virus software is up to date and run a full anti-virus scan
• Install Microsoft security patches (Windows and Office)
• Perform a disk cleanup
• Clean up Outlook
• Remove unnecessary startup options (beware – you can easily leave your computer inoperable)
• Check for evidence of disk errors
• Defragment the hard disk

If you don’t want to do this yourself, Riverbank offers a regular PC update and preventive maintenance service.

Tune your PC for speed

You might think that your PC is going as fast as it can, but the reality is that the graphical frippery that Windows uses can drain the power from your computer. You can exchange things like rounded corners, shaded boxes and sliding menus for raw speed.

Like a car, you can have air con, big comfortable seats and lots of sound-deadening, but it slows the car down. You choose the balance between speed and comfort.

To try your computer at full speed, follow these steps:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Open the System option.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. In the Performance click the Settings button.
5. Select the option Adjust for best performance.
6. Click the Apply button.
7. While you are waiting (and it can take a minute or more), notice the list of options in that window. Here you can turn on the particular Windows features that you really like, achieving your preferred balance of speed and comfort.

Rebuild your computer from scratch

If you want to get that ‘factory-fresh’ feeling for your computer, you can rebuild it from scratch. But remember these key points:

• You must have more than one backup of the entire computer before you start
• Allow plenty of time. You will need to reinstall lots of applications and add-ins, and it all takes time to do.
• You need to know what you are doing. If you don’t have the necessary expertise, don’t try it. You will probably end up with no computer at all.

If you would like more advice on speeding up the PCs at your office, just ask Riverbank. Contact us on 01844 27036 or e-mail help@riverbank.co.uk.