Once the weather starts warming up, we turn our attention to spring cleaning and getting outside in the fresh air. But have you considered that your computer deserves a cleaning of its own? This is especially true if you find that your computer is running slow, starting up takes forever, you’re running out of space, or you simply can’t find anything. We expect a lot from our computers but don’t give back much in return. Here are some ways you can clean up your PC before it begins to give you even more hints.
Clean Up Your Data
We all know it. Data piles up. Sorting through files and photographs can be drudgery, but think of all that hard drive space it’s taking up. Even if you plan on keeping much of it, it’s a good time to get organized. As anyone who has ever struggled to find a file knows (I know it’s here!), you know that organization is key when you want to retrieve important information. Remember those April showers? Take some time to hunker down on a rainy weekend with your computer and delete excess data and organize the rest.
Consider Using an External Hard Drive
So you don’t want to purge anything? No problem. Invest in an external hard drive to free up some of that valuable space. Keeping those important photos and sensitive documents on an external hard drive is like locking them in a safe. It will also protect your important information from any viruses or potential computer failures. In the case of a potential failure, you can keep your entire original operating system and programs copied to your hard drive. If your computer dies, you have it all neatly available in one place.
Do a Malware Scan
This should be done periodically to make sure your computer is safe. In this day and age of harmful viruses, you want something you will be able to use regularly to be proactive against harmful bugs and malware.
Clean Your Computer System
Clean up your Windows files. Your PC probably came with a lot of programs that you have never used. You can get rid of most of those. You can identify any folders that you don’t need that are taking up a large amount of space and delete them. You can also go and delete those apps you never use. With your Disk Cleanup utility, you can also erase any temporary files. These will free up quite a bit of storage space and even improve the speed of your computer.
Microsoft offers a convenient online guide to cleaning your system. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself, your local computer technician will do a complete system cleanup for you.
Clean Your Browser
Once you’ve gotten this far, you should clean up your browser extensions or plugins. Remove any that you no longer use. You may see that your load time and speed may improve. While you’re at it, clear any
browser data to remove cookies and clear your history.
If all this is over your head, bring your PC or computer in to the professionals at Alluv Tech Services. No matter the problem, we are here to help. We offer free diagnostics, and competitive pricing. You can trust your computer repairs, Apple computer repairs, or laptop repairs to us. Call us for any of your computer needs.