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Well several of those things listed DO IN FACT help things!
Cleaning Prefetch files IS ALWAYS A BIG HELP IF YOUR ON XP,ETC that uses Prefetch!!
And cleaning your registry is a big help also.. (The cleaner your reg is OF UN-NEEDED things,the faster response you will notice (Its like keeping your dresser drawers neat and in order))
Leave prefetch alone, it won't speed up a thing deleting it, will likey slow things down.
Do not run registry cleaners unless you know what your doing, it's not needed anyway.
I always love the people that read crap posted on the web and then "optimize" their own computer, then have problems, and their tweaking turns what would be a 5 minute fix into an hour or 2 of labor, gotta keep my paychecks coming
I always have to stifle a giggle when someone tells me their PC is slow and that they tried running a registry cleaner but it didn't help. Messing with the registry is like working on the foundation of your house. You'd better know what you are doing or it may come tumbling down.
IT IS STUPID TO DISABLE THIS...YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE @ LEAST 1 BACKUP IN CASE YOU NEED IT!
It's not stupid to disable things you don't need. Someone who isn't familiar with how to protect their information might need things to run automatically, but a lot of us don't run things like this. If you know what you're doing, you don't even have to keep a virus scanner running.
Upgrading RAM, getting rid of unneeded startup items, etc
Plus, a full Scandisk with repair feature followed by defrag could do wonders too.
Also, if the OS is that old, then a fresh install would be something I'd also suggest if it is really dragging. If the fresh install didn't help or during/post installation you run into issues, then look into replacing the hard drive itself (5 year old HD after all and I always consider each hard drive year equals 10 human years, so that drive is like a 50 year old man! ).
Plus, a full Scandisk with repair feature followed by defrag could do wonders too.
Also, if the OS is that old, then a fresh install would be something I'd also suggest if it is really dragging. If the fresh install didn't help or during/post installation you run into issues, then look into replacing the hard drive itself (5 year old HD after all and I always consider each hard drive year equals 10 human years, so that drive is like a 50 year old man! ).
All good points. Considering the average PC gets little to no maintenance, apps being installed and uninstalled, random crashes and malware infections, a wipe and reload can do wonders sometimes. Most people place a PC in the same category as a toaster or microwave, it's a tool to accomplish a task, a computer however is an ever changing dynamic thing. Installing apps and updates changes the operating system, and not always for the better, they don't understand that it's not the same as it was a couple weeks ago.
A faster hard drive helps too, some older, and not so old laptops came with 4600 RPM drives, simple swapping in a newer 7200 RPM drive can make a noticeable difference.
So after reading the posts of Mercury Cougar, TurcoLoco and NHDave, I think that is much better to buy a new computer and replace the "5 years old one" instead of improving RAM and bla bla bla.
When your mother in law makes your life impossible, then get a new wife.
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