Spring clean your computer system

Quick tips to make your computer work better

By Heather Camlot

Warmer springtime weather is slowly blowing onto the horizon. It’s the time of year to throw open the windows, sweep away the last of the winter dust and take charge of cleaning and organizing your household. So why not apply those same principles to your computer?

A spring cleaning can help your computer run faster and allow you to work more productively.

Like many home computer users, Shari Becker couldn’t understand why her computer was so slow and continually crashing. “There were days when I was practically in tears,” admits the Boston-based freelance writer. “The machine seemed destined to explode or something, and my work days were getting killed.”

If you’re having major problems with your computer, you should place a call to the manufacturer or bring it in to be serviced. But first, a little technological cleaning may put the hum back in your hard drive.

Get rid of clutter

“My laptop has a tendency to freeze on me about once a week,” says Melanie Richter, director of marketing and development for a Montreal high school and a part-time MBA student. “It’s probably because I have a lot of stuff [programs and files] on my desktop. Twenty-seven to be exact.”

Patrick Norton, host of online technology show DL.TV, recommends starting your computer clean up with the most visible items — icons. Look at your system tray or taskbar on the bottom right corner. Those small icons represent programs that start up as your computer boots. It takes time for your computer to find the icons for all those shortcuts. Remove or turn off unnecessary ones, like Live Messenger, with a swift right click.

And do you need immediate access to all those files, pictures and MP3s on your desktop? Not likely. Categorize them in the Documents, Photos and Music folders to keep them organized and eliminate the clutter on your desktop.

Remove old programs

If you’ve never used a program that came with your computer or haven’t used it in over a year, you may want to consider trashing it. “If you don’t use it, get rid of it,” Norton says emphatically. “It will fill up your hard drive space.” You can’t delete a program by trashing its files. “If you don’t use the Uninstall command (under Programs and Features in the Control Panel) or the uninstall program that comes with your program, it’s still there.” Don’t forget to empty the Recycle Bin afterwards.

Defrag your computer

As you work on your computer, information gets stored onto the hard drive in bits and pieces - wherever there is space. To open a certain file, your computer runs around looking for all the components. Think of it as having various chapters of a book on shelves throughout your home, explains Norton, and having to find all the sections when you want to read the full text. The defrag tool (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter) does its best to reorder your hard drive.

Upgrade your operating system

Keep your software and hardware frequently updated to get the best performance out of your system. Updates can be downloaded by visiting the manufacturer’s web site. Windows Update (Start > Control Panel > Windows Update) can also scan your system and present a list of updatable items. There is a little reminder box that will occasionally pop up in the right-hand corner of your screen when you start Windows. That reminder will let you know when you need to update. Just clicking on it will install the necessary upgrades for your system.

Clear your cache

Every time you visit a new web site, content is stored in your Temporary Internet Files folder, or Cache. Not only does this make surfing the web slower, but it also takes up valuable space on your hard drive.

“If [my computer] freezes three times in one day, that’s my sign to clean up,” says Richter. “The problem is that with work and school, I just never used to think it was a priority, but I realize that doing it makes me more efficient.”

While on Internet Explorer, click on Tools and then Internet Options. On the General tab under Browsing history, click Delete. You can also set the amount of disk space you want such files to use by clicking on Settings and changing the megabytes.

Assess your memory and tools

The more programs you keep open while you work, the more random access memory, or RAM, you need to keep them running smoothly. At least 512 MB of RAM will keep Vista Basic happy, and 1 GB is recommended for Vista Premium, Business or Ultimate. Make sure your keyboard and office layout are ergonomically correct. Even if your computer is optimized, efficiency will quickly deteriorate if you develop carpal tunnel syndrome.