"Would appreciate any tips on ways to help,improve the speed, smooth running of our much relied on pc's?"
I am no IT expert, I just very basic understanding. But I have the following and was advised it was as much as I needed.
AVG Antivirus Free
Spybot Search & Destroy Free
Malwarebytes' Antimalware Free
Glary Utilities Free
As well as running Disc cleanup from the Accessories and System Tools section of your pc, which someone else mentioned on here, it is also worth considering the above. They can all be downloaded free from safe download sites like cnet.com.
I run Glary at the end of every day as well as doing a disc cleanup during the day. I run Malwarebytes every week. I also run a disc defrag, which you find in the Accessories / System tools section of your pc, every few weeks or if the pc seems a little slow. Spybot runs in the background, like the AVG, but I also update it and run scans about once a month.
I was advised this is all I could reasonably do, considering I have an inexpensive laptop which is about 5 years old.
To start I would probably do disc cleanup then run a disc defrag before you do anything else. It may take a while if you haven't done either regularly.
No doubt there is better advice and software available but all of mine is free and seems to do the job perfectly well. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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For what it is worth:
Uninstall AVG and install Avast! instead (there is a home free version of Avast). This is because AVG has got bloated over the years and Avast is still quite trim.
go to start and type msconfig (or for xp people start then run then msconfig) and enter.
This brings up a dialog that lists stuff to do with what is loaded on startup. If you go to the startup tab you will see a lot of crap that isn't needed on startup. Things like Google/Adobe update, Acrobat Reader and so on. You can untick these and on a restart it will mean less crap running on startup. If you are unsure you can untick an item, just google for it.
Also look at what is running in the system tray (bottom right of screen near the clock). Some things you must have running like antivirus, wireless software (if you are using wireless). But quite a bit of it is just sitting there using memory and CPU cycles, so right click and find the options and uncheck run on startup or similar.
Also google for how to turn off prefetch or superfetch (depending on OS version). This loads commonly used stuff into memory so if you do access it, it should be quick to load/run. However it tends to make your computer a bit slower as it thrashes the disc and the like. (We have it turned off for our office pcs/servers)
Lastly the quickest and cheapest way to make your PC faster is to add more RAM, that is assuming it has less than 2GB installed.
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"if you want a working key for the full version of avg that last until 2018 let me know but dont tell avg  "
we have this aswell and it comes with a brilliant pc clean up system that is so easy to use.  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Thanks all, i know the basic stuff, disc clean up, defrag, but dont go ott on defrag etc, it was known dependable anti spy and clean up goodies i was lookin to find out about, cheers. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Well I would say the best way to get some speed would be to forget all you're PC's just go and buy a Mac!! no virus or spyware problems and lightning quick too!! I will never give Bill Gates my hard earned again..
Now sits in corner waiting for the flack. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Well I would say the best way to get some speed would be to forget all you're PC's just go and buy a Mac!! no virus or spyware problems and lightning quick too!! I will never give Bill Gates my hard earned again..
Now sits in corner waiting for the flack."
My friend is with you on that so no flack from here though when I use it, I find no mouse incredibly difficult  but to be honest, if people looked after their computer properly, it would look after them |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Well I would say the best way to get some speed would be to forget all you're PC's just go and buy a Mac!! no virus or spyware problems and lightning quick too!! I will never give Bill Gates my hard earned again..
Now sits in corner waiting for the flack."
There are security problems with Macs 
Ideally you will have set yourself up with an admin and user accounts? This should also be done by window users.
There are about four???? viruses out there for Macs, but you have to put them onto the machine, this is where user accounts come into play!
If you combine basic security with your security software then you will be better prepared for any attack.
There is also a cost issue with macs' I'm currently using Ubuntu Linux, free for personal use and lots of software, and works well on older hardware.
Just google Ubuntu or Linux and check it,
You can even make a live CD/USB stick and boot a live version to try it out.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Would appreciate any tips on ways to help,improve the speed, smooth running of our much relied on pc's?"
Install Linux
Free and doesn't get viruses/malware |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Would appreciate any tips on ways to help,improve the speed, smooth running of our much relied on pc's?"
Depends on what you've got now. In general make sure you don't overfill your hard disk. Don't use Windows Vista or Norton Antivirus (I use Win7 and avast!) Don't expect high performance from cheap computers. 10%-15% more on initial price can mean 50%-100% speed improvement. Don't have too many programs running at once unless you've got an up to date high powered computer.
In general keep your computer 'clean and mean'. All those gadets and toolbars swallow a bit of performance. Remember to uncheck boxes for browser toolbars when downloading free software. |
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ok,,try googling driver genius,,itl automatically install new drivers for you,,and it has added stuff aswell,,you have to pay for it,,please dont,,mail me and il send you a link to the freebie full version |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Well I would say the best way to get some speed would be to forget all you're PC's just go and buy a Mac!! no virus or spyware problems and lightning quick too!! I will never give Bill Gates my hard earned again..
Now sits in corner waiting for the flack."
Or spend the same amount of money on the PC hardware and software! Mac software is notoriously operating system version specific. Upgrade the operating system and 90% of the time you'll have to buy new versions of all your software. |
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"For what it is worth:
Uninstall AVG and install Avast! instead (there is a home free version of Avast). This is because AVG has got bloated over the years and Avast is still quite trim.
go to start and type msconfig (or for xp people start then run then msconfig) and enter.
This brings up a dialog that lists stuff to do with what is loaded on startup. If you go to the startup tab you will see a lot of crap that isn't needed on startup. Things like Google/Adobe update, Acrobat Reader and so on. You can untick these and on a restart it will mean less crap running on startup. If you are unsure you can untick an item, just google for it.
Also look at what is running in the system tray (bottom right of screen near the clock). Some things you must have running like antivirus, wireless software (if you are using wireless). But quite a bit of it is just sitting there using memory and CPU cycles, so right click and find the options and uncheck run on startup or similar.
Also google for how to turn off prefetch or superfetch (depending on OS version). This loads commonly used stuff into memory so if you do access it, it should be quick to load/run. However it tends to make your computer a bit slower as it thrashes the disc and the like. (We have it turned off for our office pcs/servers)
Lastly the quickest and cheapest way to make your PC faster is to add more RAM, that is assuming it has less than 2GB installed.
"
Don't you need to start up in F9, safe mode first?
Also try Microsoft Security Essentials for a free security system that sends any threats to Microsoft so they keep up to date with their spywear.
If you store a lot of music, pictures or videos on your PC, try buying a seperate portable hard drive and keeping them on there. Speeds up your PC performance and you can get 1 TB for about £50-£60
Good luck |
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"Well I would say the best way to get some speed would be to forget all you're PC's just go and buy a Mac!! no virus or spyware problems and lightning quick too!! I will never give Bill Gates my hard earned again..
Now sits in corner waiting for the flack.
Or spend the same amount of money on the PC hardware and software! Mac software is notoriously operating system version specific. Upgrade the operating system and 90% of the time you'll have to buy new versions of all your software."
why buy when you can torrent,,safer faster and free,lol |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Well I would say the best way to get some speed would be to forget all you're PC's just go and buy a Mac!! no virus or spyware problems and lightning quick too!! I will never give Bill Gates my hard earned again..
Now sits in corner waiting for the flack.
Or spend the same amount of money on the PC hardware and software! Mac software is notoriously operating system version specific. Upgrade the operating system and 90% of the time you'll have to buy new versions of all your software."
Yep and with the new Lion osx there are some conflicts with CS5 and that is an expensive one to replace!! |
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"i dumped avg years ago avast is the way to go and the updated female voice is so sexy mmmmm "
oh so sexy,lol,, "your avast database has been updated" mmmm,lol
i got that security tool virus with avg,,lost everything,,and i had the full avg,,my friend had a net cafe at the time 30 pcs,,yep he had avg got it aswell,,ouch |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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On the backup side of things I do this with holiday photos (and other docs)
Copy to PC hard drive
Copy to external hard drive (a MyBook in my case)
Burn to a DVD - store dvd in cool dark place. Direct sunlight can cause problems with burned CDs/DVDs
But is the problem your PC is running slow? If so open task manager and look at what the limiting factor is.
Is the CPU load always high? Yes - Then look at the processes tab and see what is running (googling their names will tell you what the real program is).
Is the memory use high? Yes then buying more ram can be a cheap solution. I fitted another 1GB to a neighbours laptop costing a heady £15. The laptop now works like a charm. A much cheaper solution to buying a brand new laptop!
Are you playing flash games (farmville etc?) These are very memory hungry and CPU hungry. Play them in Google Chrome or Firefox instead of IE as the latter uses more resources than the former.
If you are running Windows Vista, upgrade to Windows 7, as this is basically Vista with the crap bits fixed.
Lastly smash it all with a hammer and read a good book instead!
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