Whether you’re on a Mac or a PC, there’s nothing more frustrating than a slow computer.
Buying more storage, or even upgrading to a new computer is not always feasible, or even necessary. So before you break the bank, try any, (or all) of the tips below.
- Use the cloud to save room for applications, and keep your files secure. You’ll also be able to access those files from wherever, all while speeding up your computer.
- Ditch old files that you haven’t touched in a few months. This will free up space on your hard drive, and keep your folders neat, tidy and up-to-date.
- Shut down your computer when you know you’ll be out of town, or maybe when you leave the office for the weekend, let your computer take some time off, too.
- Stop postponing updates. Think of updates like checkups when your doctor. Updates are vital to the health, speed and general performance of your computer.
- Limit yourself to two browsers. Web browsers hog a lot of system resources. Your browsing history, cookies and bookmarks. One is ideal, but we realize not everyone wants to use Safari or Internet Explorer.
- Uninstall apps you don’t use. This includes bloatware, or preinstalled software.
- Clear your cookies and browsing history. Imagine how much data your computer is holding onto in your browsing history. Months, sometimes even years worth of info is just sitting in your browser’s cache collecting dust.
- Take out the trash. Empty your recycle bin! This folder doesn’t really delete your files. You’ll need to remove everything from the folder to permanently free up some space.
- Get rid of duplicates – ONE browser, one calendar, one email client. Having duplicates is unnecessary, and can confuse your computer when you go to use one or the other, resulting in two applications trying to open at once which can really stress out your operating system.
- Limit yourself to 7 tabs. If you really struggle to keep your tab count down, get a service like OneTab that’ll add your active tabs to a single list. Easily accessible, and less clutter.
I’ve got a couple of videos on my YouTube channel, Ask Neadom, that explain how much you should spend on considering how long you intend to have it in the office, running at its optimal performance:
Consider the intended lifespan of your computer, how much you spent on the machine, and the type of user logging on to it everyday before panicking when these tips don’t work for you. If you just don’t know what’s next, give us a call. We can help you figure it out in no time.