For computer science students, your computer is your primary tool. However, slow computers are extremely frustrating and can interrupt one’s workflow. Before hitting the books again for another school year, it is a great idea to do a little bit of clean up on one’s computer. Cleaning one’s computer can make it run faster and reduce the chance of possible issues when doing that term paper that is due at 8:00 AM next morning. There are numerous methods of cleaning out a computer, but these are some of the methods that I have found to be the most effective in speeding up slower machines. Much of it just takes a little time, and even if it takes a few hours, it is a good use of time because it will save time and frustration in the long run. Regular cleaning can also make one’s machine last longer whether its one more semester or several more years. These recommendations aren’t very labor intensive and are platform independent, so Windows and Mac users alike can benefit from these tips.
1. Use A Cleaner Program: Computers accumulate temporary files, application caches and other old download files which can waste hard drive space and other crucial system resources, slowing down one’s machine. Most application have a method of clearing these temporary files, especially programs like web browsers, but users would need to dig into each application individually. However, there is a better way, cleaning programs such as CCleaner, which is absolutely free, searches all temporary files across one’s machine and eliminates them. CCleaner can also uninstall application and searches out files and registry entries, which programs often overlook in their own uninstaller and throughly removes them . By using a program like CCleaner regularly, one can keep their computer clean and running faster, this is especially true with older computers, where it is a good idea to make a point of running a cleaner program regularly.
2. Organize Files: While this doesn’t impact the speed of one’s computer directly, it is far more efficient to have documents organized and sorted into appropriate folders instead of scrolling through hundreds of documents from four semesters ago. Files that are no longer needed or relevant should be organized and move into an archive or other place for old documents. Each class, project, club, etc should have it’s own folder to make it easy to find any file one needs later on.
3. Defragment Hard Drive: When data is written to the hard drive files are often scattered across various sectors of a hard drive and makes can make finding data later more difficult, and can take more time. As a result, hard drives that are fragmented, can slow machines down significantly. Defragmenting ones’ hard drive gathers files together and increases the operating speeds a fair amount and can free up some storage space as well. Defragmenting regularly, can keep a computer running faster and doing it regularly will prevent a hard drive from becoming extremely fragmented which can lead to greater issues.
4. Uninstall Unneeded Programs:
Techie types especially try a lot of programs, and many times just test them and not use them again. If one has many programs that rarely if ever get launched, or that were preinstalled with one’s computer and aren’t used, consider uninstalling them. As mentioned above, program’s own uninstallers often overlook some files and registry entries causing issues,and wasting hard drive space. It is a good idea to use an uninstaller program like CCleaner or it’s brother, Revo Uninstaller to ensure unneeded programs are fully uninstalled. PC Decrapifier also is a great tool, and can go through an mass-remove bloatware that most Windows computers come pre-installed with. Pruning one’s program list makes more system resources available for the user and makes the computer run much faster.
5. Reformat and Start Over
It is a good idea to do a total reformat every now and then and rebuild your machine from scratch. Especially if one’s machine has been infested by viruses, a reformat is sometimes the only solution to remove malware. Reformatting can help resolve a lot of software-based issues and is just a good way to clean a machine off . It is also best to do this before school starts as it is a bit time-intensive and requires a little bit of down time for the machine. Also, be sure to first backup all data before reformatting to make sure no data is lost. I personally like to do this every year or so just get a fresh start and rebuild my computer for optimal performance.
6. Upgrade the RAM:
Upgrading the RAM is a fairly cheap way, depending on the type of RAM one’s machine uses, to boost speed on a machine’s performance. Simply use Crucial’s memory finder tool to search one’s computer model and find the type of RAM it uses, as well as the maximum amount of RAM that particular model will accept. Crucial does sell their own RAM, however it is very over priced in my opinion, so I recommend copying and pasting the RAM type into Newegg or another site that offers more affordable RAM. Upgrading the RAM can provide a significant speed boost and is very easy to install.
7. Upgrade to a SSD:
Solid state hard drives provide a significant performance boost, over standard, spinning hard drives. Solid State drives use flash memory which offer significantly faster read and write speeds, but are significantly more expensive than conventional hard drives. However, I believe that SSDs are worth the cost and provide a great speed boost!
6. Replace and/or Upgrade Battery
Battery life is especially important for college students, who always seem to be on the move and rely on their laptop batteries as much or more than most users. Batteries often don’t last as long as the laptop itself and needs to be replace because lithium ion batteries have a set number of charge/discharge cycles before it needs to be replaced. This means that after so many charges, the battery is done and must be replaced. Amazon has batteries for just about every laptop there is and are often very inexpensive, $15-$30. There are also extended batteries which cost a bit more than the standard battery and are a bit larger and heavier, but provide a much longer battery life. While it does add more weight and bulk to the laptop, and often sticks out of the bottom of the laptop. However it allows more time on battery, which for students may be worth it. Apple users may not be able to do this and should refer to their local Apple store or Apple authorized repair center as many of the newer laptops have non-removable batteries.
About the Author
Mike Gdovin has been blogging about technology since 2006 on his blog, Gdovin.net. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Media from Kutztown University with a minor in Journalism, Public Relations and Business. In addition to blogging about technology, Mike is a video producer, technology consultant and social media expert.
