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How to Fix Up an Information-Overloaded Computer

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Computer problems are never this cute.

Sometimes our computers don't quite run like they used to. Like a rusty machine, they aren't as fresh as they were "off the factory line," and if you only bought your computer a year or two, this can be a pretty discouraging fact. But just because your computer is running slow doesn't mean you can't salvage its usability. In fact, you might be able to clear out a lot of the unnecessary information and processes that have been taking up your computer's memory. So how do you do it? Follow these simple steps.

Uninstall unneeded programs. How do you know which programs to uninstall, or even which program you can run that will actually find these unneeded programs? If you're a Windows user, click over to your Control Panel. Here, you should see an Add or Remove icon. Click that, and you'll see a list of the programs you've added to your computer. It should give you the option to remove these programs.

There are two ways to know which programs to uninstall. First, look at the memory that's being taken up on your computer. You can do this by clicking into your Task Manager, clicking the "Processes" tab, and then sorting each process by the most memory taken up. Try to find the programs that you never seem to use but seem to be using your computer. These are programs you might want to target for deletion.

You can also scan the "Add or Remove" list to find which programs you never use - your computer should show you how long it's been since you last opened up the program. If you find yourself suddenly reminded about certain programs you haven't used in a while, you might want to clear these ones out.

Control when your programs run. You don't have to remove an entire program to free up memory space on your computer. Instead, you can set a program to run only when you click on it - not automatically upon startup. Many programs, once installed, will set themselves to automatically pop up once you've booted the computer. This can make the booting process a five-minute long endeavor, so if you want a faster computer, make sure to find out which programs these are and change their settings.

Many of the icons that show up in the lower-right section of your computer are the programs you'll want to modify. You can also try another Task Manager diagnosis to see which programs are volunteering themselves open.

Photo Credits: anomalous4

Originally posted 2009-09-17 03:20:23.

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