Microsoft’s Windows operating system is by far the most widely used operating system in the world, dominating the market to the point that most folks don’t even know that there are any alternative ways to use a computer. This is not to say that Windows is the best operating system in the world, because it’s not; superior alternatives exist, such as Apple’s OS X, or the many varieties of Linux. However, the situation is what it is, and computer repair guys like myself spend a lot of time propping up Windows so that our customers can at least get some of their work done.
The most common Windows complaint is slow system performance: you click on an item and wait, wait, wait for something to happen. This is due to the computers’ resources being too thinly spread over a large number of tasks. Your microprocessor and random-access memory (RAM) can only handle so many chores at once before they begin to bog down. Think of it like a car towing a trailer: as the trailer gets heavier, the car moves slower.
The solution to this problem is often a combination of fixes. Maybe your computer needs a bigger engine and better tires. Upgrading to a faster microprocessor and adding more RAM can often speed things up considerably. Upgrades like this are not cheap, but are relatively easy to perform.
You should also look at what programs are running silently in the background. You may think that your computer is sitting there doing nothing, when actually there are numerous tiny programs quietly churning away. These background programs often needlessly waste your machine’s precious resources, and can be shut down. To address this situation in Windows XP, click StartRun, type “msconfig” in the “Open” box and click OK. Click the “Startup” tab, and you’ll see a list of programs that start running as soon as you turn on your computer. Disable unneeded background programs by unchecking their boxes, and click “Apply.” Use Google to search for descriptions of anything in the list that you don’t understand.
Another helpful fix is to “defragment” your hard drive. Because of the way that Windows operates, files that should be laid out as one contiguous chunk often become broken into fragments scattered randomly across your hard drive, making your computer work harder to access the file. It’s like if you took a letter, cut it into little pieces and scattered them around the house. Instead of simply pulling the entire letter out of a file folder for reading, you first have to run around the house gathering up the pieces, and then tape them back together. To defragment your hard drive, select StartAll ProgramsAccessoriesSystem ToolsDisk Defragmenter. Click “Defragment,” and you’re on your way to a more efficient computer.
Finally, try fixing other Windows problems by using Norton WinDoctor or Iolo’s System Mechanic. Implementing all of the above fixes can often lead to a happier Windows experience.