Speed It Up! A Non-Technical Guide for Speeding Up Slow Computers Does your PC perform like grandma on a cold winter morning? Does it limp along slowly through everyday tasks, such as starting up, shutting down or just opening an email? Are you wondering if your PC’s get up and go has got up and left? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you. Sure, there are uber-geeky guides out there that provide tweaks and customizations appealing to the pocket protector nation, but there is no other book that addresses these common problems at the everyday consumer level. We think it’s time for a book that covers all of these topics in a way that appeals to real humans, like you. Let us help you keep your PC running like it did the day you brought it home from the store. • Troubleshooting–We show you how to diagnose the cause of your PC’s dawdling behavior. We help you determine whether the culprit is your hardware, software, the network, a cluttered registry, or even a virus. • Software–We show you dozens of easy, non-techy things you can do to speed up Windows, your applications, your Internet apps, and more. • Hardware–We show you easy upgrades you can do yourself. The solutions we provide are easy to implement. • Network–We show you how to easily fix network issues that are robbing you of precious time. • Buyer’s advice–If it’s time to put your beloved PC out to pasture, we offer some tried and true advice for choosing a new PC and keeping it in tip-top condition. CATEGORY: Windows Operating SystemsCOVERS: Windows XP, Windows VistaUSER LEVEL: Beginning-Intermediate Table of Contents Introduction What’s in This Book Who Can Use This Book How to Use This Book There’s More Online... Speed It Up! Part I: Quick Diagnosis for Sluggish PCs 1 What’s Slowing Down Your Computer? Signs That Your Computer Is Getting Slower Signs That Your Computer Really Isn’t Getting Slower—Even if You Think it Is Quick Fix: Five Quick Steps to Improve Your PC’s Performance The Bottom Line 2 Before You Start: Protect Your Data Potential Problems: What Can Go Wrong When Speeding Up Your PC Backing Up and Restoring Your Valuable Data Protecting Your System with System Restore The Bottom Line Part II: Simple Speedups Anyone Can Do 3 Removing Spyware and Viruses Dealing with Computer Viruses Dealing with Spyware The Bottom Line 4 Cleaning Out Unnecessary Programs Removing Unwanted Programs and Files from Your Hard Disk How to Free Up Valuable Hard Disk Space—and Speed Up Your PC Removing Unwanted Programs and Processes from Your Computer’s Memory How to Get Rid of Autoloading Programs Removing Programs That Slow Down Your PC Speeding Up Microsoft Outlook The Bottom Line 5 Optimizing Your Hard Disk Defragmenting Your Hard Disk Checking Your Hard Disk for Errors Using Other Disk-Optimization Tools The Bottom Line 6 Making Windows Go Faster Speeding Up Windows (XP and Vista) Speeding Up Windows XP Speeding Up Windows Vista The Bottom Line Part III: Power Speedups for Power Users 7 Cleaning Up the Windows Registry Understanding the Windows Registry Editing the Registry Cleaning Up the Registry for Faster Performance Tweaking the Registry The Bottom Line 8 When All Else Fails: Reinstalling Windows from Scratch When Extreme Measures Are Called For What’s Involved in a Clean Install Before You Reinstall Performing a Clean Install of Windows XP Performing a Clean Install of Windows Vista After the Clean Install: Reinstalling Programs and Data The Bottom Line Part IV: Upgrading Your PC for Speed 9 Preparing for a Computer Upgrade Before You Upgrade: Getting to Know Your Computer System Does an Upgrade Make Sense? What Can You Upgrade? The Bottom Line 10 Adding More Memory Understanding Different Types of Memory How Memory Affects PC Speed Adding Instant Memory to Windows Vista with ReadyBoost Adding More Memory to a Desktop PC Adding More Memory to a Notebook PC The Bottom Line 11 Adding More Disk Space How Hard Disk Storage Affects Your PC’s Speed Understanding Hard Drive Capacity Shopping for a New Hard Drive Adding a New External Hard Drive Upgrading an Existing Internal Hard Drive Upgrading Hard Disk Storage on a Notebook PC The Bottom Line 12 Upgrading to a Faster Video Card How the Wrong Video Card Can Slow Down Your PC Shopping for a New Video Card Making the Upgrade Configuring Your Display Properties The Bottom Line 13 Upgrading Your System’s CPU Understanding the CPU Shopping for a New CPU Performing a CPU Upgrade Replacing Your Entire Motherboard The Bottom Line Part V: Internet and Network Speedups 14 Cleaning Up Your Web Browser How to Slow Down a Web Browser Cleaning Up Your Cache and Cookies Reconfiguring Key Settings Uninstalling Unnecessary Add-Ons Browsing Faster with an Alternate DNS Service Increasing the Size of Your DNS Cache Enabling More Simultaneous Connections The Bottom Line 15 Reconfiguring Your Internet Connection How Fast Is Your Internet Connection? The Simple Speedup: Upgrading to a Faster Internet Connection The Bottom Line 16 Speeding Up Your Home Network Troubleshooting a Slow Wireless Connection Upgrading to a Faster Wireless Network Extending Wireless Network Range Switching from a Wireless to a Wired Connection Tweaking the Windows XP Registry for a Speedier Network The Bottom Line Part VI: The Ultimate Speedup: Buying a Faster PC 17 When Do You Need a New PC? How Do You Know When Your Old PC Is Beyond Fixing? What New Applications Might Demand a New PC? A Few Other Reasons to Buy a New PC Benchmarking PC Performance The Bottom Line 18 How Fast a PC Do You Need? Understanding Key Components Choosing a Form Factor: Desktop Versus Notebook What Kind of Computing Do You Do? Choosing the Right Features for Your Needs Getting Rid of Your Old PC The Bottom Line PC Performance Resources General Performance Suites Benchmarking Startup Optimization File Cleaning Specific Program Removal Tools Registry Cleaners Hard Disk Optimization Disk Imaging Internet Speedup and Browser Optimization Startup Program Databases Internet Speed Tests Free DNS Services Index A B C D E F G H I J-K-L M N O P Q-R S T U V W-X-Y-Z
Speed It Up! A Non-Technical Guide for Speeding Up Slow Computers
Does your PC perform like grandma on a cold winter morning? Does it limp along slowly through everyday tasks, such as starting up, shutting down or just opening an email? Are you wondering if your PC’s get up and go has got up and left? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you.
Sure, there are uber-geeky guides out there that provide tweaks and customizations appealing to the pocket protector nation, but there is no other book that addresses these common problems at the everyday consumer level. We think it’s time for a book that covers all of these topics in a way that appeals to real humans, like you. Let us help you keep your PC running like it did the day you brought it home from the store.
• Troubleshooting–We show you how to diagnose the cause of your PC’s dawdling behavior. We help you determine whether the culprit is your hardware, software, the network, a cluttered registry, or even a virus.
• Software–We show you dozens of easy, non-techy things you can do to speed up Windows, your applications, your Internet apps, and more.
• Hardware–We show you easy upgrades you can do yourself. The solutions we provide are easy to implement.
• Network–We show you how to easily fix network issues that are robbing you of precious time.
• Buyer’s advice–If it’s time to put your beloved PC out to pasture, we offer some tried and true advice for choosing a new PC and keeping it in tip-top condition.
CATEGORY: Windows Operating Systems
COVERS: Windows XP, Windows Vista
USER LEVEL: Beginning-Intermediate
Speed It Up! A Non-Technical Guide for Speeding Up Slow Computers Does your PC perform like grandma on a cold winter morning? Does it limp along slowly through everyday tasks, such as starting up, shutting down or just opening an email? Are you wondering if your PC’s get up and go has got up and left? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the book for you. Sure, there are uber-geeky guides out there that provide tweaks and customizations appealing to the pocket protector nation, but there is no other book that addresses these common problems at the everyday consumer level. We think it’s time for a book that covers all of these topics in a way that appeals to real humans, like you. Let us help you keep your PC running like it did the day you brought it home from the store. • Troubleshooting–We show you how to diagnose the cause of your PC’s dawdling behavior. We help you determine whether the culprit is your hardware, software, the network, a cluttered registry, or even a virus. • Software–We show you dozens of easy, non-techy things you can do to speed up Windows, your applications, your Internet apps, and more. • Hardware–We show you easy upgrades you can do yourself. The solutions we provide are easy to implement. • Network–We show you how to easily fix network issues that are robbing you of precious time. • Buyer’s advice–If it’s time to put your beloved PC out to pasture, we offer some tried and true advice for choosing a new PC and keeping it in tip-top condition. CATEGORY: Windows Operating Systems COVERS: Windows XP, Windows Vista USER LEVEL: Beginning-Intermediate
