Make Your PC Run Fast Again By Scheduling A Regular Tune Up:

Your computer is just like a fine race car! Both must be expertly maintained to run at their optimum speed and performance levels. Unlike a formula 1 racer however, your PC is relatively easy to fine-tune, and we will guide you through the process with simple step-by-step instructions.

Initial tune-up

After getting all the programs setup on your PC the way you want, there are a few tasks that will help you get the most out of your system. The following maintenance tasks should be performed initially and will form the basis of a solid tune-up program for your PC:

1. Install and Update your Antivirus & Anti Spyware software:

The last thing you need is a computer virus ruining your day by infecting your computer and either destroying valuable data, or spreading your personal information all over the internet! We cannot stress enough the importance of making sure you have a solid and reliable Anti-Virus program installed on your computer.

Spyware and Adware is almost an even bigger problem these days than Computer Viruses! If you have ever downloaded anything online, music, books, files, etc…or if you have ever installed downloaded programs on your computer, chances are you have multiple spyware infections.

Pop-up windows and windows error messages are a prime indicator of Spyware and Adware infections on your computer.

Spyware is a hidden software program created to steal your personal information, and report back to their creators with anything from your online browsing habits and patterns, to your stored credit card numbers! identity theft is a growing problem, propagated in part by Spyware!

2. Update your software and drivers

Make sure your computer has the latest video, hardware and software drivers it needs to run at optimum speed and efficiency. We recommend that Microsoft Windows Update be used on a consistent basis. Microsoft and other hardware and software manufacturers will regularly post updated drivers and fixes for their products. Most vendors use the Windows Update tool to distribute their updates.

The Windows Update tool can be accessed on your computer by clicking Start, right-click My Computer, and select Properties.

Click the Automatic Updates tab, and select Keep my computer up to date.

Keeping Windows updated can solve many errors you may experience.

3. Defragment your hard drive

Defragmenting your hard drive is an easy task that will improve your system’s speed and performance (especially noticeable with larger programs).

As you install and uninstall different software programs, data becomes scattered across your hard drive in various areas. This results in your computer taking a longer amount of time to find data it needs, which makes your system run slower. This holds true even after installing a new program on your computer.

Starting Disk Defragmenter

Using Disk Defragmenter is easy and once started will work without the need to monitor the process. Depending on the size of your hard drive and the amount of fragmented files defragmentation of your files can take up to several hours to complete. Follow the procedures below to start defragmenting your hard drive.

* 1. Shut Down all programs that are running. including background programs and screensavers.
* 2. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, then System Tools.
* 3. Click Disk Defragmenter. Follow the onscreen instructions. If Disk Defragmenter starts itself over and over, then a hidden background program is still accessing the hard drive. Restart the computer in Safe mode and try again.

4. Create a Backup Or Restore Point Regularly On Your Computer

A Virus, Spyware or other bug could easily wipe out your data without chance of recovery! Make sure you are regularly backing up any data you don’t want to lose (burning it to disk is an easy and cost effective way of backing up important data).

Microsoft offers a Data Backup to automate the process, A virus or software bug could wipe out data without any chance of recovery. Devise a strategy for backing up your files now. Any important data that you do not want to lose should be backed up regularly. This can be done in any of a number of ways. Simply write the files to a floppy diskette, USB drive, or a CD-R. You might also consider using RecordNow!’s System Backup or Microsoft’s Data Backup to automate the backup process.

5. Clean Your Computer Registry Regularly

If you’re running any version of Windows on your computer, then you have a Windows registry. This Windows Registry is where all the information about your computer is stored. The registry includes installation data about the software you run and all of your computer’s preferences, settings, and registry keys. Everything about your computer is essentially stored in your windows registry.

Over time, as you install new programs, delete others, and use your computer, the Windows Registry grows. Sometimes you will get errors when you start your computer. In extreme instances you will experience computer freeze-ups and possibly even system crashes. Your computer can start running ’slower’ as well, which makes for annoying and time consuming ‘hang’ times, where you essentially stare at your monitor in a trance, waiting for control of your mouse cursor to be restored to you once again!

Fortunately, there is an easy solution to Registry build-up. You need to run a registry cleaner tool on a regular basis (depending on computer usage). This software will scan your Registry to find the unnecessary data and delete it…the end result should be a computer that runs as fast as the day you brought it home!

RECOMMENDED: Put Your Computer Tune Up Schedule On Auto Pilot by downloading and running our recommended Free PC Optimizer: RegCure.

Gary Bracken
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/how-to-tuneup-your-pc-113555.html

Many people prefer to spend hundreds of bucks in computer repair but rarely if ever, do they try to get into the root of the problem. Take for example, your slow and sluggish computer. You probably know that this problem occurs when the windows registry becomes corrupt, but do you ever spend fifty bucks on a professional registry cleaner? No; you would rather spend double that amount on a computer technician, even though chances are that the computer technician has used a registry cleaner software to fix your computer! In this article I will tell you all about a computer registry and how a registry cleaner works!

OK, so how does your windows registry really get corrupt? Let’s say that you use your computer a lot and frequently install and uninstall software programs on your PC. As soon as you install a new program on your system, several new entries are created in the registry; in this way, your computer registry keeps track of all the software programs installed on your computer. In a way, you might say that the windows registry is the central record keeper of your system, and if this record keeper gets damaged in any way, your whole system starts behaving unruly.

When you uninstall or remove a software program from your system, theoretically the entry connected with the software program should be deleted from the registry. However, it doesn’t happen that way! When you remove a program from your system, it is unable to remove all the registry entries that it had created! How strange! These ‘left-over’, invalid entries eventually get deposited in your registry.

Over time, when you remove more and more softwares from your system, the process repeats itself, with the result that your windows registry becomes clogged with several hundred invalid entries! A clogged registry results in slow computer that freezes and crashes frequently! If you want to speed up your computer, you need to clean all the invalid entries from your computer registry. So how would you do it?

There are actually two ways in which you can clean your registry.

1. Removing registry entries by hand: You can remove the invalid entries manually by hand but if you don’t know a thing about your registry, you shouldn’t do it! If you delete a single valid entry from your registry by mistake, it can have disastrous effect on your computer, with the result that your computer might stop working altogether!

2. Using a windows registry repair software: Another, and much better option, is to use a professional windows registry repair software. Most windows registry repair softwares are affordable and can be purchased for less than 50 dollars! These programs are also very easy to use; they are fully automatic and require no manual configuration on your part. You simply install the software, click a button, and your windows registry will be cleaned. As soon as you clean your windows registry, your computer will become a brand new machine! For best results, you should clean your windows registry at least once every week!

Chelsey Fox
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/slow-pc-learn-how-a-windows-registry-repair-can-help-you-382824.html

I’ve been told that using a registry cleaner will help speed up my computer and improve XP performance. Do you know if that’s true? Also, can you recommend the best registry cleaner out there?

Thanks in advance.

Do look at reginout. Works well for me.

Windows operating system has a set of services that are constantly running in the background. These services are process that provide support and help to the operating system. Some of them start up automatically and some have to be configured to run along with the system. Many of these windows services are needed for the system to run efficiently and some are not needed at all except for running programs like Internet telephony and the like. Many of these services can considerably slow down your system and cause a great deal of harassment to the user. Windows registry cleaner can identify some of these services and clean the system of fine tune the registry to load only the ones that are needed.

Downloading Programs Can Lead To Registry Clutter

Sometimes when you download programs from the Internet like the telephony program mentioned above the program will reboot the system once the installation is complete. Here is where the program plays around with the windows registry. It will configure the windows services to support the telephony software. Here it will make changes to the services configuration as well as to the system Registry. Now when you uninstall the software it leaves the changes in the registry. These changes have to be removed with a reliable windows registry cleaner. There are many free registry cleaner software available on the Internet.

Free Registry Cleaners Are Worth A Try

Even though you can enable or disable the windows services from the registry manually it is not advisable to do so. Let on of the free registry cleaners do the job by scanning the registry and search for the services that are not linked to any program and are in fact, not needed. The windows free registry cleaner will remove the services or rather disable the services for you. This will speed up the system considerably. This will eliminate the problem that is caused by disabling the services that are vital to the system if the services are disabled manually.

You may not have understood the concept of the registry. You may not even know anything about software. But this knowledge is not required to clean up your registry. Knowing that cleaning up the registry can speed up your system and make it more efficient should be incentive enough to go on the Internet and get yourself a free registry cleaner. It is easy to use and requires just two clicks of the mouse to get the job of cleaning the registry done. It also takes just under three minutes to scan and repair the system registry.

Arvind
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/side-effects-of-badly-configured-services-56749.html

There are thousands of free programs available on the internet.  The list below is not a complete directory, rather it is a list of FREE programs that are highly useful and well written.  As a rule, the less programs you have installed, the better your machine will run.  However the FREE software listed, with few exceptions, are small and lightweight meaning they do not heavily weigh-down your CPU or processor.

Crap Cleaner

CCleaner or Crap Cleaner is an extremely fast hard drive cleaner.   Have you ever used UNDO?  Of course you have, most any program periodically saves temp versions of the document you’re working on so that you can go back if you mess up.  Those versions stay on your hard drive in Temp folders.  Also, any website you visit downloads images, scripts all kinds of…well, crap on your hard drive.  Use CCleaner regularly to free up hard drive space and keep things running clean. CCleaner also has a registry cleaner and program uninstaller.  It’s a favorite amongst professional graphic artists and video editors.

Spybot Search and Destroy

Spybot SD, still one of the best anti-spyware, malware and adware programs, and still free.  Spybot’s advanced features include Immunizing your computer from known threat sites, control of your system start-up and running processes and control of your hosts file.

Ad-Aware – by Lavasoft

No one program can defeat spyware, malware or adware alone.  Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware is the perfect compliment to Spybot Search and Destroy.   What one misses the other catches.

PC Inspector – File Recovery, Smart Recovery

As mentioned in an earlier post, files are not actually deleted from your computer, they’re moved to a different location and written over.  PC Inspector’s File Recovery and Smart Recovery can recover accidentally deleted files. Has the Smart Card in your camera mistakenly been re-formatted?  If so, Smart Recovery can recover your pictures and data files. It’s an amazing FREE program.

Amp Font Viewer

Ever want a seperate graphical representation to see what your fonts look like?  Amp Font Viewer does that and more.  Fonts are fun, but can also severely slow down your system if you have too many.  With Amp Font Viewer, you can temporarily install the font for the application you’re working on, then delete it.  It’s cool.

Irfanview – Image Editor/Viewer

Ever want to “Photoshop” an image, but can’t afford Photoshop?  Irfanview is an excellent alternative.

Audacity – Audio Editor

Want to record your voice or convert your old cassette tapes to MP3’s?  Audacity is a multi-featured audio recorder and editor.  It supports multiple formats and has the ability to change speed and pitch, mix sounds together add effects and more.

Open Office Productivity Suite

If you can’t afford Microsoft Office, but want to create files that are compatible with MS Office, there is no better tool than Open Office.  Unbelievably, OpenOffice (OO) offers Word Processor (Writer) , Spreadsheet (Calc)  and Powerpoint-like (Impress) programs all for FREE.

Dave Kelsen
http://www.articlesbase.com/e-learning-articles/best-free-musthave-software-706685.html

Saab is continuing its drive to produce vehicles that runs on cleaner burning fuels. They have already made to the public a 9-5 BioPower which run on E85 fuel which is a combination of 85 percent bio-ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. This is similar to Volvo models which run on the same fuel. This may seem not enough for the car manufacturer since at the forthcoming 2007 Geneva Motor Show; they will be showcasing a 9-5 wagon which is equipped with a 2.0-liter engine that runs on E100 or 100 percent bio-ethanol. The concept car will be shown to the public as a testament of the car maker’s dedication to developing cleaner engines. The use of 100 percent fuel in an engine is a great stride forward in the use of alternative fuels.

In connection with the unveiling of the concept car, GM Powertrain CEO Kjell ac Bergstrom has this to say: “Bio-ethanol is a potent, high quality fuel which opens up exciting possibilities in helping to meet the environmental challenges that face us. As the need to reduce energy consumption increases, we are exploring ways to run smaller engines that give relatively high power, with and without hybrid technology. This concept car shows that ethanol can play a key role in this ‘right-sizing’ process, while also minimizing fossil fuel emissions.”

The Saab 9-5 BioPower 100 concept car’s engine is the first of its kind to run on pure ethanol. The design of the car’s engine components optimizes the capacity of the engine. The 2.0-liter engine can produce as much as 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That torque is essential for acceleration, given that amount of pulling force; the concept car can be propelled to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just 6.6 seconds. This acceleration is complemented by a high top speed; thanks to the 300 horsepower that the engine packs. Aside from this, aftermarket parts can be installed to decrease the drag and increase the traction of the wheels on road surfaces. Spoilers can be used to achieve this, just like those Volvos which use a Volvo spoiler to boost performance.

Using 100 percent ethanol or anhydrous ethanol as a fuel is a good alternative to gasoline. This is because ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, reducing emissions by as much as 85 percent. This is why flexi-fuel vehicles or those that runs on a combination of gasoline and ethanol has cleaner emission than those that runs on gasoline alone. Those engines that use ethanol as fuel, just like the Saab concept car uses looks just like a conventional gasoline engine with just a few modifications. Some of these modifications are done to combat the corrosive nature of ethanol. Some engine components need to be fortified to take on the corrosiveness of this alternative fuel. Another reason why ethanol is a good alternative to gasoline is that it is a renewable source of energy. Ethanol comes from starch or sugar from a wide variety of crops like corn and sugarcane.

The only problem facing the development of ethanol as an alternative fuel is that in its production, fossil fuels are still used. This poses a question if the good effects of using ethanol as fuel for vehicles can upset the emission produced on the production of the said fuel. The concept car also remains to be seen if it is feasible to be mass produced since no filling station has yet to offer 100 percent ethanol. The future of this technology still remains to be seen depending on the way the public will accept it.

Glady Reign
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/ethanol-power-from-saab-106227.html

I have wireless Internet and it usually says i have good or very good connection but torrent downloads and websites take a while, ihave defracted the disk and am already using cc cleaner, avira-antivir, spybot s&d, ad aware and malware bytes, should i delete any of these programs? what else can i do to speed downloading up?

First off, a wireless connection is about as poor as you can get when it comes to large downloads. The packet loss between the router and the wireless PC is too high. Secondly, you can only download as fast as your provider allows.

What was everyone doing when Toyota developed the Prius? With its hybrid technology, the Prius was hailed as the answer to our problems. A cleaner, greener alternative for those who wanted to save the world but still wanted, or needed, a car to drive round it. Other manufacturers seemed to be slow to develop hybrid technology. So what have they been doing while Toyota surged ahead? Well, one manufacturer, BMW, have been taking some of the best bits off the hybrid and combining them with existing technology, to produce much more fuel efficient and therefore much cleaner cars. Cleaner cars that seem to be able to out perform the hybrids in almost all departments.

When you look at it BMW seem to have had one of the harder jobs when it comes to reducing their overall Co2 emissions. They’ve been known for producing large 4 x 4’s and luxury sports cars. Not the type of cars that offer the best solutions to our environmental problems. However, with this clever mix of existing technology and the development of better engines they have managed to reduce their average Co2 emissions by 26g/km, a saving of over a third of a tonne per year for vehicles fitted with EfficientDynamics. So, how have they done it?

Well, first you have to look at the engines. BMW have developed a high precision injection system, that alongside the ultra-light aluminium crankcase and variable twin turbo technology have allowed the models fitted with EfficientDynamics to increase power whilst reducing emissions. Formula One technology that has been developed and proved in the hardest arena in the world.

Stop start technology is another major factor in reducing emissions. Pull up at the traffic lights and the engine on the BMW stops, press your foot on the accelerator and the engine automatically kicks back into life, saving you money and not choking the planet whilst standing still. This clever bit of kit also tells you when the optimum time is to change gear, also adding to the BMW’s frugality.

Lighter materials have not only been used under the bonnet, they’ve also been used in the manufacture of the boot and the roof on some models. Cutting down on the overall weight of the car is not rocket science and it will obviously impact on the performance of the vehicle. Previously, performance was equated with speed, fortunately performance now covers all aspects of the car, including efficiency and economy.

Brake energy regeneration, electric power steering, an electric coolant pump and small flaps that open and close in the front grille to improve aerodynamic efficiency have all contributed in reducing emissions, making BMW a leader in the luxury car market when it comes to complying with the new Euro V legislation that will come into force in the next decade.

So, do we need full hybrids? Well if you break it down to figures alone it is not quite so clear cut. The BMW 1 Series118d EfficientDynamics achieves 62.8 miles per gallon on the combined cycle as opposed to the Prius that manages 65.7 mpg. Co2 emissions are 119 g/km for the BMW, 104g/km for the Prius. However, take into account the batteries that are used to power the Prius and it becomes slightly hazier. Manufacturing processes and the disposal of spent batteries will obviously have an environmental impact and produce plenty of Co2. Is that impact greater than the small advantages gained? The UK government and the British media would certainly like to know and as a result have asked Toyota to supply them with the figures. As of yet Toyota have not been forthcoming.

With all this in mind, BMW will no doubt continue to refine their EfficientDynamics range, no doubt producing more and more frugal variants, with the gap already small does this mark an end to full blown hybrids? Only time will tell.

Dave Foord
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/bmw-efficientdynamics-is-it-the-end-of-the-hybrid-675181.html

I can always just google "Registry cleaner" but I’d rather get the opinions of people who’d know of some great applications.

ccleaner

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

There are numerous reasons for the poor performance of a computer. The main reason for the slowdown of the computer contains a damaged registry. If we uninstall software, the registry entries are usually not cleaned up. The damaged items can often damage the system and can lead to slow it down. Therefore, has to operate the computer to be faster to remedy the unwanted and damaged registry with a high quality registration audit to be done.

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Many Registry Checker on the Internet for free download is available and can be used to clean up the entries in the registry quickly and reliably. Registry cleaner or stones are very cheap software taking into account the service rendered by them. We must ensure that they have a good software or they can permanently damage at the end and get their computer.

Registry CleanUP is not a difficult task, and one need not call a technician to do. It is easy to do it with a few simple easy to follow steps. But before the actual running a registry checker on your system, is the first step to a new Windows restore point to create. One must not forget to take a backup copy of the current state of the computer. This is essential to restore the system, if, if we end up doing it in a wrong way. To create a new restore point, go to Windows Accessories-> create a new restore point and name they choose.

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Then go to Start>, where the command “regedit Registry Editor to open the Registry Checker. One must be very careful in dealing with these registers, since even a minor injury a huge damage that permanently damage your computer can cause. Therefore, we must not tamper much with the registry and save the file to another location on your computer. Then the next step to a registry cleaner software to all unwanted and corrupted registry entries must be removed from the system running.

It is better to use genuine software as pirated software, even cause permanent damage to the system. Looking for a good software that offers all the standard features and has good reviews from users. This, along with the appropriate registry cleanup process you can make the system extremely fast!

Speed Up Your PC
Easily Scan, Repair and Fix Errors
Speed & Optimize PC, Free Download

Bennie
http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/registry-checker-basics-1289601.html