Having followed steps 1-3 of the previous blog post, I am hoping your laptop/PC is at least running a bit faster. Those 3 tips are the first you should try but there are some additional steps you can try to eek every last Ghz and flop out of your hardware. As always you try the steps below at your own risk but if in any doubt, give us a call for free advice.

Step 4:

Configure your swap file for maximum performance. Whats the swap file? Well its basically a portion of your hard drive that Windows uses to write data to temporarily and is like a much slower version of RAM. The amount of space Windows allocates to this swap file is usually variable and it will expand and shrink as windows needs more or less of it. Having to expand and shrink can slow your machine down so we always recommend we set a fixed size.

To fix the swap file size:

Right click on My Computer/Computer and choose properties.

Choose Advanced tab (XP) or Advanced system settings then Advanced Tab (Vista/7)

Click Settings under performance and go to the Advanced tab.

Under Virtual Memory, click Change.

Select Custom Size (XP) or take the tick out of ‘Automatically manage paging file…’ and then choose Custom Size (Vista/7)

The Microsoft recommended size is 1.5x your amount of physical RAM but I usually set minimum and maximum to 4092 and let it get on with it. If you have additional partitions (ie a D: Drive) then its good practice to move the swap file to this drive/partition.

Click OK and you will be prompted to restart your PC.

Step 5:

Defrag your hard drive! You what?! Exactly! Think of your hard drive a library. If you have all your books in rows of shelves, categorised and alphabetised you can find the book you want nice and easily. If you have the books all thrown into the room with no sense of order then it will tkae you age to find the right one. Over time the data on your PC (The books) will get moved out of position windows (the librarian!) will have to go out and find the data instead of it being next to the last bit of data it was using.

Defragging your hard drive will put all your books back on the shelves in the correct order meaning Windows doesnt have to go searching as much.

Windows Vista/7 have scheduled defrags as standard, but these are usually set overnight and if you never leave your PC on over night then it never runs. XP has no scheduled defrag as standard and must be ran manually. There is a built in defrag client but Orbits recommend another piriform.com application ‘Defraggler’ again its free and its nice and fast and easy to use. Remember to take the tick out of the install Yahoo toolbar option when installing.

Step 6:

If you have tried steps 1-5 and you are still struggling then it may be time to spend some money. Fortunately you may not have to shell out for a whole new PC/Laptop.

RAM:

RAM is the memory in your computer (not to be confused with the hard drive which is your storage unit). Windows uses RAM to write data and settings etc to as you work on your machine. Windows loves RAM and the more you can give it the faster it will run although most versions of Windows will only use a maximum of 3GB. If you have less than 3GB installed then look at installing more. Orbits can help you with this so give us a call.

Operating System Upgrade:

Windows XP:

Windows XP is undeniably a great operating system. It’s been the staple OS for most users for almost 10 years now and it hasn’t let anyone down. However, its starting to show its age and will no longer be supported by Microsoft.

Vista:

Lets not even go there! There are mistakes and then there is Windows Vista! Runs like a dog!

Windows 7:

MS were back on form for this one. All the bells and whistles of Vista but runs just as fast as XP did (generally). If you can afford the upgrade then Orbits thoroughly recommend you go for it. We are doing lots of upgrades for our business clients and they are seeing the real benefits. Give us a call today and we can give you a free Windows 7 upgrade assessment to make sure your system and software is suitable for Windows 7.