Guide to a faster windows

Studentenes datatjeneste

This guide will help make windows faster and more reliable.

The following steps are solutions we have tested ourselves and they should work on most computers. Even though we nearly never experience any problems when doing these changes, we cannot guarantee anything and therefore holds no responsibility for errors that might occur on your computer.

Antivirus software
An antivirus program provides basic computer security. Do not install more than one antivirus program, as these programs may interfere with each other.

Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free program from Microsoft which is easy to install and use. It uses few system resources and runs efficiently in the background. Recommended.

F-Secure
A good antivirus-program is F-Secure, that you as a UMB-student can download for free.

Antispyware software
Antispyware programs are recommended in addition to antivirus programs. They find and remove spyware which may be monitoring your internet use, and can help with viruses which are difficult to remove.

SUPERAntiSpyware is efficient for removing most junkware.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a very effective software when it comes to removing malicious software (especially when it's updated) and also contains a FILEassassin that removes files that's normally undeletable.

Spybot is efficient for remove harmful programs that start automatically in Windows.

Windows update
It is important to update to the lastest service pack! This will help protect against virus and spyware, along with better computer performance and compatability.

System Tools
CCleaner
This is a smart small program that removes all temporary internet-files and other unneccesary files taking up space on your PC.

CCleaner has several functions. One cleans up temporarily stored files, and the other one cleans the registry for errors.

1. File cleaning.
Start CCleaner and choose "Cleaner" in the upper left corner and then "Run cleaner" in the lower right. You will now see a warning telling you that files will be deleted. Answer yes to this. If you want, you can uncheck things you don't want to be cleaned, like the recycling bin.

2. Register cleaning
Choose "Issues" in the left menu and then "Scan for issues" in the lower right. Ccleaner will now scan for errors or faulty entries in the computer register. When it is done you can click "Fix selected issues.." and optionally save a copy of the register before executing the repair.

Startup: msconfig
msconfig is a small program incorporated in windows, with which you can select the programs you want to start up automatically with windows. Usually there are a lot of programs that don't need to be started together with windows, and they will often make the computer slower than normal when left enabled.

Follow these steps:
You can start msconfig by going to "Start -> Run" and enter "msconfig" or pressing the windows button and "R" simultanously, then enter "msconfig" in the appearing dialogue window.

Inside msconfig choose the tab called "Startup". There you will find an overview of all the programs starting with windows. Normally, only antivirus-software and a few other essential processes need to be here.

After you are done, click "OK" and restart the computer. When you enter windows you will get a dialogue box telling you that you have made changes to the windows startup. If you see any preferred programs are missing, enter msconfig again and add them.

NB! Changing settings in msconfig may be a bit complicated, so skip this step if you feel that you don't have enough computer experience. You will probably not destroy anything if you do things wrongly, but you might unwillingly disable the startup of some essential programs like antivirus software. Then, come by our office to get help instead.

Defragmentation
Important! Do NOT defragment an SSD-disk!
When a computer has been in use for a while, files that are saved on the hard disk will be put in several locations, and not necessarily in proper order. This will increase the hard drive's access time when it is looking for data. By defragmenting your hard drive on a regular basis, the data will be reorganized in the correct order and make the hard drive work a bit faster.

To defragment, click "Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> Disk defragmenter". You can then choose which hard drive to defragment. Make sure that your computer is connected to the power outlet while it is defragmenting, since the process may take a while and it needs to finish before shutting down.

Published: 05.10.07
Updated: 18.10.12
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Tel: (64 96) 55 50

E-mail: dt@umb.no

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