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  

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     It Takes Longer for Your PC to Start     It Takes Longer to Do Familiar Tasks     Your Computer Gets Sluggish When You Have Two or More Windows         Open at a Time     Your Computer Pauses for Long Stretches at a Time–or Freezes Up Signs That Your Computer Really Isn’t Getting Slower–Even if You Think it Is     New Programs Run Slowly     Your Computer Has Trouble Running the Latest Games     You Upgrade to Windows Vista and Your PC Gets Sluggish     Internet Sites Take Forever to Load     It Takes a Long Time to Copy Files Across Your Network Quick Fix: Five Quick Steps to Improve Your PC’s Performance     Quick Step 1: Reboot Your Computer     Quick Step 2: Delete Unnecessary Files     Quick Step 3: Remove Unused Programs     Quick Step 4: Defragment Your Hard Disk     Quick Step 5: Add More Memory with ReadyBoost The Bottom Line   2 Before You Start: Protect Your Data Potential Problems: What Can Go Wrong When Speeding Up Your PC     The Wrong Programs Are Uninstalled     Valuable Data Gets Deleted     A Registry Edit Goes Bad     You Have to Reformat Your Hard Drive (and Reinstall Windows)     Hard Disk Maintenance Fails     A Hardware Upgrade Doesn’t Take Backing Up and Restoring Your Valuable Data     Choosing a Backup Device     Backing Up in Windows Vista     Restoring in Windows Vista     Backing Up and Restoring in Windows XP Protecting Your System with System Restore     Setting System Restore Points     Restoring Your System The Bottom Line   Part II: Simple Speedups Anyone Can Do   3 Removing Spyware and Viruses Dealing with Computer Viruses     How Computer Viruses Slow Down Your System     How to Catch a Virus     How Do You Know If a Virus Is Slowing Down Your System?     Preventing Virus Attacks with Safe Computing     Protecting Your System with Antivirus Software     Speeding Up Your System After a Virus Infection Dealing with Spyware     How Spyware Slows Down Your System     How to Become Infected with Spyware     Is Spyware Slowing Down Your PC?     Avoiding Spyware-Infested Websites and Programs     Speeding Up Your PC with Antispyware Programs     Removing Stubborn Spyware Programs The Bottom Line   4 Cleaning Out Unnecessary Programs Removing Unwanted Programs and Files from Your Hard Disk     Why a Crowded Hard Disk Slows Down Your System     How Much Free Space Do You Need?     Discovering All the Files Stored on Your Hard Drive     Understanding Bundleware How to Free Up Valuable Hard Disk Space–and Speed Up Your PC     Deleting Bundleware with PC Decrapifier     Deleting Unwanted Files with the Disk Cleanup Utility     Deleting Files Manually     Emptying the Recycle Bin     Archiving Little-Used Files     Uninstalling Unwanted Programs Removing Unwanted Programs and Processes from Your Computer’s Memory     How Too Many Programs in Memory Slow Down Your PC     Discovering Programs That Load Automatically–Without Your Awareness     Which Startup Programs Should You Delete? How to Get Rid of Autoloading Programs     Deleting Startup Programs from the Startup Folder     Deleting Startup Programs from the Registry     Deleting Startup Programs with the System Configuration Utility     Deleting Startup Programs with Windows Defender Removing Programs That Slow Down Your PC Speeding Up Microsoft Outlook The Bottom Line   5 Optimizing Your Hard Disk Defragmenting Your Hard Disk     Understanding Disk Fragmentation     How Disk Defragmenting Works     Using the Disk Defragmenter Checking Your Hard Disk for Errors     How ScanDisk Works     Using ScanDisk to Speed Up Your PC Using Other Disk-Optimization Tools     Diskeeper     Fix-It Utilities Professional     Norton SystemWorks     PC Tools Disk Suite     PerfectDisk     System Mechanic     WinUtilities The Bottom Line   6 Making Windows Go Faster Speeding Up Windows (XP and Vista)     Install the Latest Drivers     Delete Unused Fonts     Turn Off System Sounds     Don’t Look for Bootable Media on Startup     Optimize Windows’Display Settings     Reconfigure Processor Priority     Eliminate Background Services     Disable File Indexing     Optimize Virtual Memory     Turn Off System Restore Speeding Up Windows XP     Reboot Often     Don’t Browse Network Folders     Improve Windows XP’s Swap File Performance Speeding Up Windows Vista     Disable Windows Vista’s Aero Interface     Remove Windows Vista’s Sidebar     Turn Off Windows Vista’s User Account Control     Turn Off Unnecessary Windows Vista Features     Use ReadyBoost The Bottom Line   Part III: Power Speedups for Power Users   7 Cleaning Up the Windows Registry Understanding the Windows Registry     How the Registry Works     Organizing the Registry Editing the Registry     Launching the Registry Editor     Editing and Adding Keys, Subkeys, and Values Cleaning Up the Registry for Faster Performance     How Registry Cleaners Work     Choosing a Registry Cleaner     Using a Registry Cleaner Tweaking the Registry     Speed Up Windows’Menus     Close Programs Faster on Shutdown     Disable Low Disk Checking     Move the Windows Kernel into Memory 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…     Obtain the Windows Installation Disc     Locate Program Installation Discs     Back Up All Your Files Performing a Clean Install of Windows XP Performing a Clean Install of Windows Vista After the Clean Install: Reinstalling Programs and Data     Restoring Files and Settings in Windows XP     Restoring Files and Settings in Windows Vista     Reinstalling Your Favorite Programs 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     What’s on the Back     What’s Inside Does an Upgrade Make Sense? What Can You Upgrade? The Bottom Line   10 Adding More Memory Understanding Different Types of Memory     Random Access Memory–Your PC’s Main Memory     Read-Only Memory: Permanent Storage for Important Instructions     Flash Memory–External Memory Storage     Virtual Memory–Supplemental Memory on Your Hard Disk How Memory Affects PC Speed     How Your PC Uses Memory     Using Virtual Memory     How More Memory Speeds Up Your PC     How Much Memory Do You Need? Adding Instant Memory to Windows Vista with ReadyBoost     How ReadyBoost Works     Speeding Up Your PC with ReadyBoost Adding More Memory to a Desktop PC     Choosing the Right Memory Module     Choosing the Right Type of Memory Chip     Choosing the Right Memory Size     Shopping for Memory Upgrades     Performing the Upgrade Adding More Memory to a Notebook PC     Shopping for Notebook Memory     Performing the Upgrade The Bottom Line   11 Adding More Disk Space How Hard Disk Storage Affects Your PC’s Speed     Supplementing RAM with Virtual Memory     Enabling Access to Programs and Data Understanding Hard Drive Capacity     Viewing the Capacity of Your Hard Drive     Determining the Ideal Hard Disk Capacity Shopping for a New Hard Drive     Internal or External?     Capacity     Spin Rate     Data Transfer Rate     Access Time     External Connection Type     Internal Interface Type     RAID or Not to RAID?     Disk Drive Manufacturers Adding a New External Hard Drive     Connecting the New Drive     Freeing Up Space on Your Existing Drive Upgrading an Existing Internal Hard Drive     Planning the Upgrade     Getting to Know the Hard Drive     Replacing the 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     Resolution     Memory     3D Acceleration     DirectX Support     Connectors     Slots     Video Card Manufacturers Making the Upgrade Configuring Your Display Properties The Bottom Line   13 Upgrading Your System’s CPU Understanding the CPU     What a CPU Does     Factors That Affect CPU Speed Shopping for a New CPU     Compatibility Is an Issue     Determining Your Current CPU and Motherboard     Finding a Compatible CPU Performing a CPU Upgrade     Preparing for the Upgrade     Performing the Upgrade Replacing Your Entire Motherboard     Preparing for the Upgrade     Making the Upgrade 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     Clearing Your Cache     Clearing Your Cache Automatically     Changing the Size of Your Cache     Deleting Cookies     Avoiding Cookies Reconfiguring Key Settings     Don’t Display Graphics     Disable ClearType     Turn Off the Phishing Filter     Disable RSS Feeds Uninstalling Unnecessary Add-Ons     Remove Third-Party Toolbars     Remove the SSVHelper Class Add-On     Remove Other Add-Ons Browsing Faster with an Alternate DNS Service     What Is a DNS Server–and How Does It Affect Connection Speed?     Choosing a Third-Party DNS Service     Configuring Your System for 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?     Dial-Up Versus Broadband Connections     Measuring Your Connection’s Speed     What to Do If Your Speeds Are Low The Simple Speedup: Upgrading to a Faster Internet Connection     Choosing Your Broadband Plan     Making the Switch The Bottom Line   16 Speeding Up Your Home Network Troubleshooting a Slow Wireless Connection     Check Your Signal Strength     Move Closer to the Router     Don’t Hide Your Adapter or Router     Move Devices That Might Cause Interference Upgrading to a Faster Wireless Network     Understanding Wi-Fi Protocols     Choosing a New Router     Installing a New Router     Upgrading Your Wireless Adapter Extending Wireless Network Range     Adding an External Antenna     Adding a Wireless Extender 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?     You’ve Tried Everything Else–and Nothing Seems to Work     You’re Not a Technical Wizard     Upgrades Are Too Expensive     It’s a Notebook PC–You Can’t Upgrade It     It’s Just Too Old What New Applications Might Demand a New PC?     Video-Editing Programs     Photo-Editing Programs     PC Games     Upgrades to Existing Programs     Multitasking     Windows Vista A Few Other Reasons to Buy a New PC     Your Old PC Is on Its Last Legs     You Want to Switch from a Desktop to a Notebook     You Want a Smaller/Lighter/More Efficient Notebook     You Just Want a New One Benchmarking PC Performance The Bottom Line   18 How Fast a PC Do You Need? Understanding Key Components     CPU     Memory     Hard Disk     Video Card     Windows Version Choosing a Form Factor: Desktop Versus Notebook     Notebook PCs: Pros and Cons     Different Types of Notebook PCs What Kind of Computing Do You Do? Choosing the Right Features for Your Needs     The Home/Office Computing PC     The Digital Music and Movies PC     The Digital Photography PC     The Video Movie Editing PC     The Gaming PC 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