I’m always on the lookout for ways to make things more efficient – be it technology or just around the home. Last Friday I working on a client’s PC and they had over 10 unnecessary programs auto-launching when their computers were starting….no wonder they were complaining that the computer was running slow!
It’s a good idea to periodically review the programs that automatically start when your computer. I’ll bet there are some programs that you are completely unaware of – for example, many vendors are adding automatic software update tools to your computer without necessarily informing you that they are doing so. If you happen to purchase a new computer, it will quite often come pre-loaded with “trial-ware” that you may not need. In both instances, the programs can be running processes in background that delay the start of your computer.
I compared the start time of my client’s PC with all the unnecessary programs running and then without. The machine took approximately 3 minutes less time to start. Imagine – if you restarted your computer once a day for a year, you would be wasting up to 12 hours a year just watching your machine start.
When I upgraded to Windows 7 64 bit, I was really impressed with the start up speed and after 1 year, I still am. Of course, I have added some programs that inevitably end up in the auto-launch and have slowed down slightly my start up time but I’m happy to no longer be waiting 3 minutes for my machine to start.
Think this is a Windows only problem? Don’t be fooled Macs have the same issues too. That’s why it’s a good idea to perform regular maintenance to ensure you machine, be it Windows or Mac, is running at its best.
Leave a comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.