As you open the windows and start dusting out the cobwebs of winter, Great Plains Communications wants to remind you that your electronics could probably use some cleaning as well.
Has your documents folder become the junk drawer of your computer? Or worse yet, is it your desktop that is cluttered with untouched files circa 2017? You don’t notice until your once fleeting load time has become more of a bathroom break between tasks. We have some specific steps and programs to consider when starting the process of spring cleaning your devices.
Update Software
By not keeping your software up to date, you aren’t allowing it to be the best version of itself. Skipping multiple updates can cause your loading times to increase rapidly and make you more vulnerable to malware. Make sure to keep not only your software updated, but also your virus protection. For computers with built-in virus protection, sit back and relax while your software update does all the work for you.
Erase Unwanted Files
Get rid of those research papers from college, articles you were meaning to read a year ago, and any pictures you could keep on a USB flash drive or upload to the cloud. By deleting files, you clear up storage space, making it easier and faster for your computer to find information.
Limit Startup Programs
Most programs like to automatically configure themselves to open when your computer starts up, even if you might not use it very often. After a few start to add up, the list of programs continues to grow and can prolong the rest of your boot up time. You can easily monitor or change these settings by going to the Task Manager (Ctrl-Shift-Esc) and clicking the Startup tab at the top. From there it will show you which programs are enabled to run at startup. Simply right click a program and select Disable to change the status.
Shut Down Weekly
If you are someone who likes to leave your computer on, rather than turning it off after each use, be sure to shut down or restart at least once a week. This will refresh the memory and prompt any important maintenance the computer might need.
There are multiple ways to increase performance speeds on your computer but take the time this season to find which ways work best for you.