Having an old computer can sometimes be frustrating due to degraded experience, slowed performance, sluggishness. However, buying a brand new PC can make you dig deep in your pockets.
Cleaning up your old PC will help you enhance its performance, get rid of unresponsiveness, improve the boot and shutdown speed— all without purchasing an expensive set of hardware or an entirely new machine. Curious how to revamp your old PC? Keep reading.
Part 1: Clean Up the Computer Software
1. Clean Up the Malware
Computer viruses can not only steal your confidential data, they can make your computer run incredibly slower and eat up storage space. Install reliable antivirus software and keep it up-to-date. Make sure that your antivirus runs in the background and protects your computer. It’s also a good idea to run periodic scans to identify malicious files and take actions.
2. Clean Up Duplicate Junk Files
Duplicate junk files are unneeded copies of your original files. Our regular activities such as downloading files from the Internet, transferring files from external hard disks often lead to duplication. Gradually, these files take up a significant portion of the hard disk space and affect the computing performance.
Thankfully, there are easy solutions available to deal with growing duplication. Sorcim’s Clone Files Checker is a powerful tool that helps you deal with the problem of identical files. Performing duplicate files scan once in a week will help you clean, optimize and re-organize your cluttered files library.
- Download Clone Files Checker and install it on your PC.
- Click on the Add button.
- Select the folder you want to scan for duplicates.
- Click on the Start Search button.
- Once the results are accumulated, use the Quick-Fix button.
- In the new page, select the file versions you want to retain (for example, select Newest Files to retain all newest copies of files in each duplicate group and delete the older ones).
- Click on the Permanent Delete option to start deleting duplicate files.
Note: Clone Files Checker also enables you to review the duplicate files and mark/ unmark them using different patterns of your choice. To review your files manually, select the Review & Fix option instead of the Quick-Fix.
3. Clean Up Temporary System Files, Browser Cache
As much as user activities lead to creation of junk files, your operating system and installed applications contribute significantly. For example, your Web browser builds up a cache of most frequently used websites to load them faster and improve your browsing experience. However, not cleaning the cache contents on a regular basis could result in wastage of a significant portion of your disk space. You may use an in-house tool, called Disk CleanUp, to get rid of the digital junk.
- Open This PC.
- Right-click a partition (for example, C:\).
- Select Properties.
- Click on Disk Cleanup.
- Wait a moment as Windows analyzes the temporary storage and the amount of space that can be freed-up.
- Select all the items in the list and hit OK to start cleaning them up.
Warning: Before checking the Recycle Bin option, make sure that you don’t plan to restore any files in the Recycle Bin.
Part 2: Clean Up the Hardware
1. Clean Up the LCD Screen
Touching your computer’s LCD screen occasionally can lead to visible fingerprints. Gently rub your monitor or LCD screen using a soft and dry cloth, preferably a microfiber cloth. Strongly avoid household cleaning solutions as they can cause pixel faults, get water trapped inside the LCD screen, or at worse, damage the screen.
2. Clean Up Your Internal/ External Keyboard
Regardless of the type of keyboard you use, sticky dirt, pet haris and other tiny bits of dirt can be found on it. Turn your keyboard upside down and try to rub it gently using a cotton swab.
3. Keep the Computer & Processor Well-Ventilated
It’s important to maintain sufficient air flow inside and outside of your computer’s components to avoid the processor from heating up or forcing your computer to turn off on it’s own.
Check whether the CPU fan is working correctly or not. Apply a thermal paste at least once or twice in a year to keep your processor operating at peak efficiency. If required, replace the CPU fan. You may also buy computer cooling solutions such as external PC cooling fans that are connected through USB ports. PC cooling fans can have either single or dual fans.
4. Clean Up the Dust
Check for the dust buildup on the processor fan, system board, cables and other components of your computer. The dust can cause ventilation issues and heat up your computer. Gradually, it slows down the PC and negatively affects the battery, processor, hard drive and other components.
It’s a good practice to open up your computer’s case and clean it up using short bursts of compressed air every 6 months or at least in a year. Not just the internal components, cleaning the keyboard, touchpad and mouse is also essential.