Your Windows operating system uses a number of services to support the many features of Windows. Third party software will add even more services to your system. Your computer runs slower and may experience a slow-startup process (often taking 10-15 minutes) as a result of too many support services consuming resources and causing a delay during initialization.

How do I tell which services are running?

You can determine which Windows Services are running on your system by pressing ALT/CTRL/DEL and entering the Task Manager Screen.  Once you have entered the Task Manager Utility, select the ‘Services’ tab at the top of the dialogue box as shown below:

Different Windows versions offer different power settings to make your PC less of a power hog. Some of them are automatic and some are adjustable, but all will cut the power usage of your PC or laptop when it’s not being actively used. Let’s take a look at some of the power settings.

Standby Mode (XP)

Standby Mode in Windows involves cutting the power to your hard drive and monitor. Your computer is still on, but drawing a very small amount of power. When your PC or laptop goes into standby, your data is stored in RAM (random access memory). This allows it to “recover” or turn back on pretty quickly when you press a key or hit the power button. This is a mode that laptops take advantage of because it helps to conserve battery life.

The drawback to standby is in case of a power outage, you will lose your data because it is only stored in RAM.

The amount of disk space and memory that PCs need to function quickly and efficiently is always increasing. While there are options for increasing the RAM and hard drive capacities of your PC to both increase disk space and increase speed, Microsoft has developed a handy and less expensive option for increasing your PC’s speed with the ReadyBoost tool.

Introduced with the Vista operating system and also available on the new 7 operating system, ReadyBoost allows Windows users to utilize space from external hard drives to increase the speed of their PCs. If you use one of these operating systems and frequently experience slow processing speeds you will want to learn how to use this great new tool!

Keeping your computer running quickly and efficiently is an important part of not only maintaining your PC, but also makes using it less frustrating and more productive to use. Here are some great tips for making your PC run faster!

Step 1: Cleanup your Hard Drive

The easiest way to speed up your PC, and also at the same time free up some disk space on your computer is by giving your hard drive a cleanup. There are a few ways that you can perform this including deleting files you no longer use, backing up files and media that you don’t often use, and uninstalling programs that are no longer useful or that have newer versions installed. You can also use the Windows Cleanup Tool. To use this handy tool…