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Windows Resources |
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| Subject | Detail |
| Uninstall software you are not using | The correct uninstall process for software can vary from one program to another, but the most common is to use the windows uninstall. (Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs | Install/Uninstall select the program | Add/Remove and follow the prompts). |
| TEMP folder | Programs sometimes store temporary information in a TEMP folder. Before a program closes, it usually deletes this information. You can safely delete temporary files that have not been modified in over a week. Especially files that start with the ~ character. Windows 98 is good for this, as it offers the disk cleanup all under one button. (My Computer | Right Click on C: | Properties | Disk Cleanup). |
| Windows programs | Free up disk space by removing Windows programs that you don't use. Eg the Windows Imaging program is very rarely used, and uses approximately 4MB of disk space. Uninstall these under the Windows Setup. (Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs | Windows Setup | Select type of program, eg Accessories | Details and deselect the programs you want to remove | Click OK). If you decide that you want to reinstall a program, simply repeat the process, but select the program you want to install. (You may need your Windows CD for this). |
| Empty the Recycle bin | Right Click on the Desktop Icon, and choose "Empty Recycle bin" |
| Run the Windows Disk Defragmenter | This reorganises programs on the disk so that they load and run faster |
| Search your hard disk for large files | Use the Windows "Start | Find | Files or Folders | Advanced | Size is At Least and enter an amount eg 1000Kb | Find Now". This will search your hard disk for files larger the 1Mb. Browse through the files, and if you see any files that you created and don't want, then you can delete them. This is simply an easy way to quickly search for large files. You can use other features in the Find Files program, such as specifying *.DOC and entering dates of more than a year ago etc, as well |
| Purchase a new Hard disk | This can be installed as an extra hard disk, or to replace your existing. New disks are larger and faster than old disks. |
| Purchase more RAM. | Installing extra RAM allows the computer to store more temporary information in memory while it is running. This means that it doesn't have to spend as much time accessing the hard disk, and so will run faster. Depending on the type of memory, you could install more from around $50 to $60 |
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