Remove Unnecessary Software
Big box companies call this stuff “unnecessary software,” but the rest of us call it crapware / bloatware. It can dramatically slow down a new PC and computer manufacturers are paid to include it. To get rid of crapware / bloatware on a new PC, you can try PC Decrapifier, which will automatically remove known crapware / bloatware.
This program doesn’t know about all crapware, however — you’ll probably have to go into the Uninstall a program pane in the Windows Control Panel and uninstall the software you don’t want yourself. if you’re unsure about whether a program is crapware or whether it’s useful, try Googling its name before uninstalling it.
A Consumerist investigation big box companies doesn’t actually remove this stuff, anyway. They just delete the desktop shortcuts to it, making the PC look a bit less cluttered but run no differently. Whether you pay a big box company or not, you’ll apparently have to remove this stuff yourself — so you might as well save the money.
Update Windows
Yes, big box companies will update Windows for you, just as they’ll charge you a fee to install the latest software updates for an Xbox or PlayStation console. Both of these options are silly — like consoles, Windows is built so average users can install updates without the help of professionals. Modern versions of Windows are even set to install updates automatically out of the box, so you may not even have to do any of this updating work on your own.
You can view your Windows Update settings and manually perform updates from the Windows Update pane under System and Security in the Control Panel.
Update Applications
Yes, application updates should be automatic but most are not, especially when you don’t reboot / restart your computer frequently. We like to use a program called NiNite to update frequently used applications. Although this program is free they have a paid version that allows an agent to be installed and it will install the updates as soon as they are a stable release.
Free Up Space By Removing Files
If you’ve been using your computer for a while, you can probably free up disk space by running the excellent (and free) CCleaner utility. It will scan your computer for temporary files and other unnecessary system files you can delete, then delete them and free up space. If you really want to use a registry cleaner — and we don’t recommend it because it won’t help you at all — you can use the registry cleaner built into CCleaner.
You don’t need a PC cleaning program — CCleaner is all you need. If you don’t want to install CCleaner, you can instead use the Disk Cleanup tool built into Windows.
Optimize Startup
Big box companies promises to optimize your startup process, but you can do this yourself. On Windows 10, open the Task Manager (right-click the task bar and select Start Task Manager), and click over to the Startup tab. From here, you can manage your startup programs without installing any other software.
If you’re using an earlier version of Windows, you can use the MSConfig application to control your startup programs or use the startup program manager built into CCleaner.
Run an Antivirus Scan
The Big Box company technicians aren’t going to use any in-depth virus-scanning tools that you can’t get your hands on. They’ll use a commercially available virus scanner to scan your system for malware. Skip the payment and do this yourself. If you’re using Windows 8 or 10, you already have Windows Defender installed. If you’re using an older version of Windows, you can get the same protection by installing Microsoft’s free Microsoft Defender. If you don’t want to use Microsoft’s antivirus programs for some reason, MalwareBytes is a solid, FREE alternative — just don’t install their browser plugin.
If you’re already running an antivirus and wish you could get a second opinion from another antivirus program — just to be safe — follow these instructions to safely perform a scan with a second antivirus program. You should never have two antivirus programs installed and running in the background at the same time, as they can and will interfere with each other.
I would like to throw a plug in for Y.E.S.-Support if you you would rather just pay Your Electronic Specialist (me) to do all this for you daily for a monetary fee.
De-fragment Your Computer
Big Box companies will no doubt “optimize your hard drive” by de-fragmenting it. If you’re using a solid-state drive, you can skip the defragmenting entirely. If you’re using an older mechanical drive, you probably don’t have to worry about it because Windows runs de-fragmentation operations automatically on a schedule. If you want to de-fragment your hard drive on your own, just open the Disk De-fragment tool and click the button to run a de-fragmentation operation.
Note that this tool is now named “Optimize Drives” on Windows 10. It’s no longer the Disk De-fragment.
Restore Your PC To Factory Defaults
One of the biggest tricks up a computer technician’s toolkit is the restoring a computer to its default settings or reinstalling Windows. This will fix whatever is wrong with a computer’s software and put its software in a literally “like new” state. In the past, average people have been put off from reinstalling Windows by the scary-looking text mode installation screens that appear at the start. However, this is now much easier.
- On Windows 10, you can run a refresh or reset your PC to quickly get your its software back to its factory-default state.
- On Windows 8, you can run a refresh or reset your PC to quickly get your its software back to its factory-default state.
- On Windows 7, you can reinstall your operating system from your manufacturer’s recovery partition (no longer supported).
- On either version of Windows, you can reinstall Windows entirely from a Windows ISO you have laying around.
If you’re having computer problems and just can’t seem to solve them or you just want to wipe everything out and start fresh, this is the thing to do.
