Keeping your Windows PC speedy means ensuring that it remains free of clutter.
That’s not an easy task, since it’s all too easy to wind up with a system full of free or low-cost software that seemed necessary and useful at the time but ended up being more of a nuisance than a gift.
And it can, at times, seem almost impossible to prevent applications you need from installing all kinds of “helper” applications that slow down your bootup process and increase overall system sluggishness.
Luckily, among the many free applications out there are some that can help restore your PC to the zippy state it was in when you first brought it home.
Get Rid of Applications
The best way to start decluttering your computer — and thereby speeding it up — is to remove any programs that you no longer need. Windows, of course, provides the Add/Remove Programs feature — also called Programs and Features in recent versions — that gives you an Uninstall option for most applications you have installed.
But Add/Remove Programs is notorious for leaving bits and pieces of applications behind — including empty directories and registry entries that, cumulatively, can lengthen your PC’s bootup time. Thankfully, the VS Revo group has created a free utility called Revo Uninstaller (http://www.revouninstaller.com) that improves on Windows’ Add/Remove Programs utility in several respects.
Revo Uninstaller loads faster than the standard Windows application removal tool, and once it’s loaded, it provides you with several levels of uninstallation that Windows’ own uninstallation program does not, including “Built-in,” “Safe,” “Moderate,” and “Advanced,” with each level doing a bit more to root out all traces of an application on your computer, including identifying and removing registry entries. The uninstaller itself does a good job, but the tool also provides several other features that help you expunge unnecessary files from…