10 Ways to Make Your Laptop Run More Efficiently

Whether it’s for work or pleasure, a laptop can be a real joy. However, if your laptop  is not running as fast as it did when it was new, it may be time for some routine maintenance and cleanup.

Here are a few simple tips that you can use to make your laptop run faster, and last longer:

1. Defragment your laptop on a regular basis – at least once a week. Your computer breaks all of your files up into many pieces, and scatters them throughout your hard drive.  What defragmenting does is take all these mixed and scattered pieces, and re-organizes them neatly into a space where they can be easily accessed more quickly.
2. Cleaning your Registry is a must. One of the most important parts of Windows is the registry. Fatal errors to your laptop can occur from disfiguration or corruption of this section. The most common cause of registry problems is buggy software installation.  Keep your registry clean and consider getting and running a registry cleaner from time to time. There are many of these programs available online, and some of them are even free – Keep Your Registry Clean With Mr.Fix – Registry Cleaner.
   
   
3. Unclutter your hard drive of unnecessary programs and files such as entertainment, games, music, pictures, etc. If you allow them to add up, these files can clog the hard drive and slow it down. If your hard drive is too full, it can also cause problems with your computer’s RAM and processing capability. This can lead to significant slow-downs and frequent crashes.
4. Get good virus protection. You need to run a good anti-virus program and spyware/adware program at least once a week, if not more. Many people do this every day at start-up. Most of these programs are able to run automatically on their own schedule without your assistance, which can save you a lot of time.
5. Empty the recycle bin regularly. It doesn’t do you a lot of good to delete all that unnecessary junk if it’s just going to sit in your Recycle Bin. No one likes taking out the trash but it needs to be done!
6. Erase temporary Internet Files. This cannot be stressed or emphasized enough. Every time you go to a site on the web or open a file, a temporary copy is made and kept in your hard drive. They may be called "temporary" but they’re there for a long time. The more you have on your system, the more they’re going to slow down your laptop. Whether you’re running Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer, find out how to clear your browser’s cache, and do it regularly.
7. Get rid of unnecessary startup programs. Many programs want to start running as soon as you bootup your computer. Although these programs may not always be visible on your desktop, they’re still running in the background and sucking up your valuable RAM. This can significantly slow down the laptop as time goes by. Find out how to modify your "msconfig", and manually remove these programs from launching on startup. You won’t be removing them from your computer, just preventing them from running every time you start up your computer.
8. Keep your laptop running cool. Avoid keeping your laptop directly on a soft surface such as your bed or couch. It needs to be able to breather freely and allow air to circulate. Otherwise, your processor might overheat, causing slow-downs, crashes and even physical damage to components.
9. Uninstall unused programs. Any programs that are not being used are just taking up space on your hard drive. Please note that deleting a program folder is not the same as uninstalling. Make sure to properly remove programs using the Uninstall function in your Control Panel. Otherwise, you could just end up creating more problems.
10. Upgrade your RAM if necessary. If you have a tendency of having many large programs all opened at once, you may not have enough RAM on your system. Look into purchasing some new RAM. Prices are very reasonable, and it’s a cost-effective way to increase the speed and efficiency of your laptop.

If you follow the advice listed in this article, you can possibly get an extra 2 or 3 years of life from your laptop before you’ll need to replace it.

But remember… before doing any kind of work on your system, it’s vital that you create a backup copy of all your most important data. This way, you’ll be prepared in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.