As time progresses, computers will start to gather dust, slow down and become unstable. These tricks will help you bring them back up to speed
Prolonged usage of electronics typically end up worse for the wear than otherwise. Hardware gets worn out, and the software experience suffers with new installation processes and increased levels of driver utilization. That said, these signs of old age do not necessarily have to mean that you need to switch to new hardware. With the help of these tips, you can ensure that your devices look and function brand new, even after months or years of usage.
The simplest and quickest tricks involve software optimisations for PCs, which we’ll get to first. Problems such as incorrect BIOS settings, auto boots and unnecessarily installed software can be solved using the tools that can be found on the internet. When dusty and worn-out hardware starts slowing down the system, you should use cleaning agents and tools to make the cooling system fully functional.
When it comes to Android smartphones and tablets, there are effective clean-up operations for the software, the cache and the memory space, which can fix many issues and solve many problems. Since mobile devices have no moving parts and are hard or impossible to open, the only thing you can do on the hardware side is replace the battery and implement mechanical protective measures to protect the device against further damage.
Finding and Eliminating PC Issues
1 Optimise BIOS
During the boot-up phase, call up the BIOS page by pressing the corresponding key on the keyboard. In here, locate and disable the RAM Test option by enabling the QuickBoot option in the BIOS menu. Make sure that your boot drive (usually C:) is set as the priority boot drive. Also ensure that your drive is set to run on AHCI mode as well, for faster boot times.
2 Clear Out Startup Processes
One of the major reasons why computers start up slow is because of extra startup processes. In order to speed up the boot procedure, open up the windows search menu with ‘‘Winkey”+”R”, and type in ‘‘msconfig”. Click on the ‘‘Services” tab and and click on the ‘‘Block all Microsoft Service” option and click ‘‘Deactivate all”. Reactivate only important services, such as the ones belonging to your anti-virus software and tools that should always be running. Click ‘‘OK” and then restart your computer.
3 Clean Up Your Harddrive
Storage drives, such as SSDs in particular harm the performance when they are almost full. Install and launch the CCleaner program. The tool cleans up several system and temporary directories that one usually doesn’t even think about. After the ‘‘Analysis” has been completed, you should get rid of all the tick marks that have been set for your standard browser. The WinDirStat can then be used to find and manually delete the largest space hogs.
4 Uninstall Useless Software
Installation of one-use software is also a common cause for PC slowdown. Accumulated software installations can be tedious to get rid of from the Control Panel. In this case, we recommend using IObit uninstaller, which allows you to select several software and delete them all at once.
5 Adjust Fan Control
Whilst fans help dissipate heat from PCs and notebooks, it’s also one of the major reasons dust buildup occurs. To change the fan settings from Windows, you need to access the ‘‘Processor Power Management” settings, which can be found in Control Panel under ‘‘Power Options > Edit Power Plan > Change Advanced Power Settings”.
Refreshing Your PC
1 Cleaning The Vents
There’s one sign of aging that affects many, if not all computers. With PC cooling systems, a fan pushes air through vents. In time, these vents are bound to be congested with dust, which means the fans won’t be able to cool off components efficiently, forcing them to spin faster, which in turn results in a very noisy fan, higher temperatures and a CPU that runs at lower clock speeds, due to thermal throttling.
When the PC has been opened, a vacuum cleaner can be used to remove the dust. However, ensure that the cooling fan is held in place, in order to prevent its rotation from subjecting the mainboard to an over-voltage. Notebooks often have to be completely disassembled, so that the vents can be cleared up.
2 Taking Care of The Battery
Notebook batteries suffer a capacity loss during each charging process, even partial charging processes. The battery should always be charged completely, discharged and re-charged at least once a year. Thanks to this, the charging electronics can measure the remaining capacity and adapt themselves to it, which optimises the charge control system and the display accuracy of the remaining runtime.
Some notebook manufacturers supply a tool that guarantees an uninterrupted and complete calibration cycle. Alternatively, this function could be implemented within the BIOS of the notebook. With the help of battery management tools, you can, among other things, configure the system such that the charging process only begins when the battery level has already sunk to 90 percent. This reduces the number of charging cycles that take place during network operations. Furthermore, the charging process should be halted at the 97 percent mark, since the last few percentage points subject the battery to an especially heavy load. If a new battery needs to be used, you should obtain an original replacement part, as they are usually the most long-lasting.
Cleaning Android Devices
1 Software Updates
New Android operating systems typically run smoother than previous generation ones. You should check the About section in the Settings menu to check which version of Android you’re running, and then check the Software Update menu to see if there are new updates for your phone.
If you’re running on anything lower than Android 4.1, you should consider upgrading to a new custom ROM. To delete apps that you rarely use, simply open the Google Play Store, head to “My Apps” > “Installed Apps” and uninstall apps that you no longer need, especially if they are launched automatically during restart. Use the “Update All” function to update all the remaining apps.
2 Clear The Cache
If individual apps are starting to give you problems repeatedly, try accessing “Settings” > “Apps” menus and tap the app in question and see if emptying the cache solves the problem. If it doesn’t, use the “Delete Data” option which resets the app to its factory settings. To empty the cache for all the apps, go into the “Storage” settings menu, and the option to clear all cached data should be there.
3 Clean Up Memory
The DiskUsage app from the Play Store will help you find the largest memory hogs on your Android device by providing a graphical representation of the directories and files. Tapping on these items will allow you to delete the files immediately.
Preventing Damage To Your Computer
Clean Air: The amount of dust that gets into the air inlets located at the lower sides of PCs and notebooks should be kept to a minimum. You should ensure that these devices are kept on flat, clean surfaces – not on carpets (PCs) or sofas (notebooks). The exterior of the device should be cleaned regularly. This preserves the appearance of the computer and helps prevent congestion.
Ventilation: Insufficient air supply results in the components being heated up, which in turn leads to down-sampling and subjects the electronics to an increased degree of wear and tear. You should not push the PC into excessively narrow gaps or use it as a storage surface.
Shocks: Sudden impacts are deadly for hard drives that are in operation. Consequently, you should be very careful when you are moving notebooks and USB hard drives, especially if the devices are being placed on hard surfaces.
Thunderstorms: Lightning strikes can subject power lines, telephone lines and others to over-voltages. In the worst-case scenario, this can destroy PCs and notebooks at the same time. To avoid this, use an over-voltage protection mechanism for the socket.
Protecting Mobile Devices
Mobile phones and tablets are designed to be robust, but are still susceptible to wear and tear, as they are always handled and used, and can still be accidentally dropped, resulting in damaged parts. These are some important points to keep in mind when getting your mobile devices maintained.
Protection from damage: Keys that are placed in the same pocket as a phone will eventually scratch your phone’s display unless you have a screen protector on. It’s also recommended that you buy a case for the phone, as insurance in the event that you accidentally drop your phone. Bumpers and screen protectors offer extra protection, and you should also consider them for tablets, especially if they’re being used by children, or if you’re bringing them along for trips.
Protection from heat and moisture: High-temperature operations, or leaving your mobile devices in the car can leave lasting damage on your devices, especially the battery. In case this happens, you should leave the device switched off until it cools down to room temperature. That said, the battery charge lasts for a shorter time if the device is operating under low temperatures. In this case, the danger is that condensed water may seep in when you return to warmer climates. In such cases, if the insides of your phone have moisture in them, turn the device off, open the covers and let it dry.