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10 Essential tricks for a speedier Windows 11 experience

Objective — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 20:00:03 +0000

As a business owner, you’re always searching for ways to streamline your workflow and increase productivity. One way to boost efficiency is by optimizing your computer’s performance. Whether you’re already a Windows 11 user or just planning to upgrade, these tips will help you get the most out of your operating system and save precious time.

1. Restart your PC regularly

It may seem like a simple solution, but restarting your computer regularly can do wonders for its performance. This is because rebooting clears out temporary files and restarts essential system processes, giving your computer a clean slate to work from.

2. Use Microsoft Edge instead of other web browsers

While Google Chrome may be the preferred browser for many users, switching to Microsoft Edge can help improve your computer’s speed. This is because Edge is optimized for Windows 11 and uses less memory than other browsers.

3. Disable startup programs

Many programs are set to automatically start when you boot up your computer, which can slow down the startup process and consume memory and processing power. To speed things up, open Task Manager and click Startup apps. Right-click on the programs you don’t need to automatically start and select Disable.

4. Run automatic Windows maintenance

Windows 11 has a built-in maintenance feature that automatically checks for and fixes issues that can slow down your computer. This includes tasks like disk optimization, software updates, and security scans. Ensure this feature is enabled by opening the Control Panel and selecting System and Security > Security and Maintenance.

In the Maintenance section, find Automatic Maintenance and select Start maintenance if you want to run it. If you want to adjust the schedule, click Change maintenance settings, select a convenient time for you, and check the box next to “Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time” if necessary. Click OK to save the changes.

5. Uninstall unused programs

Over time, your computer may accumulate too many programs that no longer serve a purpose. These can take up space and resources in the background, burdening your system. To free up space and speed things up, regularly go through your list of installed programs and uninstall any that are no longer necessary.

6. Turn off search indexing

Windows 11 has a powerful search feature that can quickly find files and programs on your computer. However, this feature can also slow down your system if it’s constantly indexing files in the background. To turn off search indexing, open the Control Panel and select Indexing Options. Click Modify and uncheck locations you don’t want to be indexed or click Show all locations to turn off indexing for all files. Then, click OK.

7. Disable visual effects

Windows 11 has many visual effects, such as animations and shadows, that can make your system look great but also use up resources. By disabling these effects, you can free up resources and possibly speed up your computer.

To do this, open the Control Panel and select System and Security. Under the System section, click Allow remote access to open the System Properties dialog box. Go to the Advanced tab and click Settings in the Performance section. Under the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance or manually uncheck options you don’t need.

8. Change the power settings

By default, Windows 11 is set to balance power and performance. This means that it will adjust settings depending on whether your computer is plugged in or running on battery power. However, if you’re primarily using your computer for work or other tasks that require high performance, it may be beneficial to change the power settings to High Performance.

To do so, go to the Control Panel and select Hardware and Sound > Power Options, or right-click on the battery icon in the taskbar and select Power Options. Then, choose High Performance.

9. Turn off Windows tips and tricks

While Windows 11 has a helpful feature that provides users with tips and tricks to get the most out of their system, this can also drain your computer’s resources. To disable these tips, go to Settings > System > Notifications and scroll down to Additional settings. In that section, uncheck the “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows” box.

10. Disable Game Mode

Game Mode is a useful feature that optimizes your Windows 11 PC’s performance for gaming. But if you don’t use your computer to play games, it may be better to turn off this feature to free up resources. To do this, open Settings and go to Gaming > Game Mode. Then, toggle the slider to the Off position.

By following these 10 simple tips, you can speed up your Windows 11 experience and make sure your computer is running at its best. Remember to regularly maintain your system and adjust settings as needed to keep things running smoothly.

For help optimizing your Windows 11 experience or troubleshooting any issues with performance, reach out to our experts.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

A guide to eliminating clutter on your PC

Objective — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 20:00:09 +0000

Managing clutter on your desktop and hard drive is essential for maintaining peak computer performance. In this article, we will explore five common types of PC clutter that can slow down your computer and make it challenging to locate files. We’ll also provide you with practical tips to effectively eliminate this digital junk, streamlining your computer’s functionality and improving your overall work efficiency.

5 Types of PC clutter Your Windows computer may be running slower than expected due to five distinct types of clutter:

Windows updates: Failed update downloads and corrupted files can accumulate on your computer, negatively impacting performance. Identifying and removing these unwanted files is crucial to maintaining a clean system.

Registry bloat: Records of every file you delete or action you perform in Windows are stored in the computer’s registry. Over time, the registry can become cluttered, leading to decreased efficiency. Clearing unnecessary entries is essential to optimize your PC’s speed.

Error logs: Windows keeps log files whenever software crashes or encounters processing errors. Accumulation of these error logs can significantly slow down your computer. Regularly cleaning these logs is necessary for smoother performance.

User bloat: Large quantities of unorganized files, particularly on your desktop or in other directories, contribute to clutter. Organizing and removing unnecessary files will help enhance your computer’s responsiveness.

Bloatware: Unwanted preinstalled software, such as trial antivirus programs or games, occupies valuable resources like the central processing unit, random access memory, and storage. Moreover, bloatware poses security risks and may introduce malicious apps that compromise your personal information.

How to remove PC clutter To effectively eliminate the five types of PC clutter and restore your Windows 10 PC to optimal performance, follow these simple steps:

Run Disk Cleanup Running Disk Cleanup is an effective way to remove hidden junk files and free up valuable disk space on your Windows PC. Just follow these steps:

Open the Start menu and type “disk cleanup.”
Select Disk Cleanup from the list of results.
Select the drive you want to clean.
Click OK.
Under “Files to delete,” select the file types you want to get rid of.
Click OK.

The Disk Cleanup tool will begin removing the selected files, helping to reduce clutter and improve your computer’s performance. After completion, you should notice increased available disk space and potentially enhanced system responsiveness.

Delete programs you don’t use To free up memory and storage space on your Windows PC, it’s essential to uninstall programs you no longer use or need. You can do this by following these steps:

Type “add or remove programs” in the search box located on the taskbar.
From the search results, select Add or remove programs to open the Apps & Features settings.
You will see a list of installed programs on your computer. Scroll through the list and identify the programs you want to remove. Look for programs that you rarely use or are no longer necessary.
Click on the program you’d like to uninstall.
Click the Uninstall button that appears below the program’s name.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the uninstallation process.
Repeat the above steps for any other programs you wish to remove.

Whether it’s decluttering your PC, optimizing settings, or resolving performance bottlenecks, our experienced professionals have got you covered. Give us a call today to experience the benefits of a lightning-fast and smoothly running computer.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

How to perform a clean install of Windows 11

Objective — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 21:00:21 +0000

Performing a clean install of Windows 11 allows you to start fresh with a completely new operating system that is free of old settings, unnecessary files, and potential malware. It also gives you the opportunity to upgrade your machine if you’ve been using an older version of Windows. Doing so can give your device faster boot times, improved stability, and enhanced protection against malicious software. Here are the different methods you can take to perform a clean install of Windows 11.

1. USB drive

The simplest way to perform a clean install of Windows 11 is to create a bootable USB drive with Microsoft’s media creation tool. This requires an 8 GB or larger USB drive and a valid Windows 11 Product Key (or digital license).

Once the USB drive is created, insert it into your computer and reboot. If your PC does not automatically boot from the USB drive, you will need to access the BIOS menu by pressing the appropriate key during startup (e.g., DEL, F12, etc.) and change the boot settings.

When you boot through the USB, you’ll be guided through the Windows 11 installation process. If you are reinstalling Windows 11, you won’t need to enter a product key. You simply need to accept the license terms, select the hard drive you want to install Windows 11 on, and follow the onscreen instructions. Keep in mind that deleting a drive partition or reinstalling Windows 11 on a specific drive will erase all the data stored on that drive.

During the installation, you’ll have to select the language and region, name your PC, determine whether the device is for personal or professional use, set up your Microsoft account, and customize your privacy settings.

2. ISO file

You can install Windows 11 by downloading an ISO file from the Microsoft support site. When downloaded, right-click the ISO file, click Mount > Virtual drive. Then, double-click the setup.exe file to begin the Windows 11 installation. Go through the installation guide and link the device to your Microsoft account.

3. Reset PC from recovery settings

If you already have Windows 11 installed but are experiencing issues like frequent system freezes, slow boot times, and more, you may be able to fix the problem by resetting your PC from the recovery settings. This method doesn’t work if you’re planning to upgrade from an older version of Windows.

To reset your PC, go to Settings > System > Recovery. In the recovery options, click on the Reset this PC button, click the remove everything option, and then select local reinstall. You can also configure the reinstallation options and choose whether to wipe just data, delete files from all drives, or download Windows from the cloud. Finally, press confirm and reset to reinstall Windows 11.

4. Advanced startup options

If you’re unable to boot your PC normally, you can use the advanced startup options to perform a clean install of Windows 11. To access the advanced startup options, press and hold the power button on your PC to do a hard reboot. Do this at least three times until the screen says “Automatic Repair.”

When you see this message, go to Advanced Options > Troubleshoot > Reset this PC > Remove everything . Select either cloud download or local reinstall, and choose whether to remove only files or format the entire drive. You’ll then be guided through the setup process as if you were doing a clean install from a USB drive.

Note that this method only works if you already have Windows 11 installed on the device.

Reinstalling Windows 11 can be a daunting process, which is why you can always consult with us to help you with the process. We have experience in performing clean installations of Windows 11 and can help you avoid any potential problems. Call us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Windows 11 settings you should turn off

Objective — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 21:00:35 +0000

Do you feel like your online activity is being spied on? That’s because it probably is — but not by cybercriminals as you might think. It’s more likely that it’s your operating system that’s tracking your information. Learn more about Windows 11’s not-so-private settings and how to fix them to ensure your privacy.

Turn off personalized advertising

Windows 11 features targeted ads as suggestions, recommendations, and tips on your device’s user interface. The operating system personalizes the ads a user sees based on computer activity and browser history. While personalized ads may direct users to helpful content, they can also be a hindrance to their productivity. To remove these distracting ads, here’s what you should do:

Click Start > Settings > Privacy & security.
Go to Diagnostics and feedback.
Find the Tailored experiences menu, and toggle it off.
Then, go back to Privacy & security and select General.
From there, turn off the “Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID” option.

You can also remove ads in Windows 11 notifications by doing the following:

Go to Start > Settings > System.
Select Notifications.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and disable the “Get tips and suggestions when it uses Windows” and “Offer suggestions on how I can set up my device options”.

Disable Cortana

Cortana is a personal assistant that allows users to set reminders, schedule events, and send emails, among other tasks. Every time you use Cortana, it collects information about your computer activity — “learning” it, so to speak — to improve user experience. But if you find this feature intrusive, you can disable Cortana completely with these steps:

Go to Settings > Apps > Apps and Features.
Find Cortana and open Advanced options by clicking on the three-dot icon.
Turn off the Run at log-in option.

Change Microsoft’s Edge settings

The Microsoft Edge web browser is chock full of features, such as web experience personalization and typing prediction. Such features may make you uncomfortable since they all send back data to Microsoft. Here’s how to turn them off:

Open Edge and click on the menu icon (three dots) in the upper-right corner.
Next, click on Settings > Privacy and services. Scroll down and switch on the “Send ‘Do Not Track’ requests” option.

There’s also a bunch of Privacy and Services settings that you may want to disable, such as tracking services, navigation error resolution, blocking potentially unwanted apps, and more.

For more tips on how to safeguard your security and privacy, drop us a line today. Our experts will be more than happy to help!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Want a faster Windows 10 PC? Try these 4 simple tweaks

Objective — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 20:00:20 +0000

Windows 10 has no shortage of performance improvements over previous versions of Microsoft’s desktop operating system, but it can be further optimized. Learn how to speed up your computer by making these four simple tweaks.

Prevent programs from launching at startup

Windows makes certain programs readily available by loading them at startup. While Microsoft likely has good intentions for doing this, this auto-launch feature slows down your computer. To fix this issue, you’ll need to adjust your settings.

Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc. On the Startup tab, select a program you don’t want launching at startup — such as a media player or an optional accessory that doesn’t have to be active all the time — then click Disable. To be on the safe side, however, keep essential apps such as antivirus software enabled.

Get rid of useless applications

Having too many programs installed on your computer uses up valuable memory and hard disk space. This slows down your machine and makes it work harder than necessary. Quickly uninstall programs you don’t need by following these steps:

Tap the Windows key on your keyboard and type “Add or remove programs” in the search bar. Selecting the first result opens a System settings window.
Under Apps & features, you will see all the apps stored on your computer.
Select the program/s you no longer want, and click Uninstall.

You’ll then be guided through several steps to complete the uninstallation process.

Organize your disks

It’s important to regularly clean out your computer of data you don’t need. Thankfully, Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup tool makes it easy to do so.

To find the tool, tap on the Windows button on your keyboard and type “Disk Cleanup.” If you click on the first result, the tool will launch and automatically find files that take up too much memory space, such as temporary internet and system memory dump files. Make sure that the checkbox before each option is selected, then click OK to send these files to your Recycle Bin.

Turn off apps running in the background

You may not know it, but there are a lot of programs that run in the background as you use your computer. Even when you’re not actively using them, these apps run in the background so they can receive information, send notifications, and download and install updates. However, they also slow down your CPU. Disabling these apps will reduce the burden on your computer and speed it up.

To find out what programs are running in the background, press the Windows button on your keyboard, type “Background apps,” and hit Enter. Find the programs you don’t need running and toggle the On-Off button.

By following these four steps, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your PC speed. If you want to learn how to optimize your Windows system further or need assistance with other Microsoft products, give us a call.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Free up disk space on your PC with Disk Cleanup

Objective — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 21:00:34 +0000

Hard disk drive capacities are increasing exponentially over time, yet somehow they always seem to fill up. This rings even more true for solid-state drives, which cost more but offer less storage space than conventional mechanical hard disks. If you’re brushing against your PC’s maximum storage capacity, using Disk Cleanup should help you free up space by getting rid of unimportant files and programs cluttering up your hard drive.

What is Disk Cleanup?

Disk cleanup is a tool that scans your computer’s hard drive for files that you no longer use. These include temporary files, cached web pages, and deleted items stored in your system’s Recycle Bin. Unless you periodically purge these files, they accumulate over time and take up a lot of space on your PC.

Disk Cleanup categorizes the identified files as well as the amount of storage space that each category occupies within your hard drive. From these items, you decide which ones to delete according to their importance to you and the amount of storage space that you’ll be able to recover.

How to use Disk Cleanup

In Windows 10, you can access Disk Cleanup by going to the Start menu and scrolling to Windows Administrative Tools.

Once opened, this tool automatically selects Drive C (though you can switch to other drives) and shows a list of file locations containing files that can be removed.

Each file location has a corresponding checkbox that needs to be selected in order to delete the files it contains. Upon clicking a file location, a description of the files it contains will appear at the bottom of the window so that you’ll know exactly the types of files you’ll be removing.

When Disk Cleanup is finished, you’ll need to restart your system to remove unnecessary Windows Update files. Remember, the Disk Cleanup tool only removes Update files that are no longer needed, hence usually very few are deleted.

The benefits of Disk Cleanup

Using the Disk Cleanup tool can help improve your computer’s performance by:

Maximizing your drive’s memory – The ultimate benefits of cleaning up your disk are maximized computer storage space, increased speed, and improved functionality. These enable you to use your device to run at peak performance levels.
Making your computer more reliable – Some programs that are downloaded through the internet may be infected with viruses that can decrease your computer’s reliability. The Disk Cleanup tool can clean your computer and rid it of unwanted programs as well.
Saving time and increasing efficiency – The traditional way of opening folders to find and delete old files may be sufficient for some, but not for those who prioritize productivity. Although files can be deleted manually, Disk Cleanup can do this much faster.

The Disk Cleanup tool is as simple to launch and operate as any basic program. If you are looking to further improve the speed of your systems or are interested in other tech solutions, contact us today to learn more.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.