Clean up computer of old files, programs, and settings or it may cause the system to slow down.
Yes, the chances of rebooting, crashing, slow working etc., increases with the increase of the old files, programs and settings. These must be cleaned up regularly for the improved high speed working of the computer, otherwise it may lead to the utter dissatisfaction of the user.
Let’s check out few measures that can be taken by us to clean up computer at our own.
Methods to Clean up Computer
- Cleaning up Disk on Windows
- Cleaning up Disk on Mac
- Emptying Recycle Bin on Windows
- Emptying Trash on Mac
- Adjusting Windows Open & Startup Programs
- Adjusting Mac Open & Startup Programs
- Defragmenting Hard Drive
Method 1 : Cleaning up Disk on Windows
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Open Start Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. |
| 2 | Type in disk cleanup to search computer for the Disk Cleanup program. It is a utility that finds and deletes unnecessary files on computer. |
| 3 | Click Disk Cleanup, flash drive-shaped icon at the top of the Start menu. |
| 4 | Click Clean up system files in the bottom-left corner of the Disk Cleanup window to allow Disk Cleanup to find more files to delete. |
| 5 | Check every box on the page in order to free up space on your computer. |
| 6 | Click OK at the bottom of the window. |
| 7 | Click Delete Files when prompted to begin deleting computer’s unnecessary files. It will take a while. |
| 8 | Uninstall unnecessary programs, applications or programs which you don’t want to keep on PC to help computer run faster overall. |
Method 2 : Cleaning up Disk on Mac
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Open the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen for a drop-down menu will appear. |
| 2 | Click About This Mac near the top of the drop-down menu to open it. |
| 3 | Click the Storage tab at the top of the window. |
| 4 | Click Manage in the upper-right side of the window to open a new window with storage options. |
| 5 | Click Optimize, to the right of the “Optimize Storage” headingto get rid of any temporary or unnecessary files, as well as move watched videos and TV shows to iCloud. |
| 6 | Uninstall unnecessary programs to clean up computer space and help computer run faster overall.. |
Method 3 : Emptying Recycle Bin on Windows
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Open the Recycle Bin by Double-clicking the Recycle Bin app icon resembling a white bin with a blue recycling icon on it on the desktop. |
| 2 | Restore anything that you do not want to delete. Just double-click the item, then click Restore in the resulting pop-up menu. |
| 3 | Click the Manage tab in the upper-left side of the window, after which a toolbar will appear near the top of the window. |
| 4 | Click Empty Recycle Bin on the left side of the toolbar. |
| 5 | Click Yes when prompted to delete all files in the Recycle Bin. |
Method 4 : Emptying Trash on Mac
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Open the Trash icon in Mac’s Dock. |
| 2 | Restore any items you don’t want to delete by clicking and dragging the item from the Trash window onto Mac’s desktop. |
| 3 | Click and hold the Trash icon to prompt a pop-up menu after a second. |
| 4 | Click Empty Trash is in the pop-up menu. |
| 5 | Click Empty Trash when prompted to empty the Trash folder. |
Method 5 : Adjusting Windows Open and Startup Programs
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Open Start at Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. |
| 2 | Type in task manager to search computer for the Task Manager, which is a program for closing troublesome programs. |
| 3 | Click Task Manager at the top of the Start menu to open it. |
| 4 | Click the Processes tab in the upper-left side of the Task Manager window. |
| 5 | Close a program if necessary. This process is easier after clicking the Memory tab to sort the programs from greatest to least in terms of memory use. |
| 6 | Click the Startup tab at the top of the Task Manager window. |
| 7 | Review the list of startup programs in computer by default that are slowing down computer’s performance. |
| 8 | Disable a startup program by clicking a program and then clicking Disable in the lower-right side of the window. Repeat the process for as many startup programs as required. After completion, close the Task Manager and save the settings. |
Method 6 : Adjusting Mac Open and Startup Programs
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Open Spotlight which is a magnifying glass-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the screen. |
| 2 | Type in activity monitor to allow you to review and quite high-memory programs. |
| 3 | Double-click Activity Monitor in the Spotlight results to open Activity Monitor. |
| 4 | Click the CPU tab at the top of the Activity Monitor window. |
| 5 | Select a program to quit. Click a high-memory program. |
| 6 | Click X in the upper-left side of the window. |
| 7 | Click Quit or Force Quit when prompted to allow the program to attempt to create a recovery save of the open folders. |
| 8 | Open the Apple menu in the upper-left side of the screen for a drop-down menu to appear. |
| 9 | Click System Preferences in the drop-down menu to open the System Preferences window. |
| 10 | Click Users & Groups in the System Preferences window. |
| 11 | Select your username on the left side of the window. |
| 12 | Click Login Items which is a tab at the top of the window. |
| 13 | Disable startup programs and Uncheck box on page to disable the item at startup. Click the lock icon in the bottom-left corner of the page and enter your password before editing the menu. |
Method 7 : Defragmenting Hard Drive
| STEP | PROCEDURE |
| 1 | Defragmenting a hard drive is only essential on heavily used Windows computers. Defragmenting the hard drive places all of the “fragments” back in the same general part of the hard drive. Never defragment if computer uses SSD. If computer’s hard drive is almost full, defragmenting is useless. |
| 2 | Open Start in the bottom-left corner of the screen. |
| 3 | Type in defragment and optimize drives to search for the Disk Defrag app. |
| 4 | Click Defragment and Optimize Drives at the top of the Start window. |
| 5 | Select hard drive that you wish to optimize, mostly the main hard drive’s name is OS (C:). |
| 6 | Click Optimize on the right side of the window. Disk Defrag will start running. |
| 7 | Allow Disk Defrag to run which may take several hours for computer’s disk to finish defragmenting. Therefore, ensure computer is plugged in and free of external interruptions. |
If the computer is still performing slowly after the above steps to clean up computer, taken correctly by you, You must take additional steps to speed up Windows or Mac laptop or desktop by installing few more upgrades into it.