When you purchased your Windows 10 OS computer as a brand new product, you marveled at its aesthetics, sleek design, awesome performance and delivery. However, as you began to use it, you begin to notice some ‘funny behavior’ like shockwave crash, slow booting time, poor memory, malware attack and so on. These problems are common with every computer system so long as you engage then in both online and offline activities. The solution is not to discard it and go straight ahead for a new one. No. Even when you buy a new system, you are likely going to experience the same problem at the ‘appropriate time’.

The solution to prevent computer system collapse and mitigate errors and troubleshooting is to device practical means of managing the operating system. Below is a detailed procedure for managing your Windows operating system for improved performance

1. Delete Programs You Do Not Need:  We run several programs on our computer which most of the time we may not need. These programs ‘steal’ our computer memory and leave the system exhausted, slow and inefficient. Several manufacturer installed programs clutter a computer system and can constitute a significant barrier in its performance. This is because some of these programs run in the background at start up and can seriously slow down a computer especially if you are downloading a heavy file from the internet.

2. Defragment Your System’s Hard Disk: Defragmentation can correct lots of computer errors and free up an appreciable amount of disk space. Defragmentation is a process that would rearrange fragmented data on your system. It can be run on a schedule or run manually. You can read more on how to defragment your hard disk here.

3. Use the Performance Troubleshooter: When you run a performance trouble shooter you identify several problems that may have clogged your computer. These problems include registry errors, junk files, spyware, malware, and fragmented data and so on. The trouble shooter can equally check if multiple programs are running on the system and which programs are running on start up. 

To check for Performance Troubleshooting, open the control panel, type in performance troubleshooting and follow the prompts to fix any error. The repair process runs automatically and can be scheduled at intervals.

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4. Limit the Number of Programs You Run at Startup: In order to speed up your PC’s processing speed you have to run very few programs at a time. Running more than one anti- virus or anti malware program and opening several browser windows at a time can eat up your computer memory. You will observe that the CPU dial on your desk top is pointing on the red marks and you will begin to hear the swirling noise of the fan at the back of the system trying to cool the overheated CPU. You can limit the number of programs that run on start up by downloading Windows AutoRuns software and running the program on your computer. Be sure to clear the check box that is next to the program you wish to stop. Identifying programs that run at start up is quite easy. Just click on the button at the top of your desktop that says ‘show hidden icon’ and you would be able to see them. However, you can decide to manually choose the programs you want to run at startup by using the ‘system configuration tool’.

5. Restart Your PC Regularly: When you restart your computer you are closing down all running programs including several other manufacturer installed software that were automatically started when you logged in. you may feel reluctant to restart your computer probably there are several programs or emails that are open. This invariably justifies the reason why you must restart the system. By so doing, you automatically fix several errors and the computer would regain some momentum and lost memory and consequently optimize for better performance.

6. Always Check for Spyware, Malware And Viruses: When you notice that your computer is running slowly, it could possibly be that it has been infected with a virus, spyware or malware. So choosing a good antivirus software or internet security software would help shield your computer from attack. Always remember to regularly update your antivirus software by setting it to auto update. Spyware are programs that monitor your internet activity even without you noticing them. They can seriously compromise your privacy and leak vital or secret information, so you must in addition to your antivirus program also run the Windows Defender which scans system and fixes any spyware or malware threat.

Looking for ‘windows defender’? Just type in ‘windows defender’ on the search box in your control panel and follow the prompts to run a scan. Click ‘clean system’ when the scan is complete to remove any identified malware, adware or spyware.

7. Turn off Your system’s Visual Effects: in order to optimize your computer speed, you can turn off its visual effects such as displayed shadows, transparent glass look and even the way menus open. This is certainly a matter of system performance versus appearance. I am pretty sure you would prefer a faster computer to one with a pretty visual appearance but awkward and snail speed performance!

To fix visual effects to suit your preferences for improved performance, click on ‘performance information and tools’ and then click on adjust visual effects at the left corner of the window. You can then check each individual item as you prefer for custom setting or you check adjust for best appearance or adjust for best performance( which is preferred) or you can select ‘let windows choose which setting is best for my computer’. Remember that you can always access the ‘Performance Information and tools’ by tying this phrase into the search box of your control panel.

8. Increase the Memory: Adding more memory to your computer can greatly enhance its performance. Agreed a Windows OS can run on a computer with Random Access Memory (RAM) of 1GB, but it would also even run more efficiently on a 2GB RAM and far better on a 3 or 4GB RAM. Your Windows ‘ReadyBoost’ is a feature that enables you to use the memory space in some removable devices such as the USB flash drives speed up and enhance your computer performance.

9. Check Your Computer’s Speed: you can determine if your computer needs hardware replacement such as a faster video card or a new hard disk drive. This can be determined by getting the base score of your computer which is a tool known as the Windows Experience Index. The components assessed based on a score of 1.0 to 7.9 are graphics, memory (RAM), processor, gaming graphics and primary hard disk.

10. Run Disk Clean up: temporary internet files, junk folders and files, and registry errors can be fixed when you run a disk cleanup. You may choose to use your system disk clean up by going to ‘delete files using disk cleanup’ feature or you can download free disk clean up software from the internet such as Malwarebytes or CCleaner from filehippo.