10 Easy Steps to Speed Up Your Computer – Without Upgrading
Empty the Temp directory regularly. Every time you launch a program, it creates a temporary file, until you either save or close the file. The reason it does this is in case your system crashes or gets turned off (before saving the file), it will be possible to recover the unsaved file you were working on. This is a good idea, but rarely works. Every time your system crashes, locks up, or gets turned off while you have open files, these temp files get created and just sit there in the Temp directory. Then, every time you launch a program, it looks through all of the temp files (to see if one needs to be recovered) and slows the open process, and in some rare cases, even locks up when trying to launch. In any event, the launch process is slowed.
Other ways of getting unneeded temp files is by installing programs. Most programs that get installed extract temp files (needed during the installation) to the temp directory, but a lot of times don’t get deleted when the installation is complete.
Windows also uses the temp directory for its temp files, for recovery purposes and ongoing use.
After a short while, the temp directory fills up with hundreds (and I have even seen thousands) of temp files that always get scanned over when Windows starts up and when programs launch. This slows everything down immensely.
Rule of thumb for Temp Files: If you don’t have any programs open (and nothing minimized in the bar below), then you shouldn’t have ANY temp files in your temp directory. If you do, delete them.
To delete Temp files, make sure NO programs are open, and…
In Windows 95, 98 or Me, go to C:WindowsTemp and delete everything inside https://tonerbox.kz/ the Temp folder.
In Windows 2000 or XP, it is a little trickier. First, make sure that you can see hidden folders. Double-click My Computer. Click on the Tools pull-down menu, and then on Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Scroll down and click on Show Hidden Files and Folders. Click Ok. Now you can go to the C:Documents and SettingsAdministratorLocal SettingsTemp folder. Delete everything here. Also, look in the C:Windows(or Winnt)Temp or Tmp folders. Delete everything here, as well.
Note: this assumes that your logon ID is Administrator. If the main account is not Administrator, or if there are more than one account, substitute “Administrator” for the account names, and delete the temp files from all of the C:Documents and Settings(account name)Local SettingsTemp folders.
Empty the Temporary Internet Files regularly. This is similar to the Temp directory, but for images and cookies while browsing websites. Every time you go to a website, your browser will look through your list of temporary Internet files, to see if you have all of the images needed to view your requested web page. If it is a very long list, it will delay your view time. However, if you have a dial-up, this is the lesser of two evils. If you already have the needed images, it is quicker (for a dial-up) to look through your temporary Internet files, than to download ne