Windows Running Slow? Speed It Up With This Simple Trick!

While PCs are getting faster, us as college students don't have the financial means to keep up. This means we are lugging around the same 20 pound PC our parents bought for us in high school. You may think, "My computer is just so slow, I need a new one!" Fret no longer, while your computer may be slow, there may also be a way to help it go a little bit faster while you finish out your college career. Saving you (or your parents) $$.

If you Google "Speed up my computer", most likely you'll get some shady tips to turn off things like "visual animation" which makes your screen look weird and even more outdated. DormNet sees hundreds of computers every year and every year we see students that have PC's that are swamped with programs that they no longer need or they never knew was there. The follow steps takes you though the process of uninstalling stuff. There are two different kind of things that you can uninstall: regular programs, or Windows apps that came on your computer. Let's look at uninstalling both kinds, 

Uninstall the stuff

If you bought your PC recently or from Best Buy, most likely there are random things installed on your computer that you never knew were there. Sometimes they can slow down your computer significantly and cause unwanted pop ups. You may also just have a ton of random software installed. It is best to take a quick gander and uninstall anything you don't need or want. Keep in mind that we are about to venture into some dangerous territory. If you have any questions about a program you are about to uninstall, do not hesitate to ask DormNet, Uninstalling the wrong things can lead to the death of your computer. A pro tip is to only uninstall the things that you know about and installed yourself and no longer need.

Uninstalling Programs:

1. Right-click on the Start Button/Window in the bottom left-hand corner
2. Choose the top choice 'Programs and Features'
3. Take a hatchet to anything you don't need anymore but BE CAREFUL, only uninstall things you know. Don't uninstall things that you don't know about. Some of those programs are essential to your computer's health.

Some other fun stuff to uninstall are the apps that come pre-loaded on your Windows machine. These apps don't necessarily take up a ginormous amount of processor space but uninstalling them can help speed up your computer and free up storage space.

Uninstalling Windows Apps:

1. Go to the Settings App
2. Go to the Apps & Features page (or Search and apps for Windows 8)
1. Select app sizes if Windows 8
3. Click on the app you want to uninstall and then click uninstall
4. Get rid of anything you don't need or have never even seen