...thwunk...thwunk....thwunk was the noise as it got closer and closer...

A few weeks ago I put an Email address on the blog asking for comments and ideas for things to write about. Well I got one or two and as a result I was asked to do a little more on making your Pc run better. So with great pleasure part one.

Remember all these are tried and tested but carried out at your own risk and for use only on your home Pc or Laptop (Not a work terminal).
Before doing anything to your Pc it’s always worth backing up any valuable data. I hate the system restore feature on windows it slows up your enjoyment terribly and is very system hungry but its worth switching it on and making a restore point just in case. When finished switch it off until you need it again. As a default Windows come shipped with system restore active so just click on “start” then “help and support” and follow the links to create a new restore point. I also like to burn photos/music etc to a disc just in case and any letters/work you might need. Playing with a Pc it’s always a case of better safe than sorry.

The longer you run a system the more it will fill with bits of junk that slow thing down and sometime cause a lockup or random crash. You know the type of thing when you click on something and the mouse freezes and you can not close the application. We have all been there and it can happen to the newest empty operating system. Most of the time if you go away and have a cup of coffee or a fag the Pc has sorted itself out when you get back. This is because most of these freezes are due to you asking it do too a task whilst it is already doing stuff in the background. (Like run System restore.) Windows will always choose the most inconvenient time to back up/update etc. Sometimes though a lock up can be caused by more sinister things going on.

Fore instance has the Pc just started behaving like a naughty teenager after being absolutely fine? Most locking/program crashing problems get worse over time starting with a page loading slowly or a program not opening the way it used to, and giving you plenty of notice before it stops like a Skoda hitting a wall. If it just started then before panicking and deleting any file name that you think you do not recognise stop and think. Oh I do know a person who shall remain nameless who tried to delete a file called “system32 arguing that it must be a virus as there no “system 1 to 31 files. Have you just plugged something in or downloaded a new program. Or my personnel favourite has your anti virus just downloaded more updates. Because of the nature of computers some seemingly unrelated things have massive effects on programs and integrate with the system at a fundamental level.

Sometime its because the poor thing is bunged up with spy ware or add ware, these are down loaded without you permission from many sites and generally they are no harm apart from sending info back to there home site. Because they are not a virus just a pest anti virus software does not pick them up. And because they come from sites you visit the firewall nearly always lets them send stuff back. But help is at hand I use a great program to remove these pests and its free, its called Ad-Aware SE and you can get it at

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

There is also a Microsoft version and I personally run both regularly but never at the same time. You can get the Bill’s brigade version at



Do yourself a favour and download them both use them and I will see you all next week for part two.