How can I speed up my computer using registry and disk defrag software?
Everyday use of your computer will eventually make your computer slower. If you have tried adding more memory, removing unused software, clearing browser cache, and other speed enhancement tricks it might be time to work on defragmenting (defrag) your system. If you have ever asked the question "How can I speed up my computer?" this is a way to squeeze more speed out and gain some more storage space.
What is Fragmentation?
Fragmentation occurs after adding and removing files of different sizes on your disk drive. When a new file or program is not able to use the little pieces of storage left by small deleted files that space can only be used by small files or unusable altogether.
Think of a piece of graph paper with horizontal and vertical lines creating boxes and in those boxes you can write only one letter or number. If you are creating a grocery list you might just start writing items onto the graph paper. Let’s say the list will get used every time you go shopping so when you buy an item you cross it off the list. The new items you need to get the next time are then written into the spots that were used by the crossed off items but if the words crossed off are smaller you need to use part of the next crossed off item.
After time the list gets harder and harder to read because you have to search to find each item to purchase. The same thing happens on your disk drive. When a disk drive has to search all over the disk surface for the information you need it takes time. All of the time used to search is seen by you as long loading time for starting up your computer or starting up a program.
What is the Windows System Registry?
The registry is an information database that the Windows operating system uses to store information about applications, documents, pictures, movies, system files like libraries and small programs called drivers. When a new program is installed information is stored in the registry to tell Windows what libraries, files, drivers, and many other things it needs to run. When a program is removed from the computer none of the information is removed from the registry. This is done because sometimes those programs are added back in at a later date and when they are the information is already there.
The problem comes in when the programs, files, libraries, and drivers are never added back. All that unused information in the database causes the operating system to search harder and harder to find the information it needs. Just as in the case of the grocery list above when the registry gets hard to read it will slow down your programs and starting up your computer.
What does a defrag program do?
For both the disk drive and the system registry it will move the items and data files closer together. When files or registry entries are close together they are easier to find and when they are easier to find the system gets faster. When a defrag is done on a disk drive more storage space is made available to the system to store files because all of those little unused spaces are gathered up and turned into large unused spaces.
Registry defrag programs do much the same as disk drive defrag programs except when it finds items in the registry that no longer exist on the computer it will remove them providing more space to move items closer together. When space in the registry is removed more space is available on the disk drive.
What software contains defragmentation utilities?
When you have asked "how can I speed up my computer?" you will need to use one of these utilities. The windows disk defragmenter will analyze your disk drives to determine how fragmented the data is on the drive then will go through the process of defragmenting the files stored on the disk drive. Windows does not provide a tool to defragment and speed up your Windows registry but there are now internet security applications that contain utilities to optimize your Windows registry. There are some other application utilities that are devoted to cleaning up and optimizing your registry to give you the greatest speed boost starting Windows and applications. Look no further than these tools to help you when you have asked the question "how can I speed up my computer?'
Links to useful programs
Cleaners/Reg. Defrag
Windows 7 and newer defrag automatically !
