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Put some giddy-up back into your slow computer

For a while, I've been the person my friends go to for tech support. They've got a virus or just lit their computer on fire or something, so they call me and panic, hoping I can somehow, magically, just fix it.

More than anything, this is the problem I get: "My computer's slow!" It's taking three-and-a-half hours to boot his computer and 11 minutes to open a browser - it's not a pretty picture. But I always, always, fix this problem in exactly the same way.

Want to know my dirty little IT secret? It's three things that fix it all. For any Windows computer - which, despite what Apple wants you to think, most of us still have - here's how I do it.

(A small disclaimer: Any of these applications, when used improperly, can be harmful to your computer because they're all dealing with the internal files of your computer. I've never had an issue with any of them, but be careful when you use them.)

The first thing I do for anyone with computer problems is download Revo Uninstaller (www.revouninstaller.com), a free app that simply uninstalls software on your computer. The native Windows method of uninstalling applications - the "Add/Remove Programs" menu - is terrible. It uninstalls the program but leaves traces of it all over your computer.

Revo does it better. Once you've installed it, it shows you a list of all the installed software on your computer. Clicking a program and selecting "Uninstall" brings up a menu letting you choose to what degree you want to uninstall the program. I recommend the "Moderate" setting, which not only uninstalls the program, but also scans your computer for leftover files, registry entries and other things that didn't go away.

If you're like most people, you've got a ton of software you totally forgot existed on your computer. Revo finds it, gets rid of it and convinces your computer it never existed.

Once you've got everything off your computer that you don't want anymore, next comes getting rid of files you didn't know you had in the first place. nCleaner (http://www.nkprods.com/ncleaner) is there for all the junk on your computer that you'll never need, use or notice - and that junk just so happens to take up tons and tons of space.

Once you install it, nCleaner gives you a bunch of options. I use three: "Clean System," which gets rid of unnecessary registry entries and old, unused files, typically some of the biggest space- and speed-hogs you've got; "Find Junk," which deletes things like log and temporary files, as well as empty files and folders; and "Startup Man," which lets you control which apps start when you boot your computer - a big speed-boost, considering how many things try to start when you turn your computer on.

This is certainly the most dangerous app to run because it's deleting a ton of files and folders from your computer. But it's incredibly smart and has never given me an issue - and everything's reversible if it goes wrong. nCleaner kills the clutter Windows is so good at creating and gives you back your computer.

Next, we get rid of the things that actually try to slow down your computer. Usually, these are programs that get installed when you download a corrupted song, video, or file. They run in the background, are generally more annoying than harmful, but can slow your computer down.

Spybot Search and Destroy (www.safer-networking.org) is great at finding all the spyware, adware and malware on your computer. Spybot lets you both protect your computer against these problems (the "Immunize" section), or find them and fix them (the "Search and Destroy" part). Much spyware and adware can slow your computer down all by themselves, but Spybot makes these programs easy to nuke.

For optimal computer awesomeness - that's the technical term - I'd update and run all of these programs about once every three weeks. It's amazing how much can pile up in that amount of time, but an hour with these three applications will free up space, speed up your computer and make your whole experience a whole lot better.

David's column runs biweekly Wednesdays. He can be reached at d.pierce@cavalierdaily.com.

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