How do I get rid of programs I don't use anymore?
My computer has a ton of programs I installed and never use, plus stuff that came pre-installed. How do I properly uninstall them? Can I just delete the folder, or is that wrong? I want to free up hard drive space and maybe speed things up. Some programs don't seem to have an uninstaller.
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Check how much free space is on your hard drive. Windows needs at least 15% free to run well — it uses that space for virtual memory and the swap file. If your drive is 95% full, that alone will make everything crawl.
4 Answers
Check how much free space is on your hard drive. Windows needs at least 15% free to run well — it uses that space for virtual memory and the swap file. If your drive is 95% full, that alone will make everything crawl.
Don't forget about heat. If your computer is shutting down or crashing randomly, open the case and check if the fans are caked with dust. Blow it out with a can of compressed air. Overheating causes a shocking number of 'mystery' problems.
Definitely back up your important files before trying any fixes. I learned this the hard way when I lost 3 years of photos trying to fix a simple problem. Get an external hard drive or burn DVDs of your important stuff first.
I'd check Device Manager for any yellow exclamation marks. That's Windows telling you a driver is missing or broken. Right-click My Computer, Properties, Hardware tab, Device Manager. Fix anything with a yellow mark and a lot of weird problems clear up.
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