Working on a home PC is very different to working on a workplace PC. But there’s one thing they both have in common: they get cluttered.

Over time, PCs tend to accumulate a lot of junk. This can be rather obvious such as a desktop packed full of shortcuts and files. Or it can less noticeable to the user as, for example, in the case of a registry riddled with redundant information. The end result, either way, is the same: it makes working on a PC difficult. Navigating your way around folders can become a nightmare and it’s likely that the speed of your PC will also be affected.

As the majority of us are working from home at the moment, it’s important that we declutter our PCs. It’s a move which will make working from home easier and help you remain productive.

The Best Ways to Declutter Your PC

It’s easy to declutter your PC and, best of all, you can start making changes in an instant. Make sure you carry out the following:

  • Cleanup Your Desktop: A desktop which is cluttered can make life very difficult. Quickly finding the file or shortcut that you need can soon become a tiresome exercise. And it’s likely that the majority of items on your desktop are not required e.g. shortcuts to deleted or barely used apps. However, you don’t need to put up with this. And you have two choices: delete unnecessary or relocate items into grouped folders e.g. “Q1 Projects” 
  • Use a Registry Cleaner: The Windows registry is a section of your PC which holds all the settings and values related to hardware and software on the machine. It’s an important database, but it can soon build up with junk e.g. invalid entries which are no longer relevant. And this can slow down your PC and cause numerous errors. Accordingly, you need to keep it clean and this can be achieved with a registry cleaner such as CCleaner. These apps clean up invalid registry entries and minimize the risk of system errors. 
  • Empty Your Recycle Bin: Your recycle bin can soon build up significant junk and this can put a strain on your hard drive. A hard drive that is packed full of data is going to struggle to perform to its maximum. This is why it’s crucial you regularly empty the recycle bin as it can hold huge amounts of data. Even better, make sure you set a limit to the maximum amount of junk it can hold. To do this just right click the recycle bin and go into the properties section where you can customize the maximum size that can be held. 
  • Archive Your Files: Your home PC is likely to be full of various documents, but if you haven’t accessed them in six months then it’s unlikely you regularly need them. However, this isn’t to say you will never need them, so deleting them would be an extreme move. Instead, you can identify older documents and archive them into appropriate folders and sub-folders e.g. “2019 > Utility Bills”

By putting just these four methods into practice you will find that using your home PC suddenly becomes much easier. And, as a result, you will become more productive and complete your work more effectively.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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How Reliable is your Hard Drive?

All hard drives have a limit in terms of space. And this limit can soon be reached. But there are a number of simple ways to free up space.

A hard drive which is full can cause you a number of problems. Speed is the most obvious issue, but the chances of your PC freezing and crashing is also increased. And all of these scenarios are ones that can put a drain on your productivity. Therefore, you need to ensure that you have enough space on your hard drive.

You could expand your storage space, but this can be costly and isn’t always required. Instead, you can restore your PC’s productivity by following our steps to free up space.

Maximizing the Capacity of Your Hard Drive

To start freeing up space on your hard drive you need to make sure you follow these best practices:

  • Disk Cleanup: The simplest way to start maximizing space on your hard drive is with the Disk Cleanup application. This maintenance utility is bundled with Windows and carries out a quick evaluation of your hard drive. Files that are deemed necessary are kept, but there’s also an option to delete unnecessary files. 
  • Uninstall Apps You No Longer Use: A large number of apps will be installed on a PC over the course of its lifetime. But, due to time constraints, these aren’t always uninstalled when they’re no longer required. And this can take up a lot of disk space. So, you need to regularly visit the ‘Uninstall or Change a Program’ section of your Control Panel. Here you can analyze which programs are no longer required and remove them. 
  • Minimize Your System Restore Space: It’s likely that you will have used the System Restore app more than once to fix a system issue. But, over time, all the snapshots of your system can start to take up large amounts of space. Thankfully, you can restrict the amount of space used to store these snapshots. By minimizing the maximum Disk Space Usage you can save space on your hard drive. Just remember that this will also minimize the number of restore points you can access.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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