DELETING UNDELETABLE FILE

You may sometimes run into a situation where a file can't be deleted. This usually happens due to a program error a malware attack. An easy and effective solution to delete these files is to use a program called ‘Unlocker’. Use the Unlocker by pointing the directory or file that is creating the problem for you and click on delete button.

You can download Unlocker from the following link:

 http://filehippo.com/download_unlocker/

DELETING EMPTY FOLDERS

You need to get rid of empty folders that are left behind by some applications even when the actual programs are gone. To remove empty folders, simply open My Computer, navigate to drive C:, and go to the Program Files directory. Now find the empty folders by hovering your mouse pointer over folders to see folder size and delete them. Alternatively, you can use Windows Search to search for the names of recently uninstalled programs and delete the empty folders that Windows finds. After you find and delete all of the empty folders, don't forget to empty the Recycle Bin and they will be gone for good.

 You can get it done easily by using the Empty Folder Scanner feature in Advanced System Care.

CREATING WINDOWS RECOVERY IMAGE

Windows 7 and upwards has a built-in feature that allows you to create disk images in just a couple of clicks. By creating a disk image, you can be sure that your data is safe. With a disk image you can restore literally everything, including your operating system and all your programs, in a quick and easy way.

Here is how it's done:

1. Click on Start, go to Getting Started and click on Backup your files
2. Now click on the Create a system image link
3. Select where you want to save the image. It is recommended to use an external hard drive to store your backup
4. Select which drives you want to back up
5. Confirm.

Now you just have to wait till Windows Backup does the job.

REGISTRY ERRORS

Registry errors are an important issue to be addressed while optimizing your PC. Cleaning the registry errors can help speed up your computer significantly. Editing the registry manually is dangerous, unless you know exactly what you are doing. Don’t worry, there are many capable software’s out there which gets the job done safely with just a couple of clicks.

 You can use the Registry Cleaner feature in Advanced System Care or use the native one in Wise cleaner.

COOLING EFFICIENCY

Cooling is an important factor in the performance of your computer. The cooling system varies from a simple fan based system to liquid based system. The foam factor of the system also contributes towards efficient cooling. During use, your computer produces heat. This heat increases the resistance of components inside and thus affects the performance.

Some ways to increase the cooling efficiency are:

1.   Clear the air vents. Usually after a period of usage the vents will be clogged with dust. Unclogging the vent will restore the efficiency of cooling. It can be done by opening the system as a whole or you can use a hair dryer / vacuum cleaner.
2. External cooling pads are available in the market. This helps in keeping the system cool. Gaming is a pretty resource intensive process. Hence, a lot of heat will be generated. If the cooling system installed in your computer is not able to keep up with the amount of heat generated, a cooling pad may help.

COMPRESS FILES AND DIRECTORIES

Modern versions of Windows use NTFS file system, which is a lot more efficient than the previous FAT16 and FAT32. NTFS also has some very useful built-in features like file compression. Unlike .zip and .rar compression, this compression feature leaves the files in their native format, but forces them to occupy a smaller space on the hard drive. The average compression factor is 1.6/1, although with some files you'll get a 10/1 or even 50/1 compression factor. Some files, like .jpeg image files, can't be compressed. In any case, using NTFS compression will save disk space and improve hard drive performance. Keep in mind that if you have an SSD drive, you shouldn't use NTFS compression, as it will only slow things down and jeopardize stability.

To experience the maximum performance increase, you'll need to compress the following directories:

• Users (Documents and Settings in Windows XP)
• Program Files
• Program Data (Windows Vista and Windows 7)
• Windows
• All your .exe and .dll files

NTFS file compression is done through the Command Prompt with a simple command:

compact /c /s /i

Before you open the Command Prompt, make sure that you are logged in as administrator.

Follow the below given steps.

1. Click on Start, type cmd in the Search box (Run box in Windows XP) and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter
2. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, type CD \Users and press Enter to change the directory. If you are on Windows XP, type CD \Documents and Settings and press Enter
3. Now type the compression command compact /c /s /i and press Enter. Depending on the amount of files and their size, compression can take like 10 to 20 minutes.
4. When that's done, do the same for Program Files by typing CD \Program Files, pressing Enter (CD \Program Files (x86) for 64-bit systems), typing compact /c /s /i and hitting Enter for the second time. Again, this could take a while.
5. And now we'll do the same for the Windows directory. To do that, type CD \Windows, then press Enter to change the directory and then type the compression command compact /c /s /i and press Enter. Wait for the compression to complete.
6. Then we are going to compress all .exe and .dll files. To do that, type CD\ and press Enter to change the directory to C:\>. Then type the compact /c /s /i *.exe command, press Enter, and when it's done, issue the compact /c /s /i *.dll command and press Enter. Wait for it to complete.

When everything is done, you'll need to make sure that files that were in use and couldn't be compressed will be compressed.

You will need to reboot your computer into Safe Mode and repeat steps 1-6 in Safe Mode. To enter Safe Mode, restart your PC and keep tapping F8 until the option to boot in Safe Mode appears. Select the option and proceed. When the compression is finished, reboot your computer once again, keep tapping F8 and enter Normal Mode.

NTFS compression will make the files in the compressed directories occupy 2/3 of the original space and your hard drive will open them faster. This should give you a bit of a performance increase. But the main performance boost comes from defragmenting your hard drive and optimizing system files placement.

CLEAN UNNECESSARY TOOLBARS

Toolbars can be a menace or irritation for most computer users. The entry of most toolbars are through software installation, clicking on ads shown on the webpages and through malware. Once installed some of these applications are a bit difficult to remove and for some it may be an inconvenience as they change the homepage and utilize bandwidth unnecessarily. The most common method to clean these items are by using uninstallers.