If you do not dust your old computer for two months, it can store the dirt, dust, hair, and assorted debris way more than you think. Even worse, the inside of your machine is probably filled with more carp than the outside was. Digital junks like temp files and unwanted apps, to some extent, have much more terrible impacts on your old computer, which might slow down your computer and reduce its lifespan.

Old computer is often running on Windows 7, and thus this tutorial will explain the tips in detail for cleaning an old Windows 7 computer and making it run faster. Before we dive in, one way to automatically make your PC run quicker is by using a decent, reliable system cleaner. It's often hard to decide which free online programs are legitimate and which are nasty virus laden software. My recommendation (and shameless plug) is Neptune SystemCare Ultimate, a free, easy to use piece of software that addresses all the major causes of slow PCs to start you off.


Here's how to get started:

1. Get rid of digital junks

Actually, a lot of files on your computer aren’t necessary for any program. From leftover Windows Update files to temporary data used by your web browser, you could have several gigabytes of junk just sitting around. If this is filling up your hard drive, it could affect performance and slow down your computer.

Tidy up your documents

In your Documents or My Documents folder, delete outdated documents and create folders to store files you need to keep. Keeping them by categories can also help your work more efficient. One stone, two birds.

Delete temp files

Temp files are usually created by programs on your computer that need to store big chunks of information temporarily in order to function, like the installation package of the apps.

To delete temp files, you need to open My Computer >right-click to choose Properties >Disk Cleanup. Check the boxes for Temporary Files and Recycle Bin. Then Click OK. Your computer will be starting up faster and launching programs a little bit quicker.

Clear the browsing cache

The cache is where your computer stores copies of the web sites you've visited in the past. It's a good idea to clear the cache on a regular monthly basis. Otherwise, when you try to access a webpage, your computer first checks the cache to compare the stored version of the web page to the current one and you have to sit and wait for the site to load.

To clear the cache and history files in most browsers, such as Google Chrome, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on the keyboard, choose Clear Browsing Cache and click OK.


2. Free up memory space

As any PC or laptop ages, data will fill up the hard drive. This in turn slows performance, as your computer has to go further and work harder to find the files and programs it needs to access. Removing as much junk as possible will help free up more disk space to refresh your old computer.

Clean up files

Go to My Computer and click into every disk to sort out the files by size. In this view, you can identify the folders taking up the most space, and then filter these to delete the largest files you don't need anymore.

Delete unwanted programs

Chances are, your computer came with a bunch of programs pre-installed that you've never used, or that you don't want and they take up valuable space. To prune your programs, try this: Go to the Windows Start menu, choose Settings and select the Control Panel. Choose Add/Remove to delete old programs you no longer use.

Reconsider your bookmarks

Review your Favorites or Bookmarks folder in your web browsers. Delete the sites you no longer visit, and organize what's leftover in folders.


3. Deep System Clean

Deep cleaning on the system can help your old computer access data in as efficient manner as possible.

Defrag your hard disk

Once you have removed unnecessary files and programs from your computer, defragging or defragmenting your hard drive is a way of speeding up your PC or laptop in Windows - in principle, at least.

Start by going to My Computer, right-click the disk you want to defragment, such as the main hard drive, C. Choose Properties, click the Tools tab. Click the Analyze Disk button. Wait while Windows checks the defragmentation and click the Defragment Disk button.

Finally—and this is important—reboot your computer.

Since it’s an old computer you own, you have to clean it up on a regular basis to make its lifespan longer and more responsive. If you have been tired of such manual steps, you can download and install the small sized PC cleaner, Neptune SystemCare Ultimate. You can have all this cleaned up with one click. Run and click on Checkup and Fix.

You'll see that with regular cleaning, your old computer will work more efficiently