Keeping your computer healthy and PC Tools giveaway

One of the most expensive items in my home is my PC.  I had my old laptop for over 5 years and we thought long and hard before we invested in a replacement PC.  In my past life I used to work for a major software company and it was drilled in to us to always ensure that we backed up and kept our PC's healthy.

This is something that often falls through the cracks with home PC's and laptops and I offered a one year subscription to PC Tools performance toolkit.  I have been using this over the last two months and have seen a vast improvement in the speed on my PC. 

PC Tools Performance Toolkit is a very easy bit of software which can prolong the life of your PC by removing the clutter by fixing registry errors and defragging hard disks (plus much more). Once its installed and after it’s been run for the first time it runs in the background (so you can get on with having fun with your family) making sure your computer stays running faster for longer

I have a copy of PC Tools Performance Tool kit to giveaway (which retails at £39.99) and runs on upto 3 PC's for one year to giveaway.

All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me how old your PC or laptop is and enter via rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also have some easy performance enhancing tips for PCs from Richard Clooke, Security and Performance Expert from PC Tools:

  1.     Empty the Recycle Bin
Get rid of all useless files that are cluttering your PC by regularly empting your recycle bin

2.       Delete Unused Programmes
Once you’ve taken care of these maintenance basics, you can really start cleaning. Delete duplicate files and remove programs that haven’t been used for a year. Not only will you benefit from more hard drive space and a less cluttered start menu, but your computer will run faster too

3.       Clear out all temporary internet files and cookies
It’s simple but effective. Most browsers have an option within browser settings to clear out internet browser history and cookies with one click (this is also very handy if you share a computer and don’t want anyone to see what you’ve been up to). Your browser might also have a private browsing mode that stops you collecting cookies in the first place.

4.       Run Disk Cleanup
Follow these steps – click Start, then Programs, then Accessories, and finally you’ll get to System Tools which will allow you to remove temporary files, downloaded programs and all sorts of other junk from your hard drive

5.       Defrag your PC’s hard disk
This is also located in your computer’s start-up menu and in system tools. Depending on which OS your PC has, it can be part of the administrative tools or standard system tools. It takes a while to run but you can do it overnight or set it to run as you leave to catch up with mates in the pub.

6.       Make sure your internet security is up to date
Most Internet Security programmes now have automatic updates which work in the background. Make sure you have the most up to date virus protection and run a full system scan. Cleaning your PC of any malware, Trojans and spyware will help your PC perform better and help protect you from identity theft

7.       Get some software to do it all for you
We don’t all have the luxury of time and it costs less than a fun night out with your mates to buy some software. You can download programs that will run an ‘MOT’ on your PC and make a variety of changes to improve the performance. PC Tools Performance Toolkit will scan your Registry and defrag your hard disk, optimise your PC’s startup processes and remove unnecessary files that you no longer need. It updates automatically and runs silently in the background, so once it’s installed you can get back to the bar and leave it to do its thing.