Last Updated: Friday October 17, 2008 22:11:38 hrs

This page details the extra information on how each section that the MySlowPC.co.uk PC Health-Check reports upon can affect your system's performance and security.  For example, why is it a good idea to have Windows Automatic Updates turned on?

It is important that your installed version of Windows is kept up-to-date to ensure that it is secure and efficient.  If you do not have the latest Service Pack (a large update) installed for example, you will be compromising your PC's security and performance.

The age of your Windows installation is highlighted as over time the performance of a Windows install will degrade,

There are some key features in Windows that can help to ensure your PC's security:

Windows Firewall:  This will help protect your PC from network based attacks.

Windows Update:  This is used to receive essential security and performance updates from Microsoft.

System Restore:  Should configuration problems be encountered with your system, System Restore can allow you to restore your system to its configuration at a previous time.

Antivirus software is essential to protect your PC from harmful viruses, which could otherwise infect your system affecting it in an undesirable way without your permission or knowledge.  It is also essential that antivirus software is updated with updates from its manufacturers so as to protect against the latest viruses.  Virus protection should also remain enabled, otherwise you will not be protected.

Firewall software is essential to protect your PC from attacks over the internet or your local network, which could otherwise affect your system in an undesirable way without your permission or knowledge.  Firewall protection should also remain enabled, otherwise you will not be protected.

It is important to keep your system free of spyware and adware, one of the best ways of doing this is to use a free scanner as recommended by the MySlowPC.co.uk PC Health-Check. 

Spyware and adware are undesirable processes and programs that may install themselves on your PC without your knowledge or authorisation.  They can slow down your system and have undesirable affects ranging from the annoyance of a pop up advert whilst surfing the web, to a more malicious process that may change your web browser's homepage or even send out data from your PC across the internet.

It is important to keep your web browser up-to-date to ensure that it offers a secure and efficient experience to you whilst you surf the web.

Your web browser's "cache" is where your web browser stores temporary files from web pages.  These files can safely be deleted and they may be taking up unnecessary space on your hard drive.  You can also control the limit for the amount of temporary files that your web browser will store.  With high speed internet connections keeping copies of files on your hard drive for faster access is not as important as it may have been a few years ago, that is why this "cache limit" can quite safely be reduced from the default level.

Over time masses of temporary files can build up on your hard drive.  Often these are created when installing or running programs, or for example when you send a file to the Recycle Bin.  Browsing the web can also build up a large amount of temporary files in your web browsers "cache" - an store of the web pages that you have visited on your hard drive.  As well as taking up space on your hard drive temporary files can sometimes slow programs down and even cause errors.

Your hard drive stores all of the information on your computer including your operating system (e.g. Windows XP Home Edition), your installed programs and perhaps most importantly your data files.  It is therefore very important that it is well maintained. 

Knowing the interface type it takes will help you if you are considering installing a new drive.  If you are not experienced in installing hardware it is recommended that you consult an expert first.

Windows needs free space on your hard drive to be able to successfully carry out certain tasks.  Of course if you are planning on installing new programs, or copying large amounts of data to your machine you will also require the free space to do so.

The fragmentation level of your drive refers to how spread out the data on your disk is.  For example, if you are opening Microsoft Office Word and the data relating to this has become physically spread out across a partition, then your computer will require more time and processor power to open it.  If you defragment your drive the data will be put back into a neat logical order making it easier for your PC to deal with and therefore quicker for the user to access the data they need.

If your hard drive's file format is not as efficient as it could be, e.g. FAT32 format instead of NTFS, as a user you may experience slower times as you wait for programs to open and tasks to be carried out on your PC.

Your processor or "CPU" can be thought of as carrying out all of the tasks you ask your PC to perform.  Its speed will either be measured in Mhz or Ghz, 1000 Mhz = 1 Ghz.  In general the faster your processor, the more quickly your PC will be able to perform tasks.

For advanced users, knowing details such as the processor upgrade method will allow you to consider upgrades.

When you are running a program on your PC, or have an unsaved document you can think of it as being stored in the PC's  RAM (Random Access Memory).  In general the more RAM your system has the more efficiently it will perform.  Knowing the type of RAM, and the amount of RAM your machine can physically take will also help you to consider any upgrades.

All of the devices attached and in your PC require "drivers" (small pieces of software to make them work) and can be in several states, including being disabled.  To continue working efficiently and effectively on the whole you will normally require all devices to be enabled with the correct and up-to-date device drivers installed.

BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System.  It can be thought of as controlling your computer at start up before the Operating System (e.g. Windows) is even started.  Generally if you have no problems you should not require a BIOS upgrade, but they can often be of use.  It is recommended that you seek the advice of a professional to guide you through the process first.