Undoubtedly, Windows 8 has received criticism in its initial stages, but now the OS platform is widely accepted by users worldwide. Windows PC may turn sluggish or experience slowdown over a certain period, so adopt these efficient PC maintenance tips to optimize performance of your Windows 8 devices.

Whatever you think of Windows 8, but the fact that no one can deny is that it is certainly quick. The OS brought in the touchscreen PC revolution and has changed the direction of computing by placing PCs into user’s hands. According to the results of some independent research labs, Microsoft Windows 8 boots faster than previous Windows versions and features lower memory usage. Apart from other exciting features, the desktop also feels nice and snappy. Windows 8 supports a variety of settings you can tweak or adjust to speed things up and make it even faster and efficient.

Read below for some simple computer maintenance tips that can help you enjoy a smoother, simpler and faster computing experience:

1. Disable Animations

Windows 8 displays animations when you try to perform any app related action like minimize, maximize, open, or even close an application. There is no doubt that animations are eye-candy, but they are also responsible for the delay in app loading/closing time. If you wish to experience a faster Windows experience, then disable the animations and window transitions to eliminate the delay. To disable the animations:

• Press the ‘Windows’ key, type ‘SystemPerformanceProperties,’ and press Enter

• Uncheck the ‘Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing’ option. You can also disable some of the other animations including the Fade or Slide menus to speed things up.

2. Find and Uninstall Resource Hungry Apps

The new Windows task manager allows users to find, locate, or pinpoint programs that are slowing down your computer and PC parts. Some of the apps may appear smaller in size, but consume a lot of system resources and may make them slow.

To open the Task Manager:

• Right-click the ‘Desktop Taskbar’ and select ‘Task Manager’

• Click the ‘More details’ option, if you don’t see the full interface.

The moment you’ll see the full interface, applications consuming a lot of resources will get highlighted, and you can easily uninstall them to enjoy faster computing speed.

3. Manage Your Startup Programs

You can now disable all those stubborn and resource consuming programs with the new Windows Task Manager. Disabling programs that start with your computer helps in improving system boot time and ensures minimal usage of precious system resources. To do the same, click the ‘Startup’ tab in the ‘Task Manager’ and see the list of programs that are scheduled to load at the system startup. You can also explore the Startup impact column to view how long an app takes to start as well as the resource consumed by an app before it loads in the system’s memory. Select a program that impacts your PC parts, which you wish to remove from the startup list, and then click ‘Disable’ to speed up your startup process.

4. Use and Enable Included Security Programs

Installing third-party security programs may slow down your computer components so try using the included security applications to avail protection from malicious threats and computer viruses. Windows now includes Windows Defender, replacement of the popular Microsoft Security Essentials, application that helps users to find, locate, and block viruses and other potential threats. The ‘SmartScreen’ feature of this OS analyzes the trustworthiness of programs you download and ‘Windows Firewall’ efficiently blocks incoming malicious connections.

5. Tweak Power Settings

You can select different power plans to optimize battery life or performance. You can tweak the same, press the ‘Windows key,’ type ‘Power Plan,’ click ‘Settings,’ and press Enter. By default, your PC is running on ‘Balanced’ mode, managing CPU’s speed automatically, to save power. You can try ‘High performance’ mode to gain all the performance from your PC components in one go. Choose whichever plan you want, but ensure that only select ‘Power saver’ to squeeze maximum battery life out of your laptop.

Conclusion

All the PC maintenance tips mentioned above are some of the best maintenance tips you will always come across in the PC world. Always ensure that installing regular updates and checking for virus infections can help you avoid some major computer problems and ensure optimal health of the vital PC parts. You can also install some additional system maintenance tools and utilities to ensure that computer components remain safe and secured. Explore the web for more computer maintenance tutorials and optimize your Windows 8 system to utilize its power and efficiency in the best possible manner!