Last updated: December 31, 2022
Le regular Windows cleaning can significantly improve its performance. And yes, over time, our PC get slow. Of course, aging hardware is a major cause. But for most people, poor operating system maintenance is the main cause. So it's time to clean your computer.
Here is the list of the best methods to clean your Windows computer without installing anything.
Uninstall unnecessary software
The first step is to remove all old software that you no longer use.
You will be amazed at how many unnecessary programs you have installed on your machine.
To see all the applications on your computer, go to Start> Settings> Apps> Apps and features .
In Apps & Features, a list of all your installed programs is displayed. You just have to click on the program you want to remove and then click on uninstall.
Clean your disk
Windows 10 offers a disk cleanup tool. It has been part of the Windows operating system for many years and is still just as effective in cleaning up junk files and improving performance.
To run Disk Cleanup, enter the name of the application in the Start menu or navigate to Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Disk Cleanup.
Generally, you can delete all files detected by the scan. Check the box next to each type of result and click OK.
Defragment your Hard Drive
Windows 10 regularly defragments your hard drives. However, you can manually initiate a defragmentation of all drives. A useful operation to maximize free space.
You can find the tool Defragment and optimize drives by performing a search from the Start menu or by going to Control Panel> Administrative Tools.
Clean up the list of software running on startup
Any seasoned Windows user knows that the operating system lags far behind MacOS, Chrome OS, and Linux regarding start-up times.
Typically, the problem is caused by the number of programs Windows tries to launch when it first starts. Most of them are unnecessary.
To clean your software list start, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and select Task Manager. In the new window, click Plus de détails, then choose the Startup tab at the top of the screen.
All the software displayed in the list starts with Windows. You can find clearly visible software such as Skype, but also applications that launch in the background.
To deactivate an application, right-click on the line of the program to be deleted and click on deactivate.
Clean up the AppData folder
When you uninstall an application, there are often traces left on your computer. This can be keys and values in the registry as well as folders and files on your Hard disk.
One of the most common locations is the AppData folder. By default, the folder is hidden. You can find it in C:\Users\[Username]\AppData or by typing% AppData% in the Windows search bar.
In the main folder, there are three subfolders: Local, LocalLow, and Roaming. Be sure to browse all three folders for traces of old software.
But be careful, don't delete anything unless you're sure it's safe.