What is Included in a PC Tune Up?

A PC tune-up is the act of repairing, cleaning, and optimizing your computer. Different tune-up software has its own unique features, while Windows itself has several built-in tools for maintaining system performance. However, the end goal is the same – to keep your PC running at its best.

If you want to run a full PC tune-up, this is what to look out for:

1. Junk file cleaning

Over time, unnecessary files accumulate on your hard drive that can slow down the system and need removing. These can include temporary files, browser caches, and other leftovers that are no longer needed.

By clearing these files, you can free up space on your hard drive and improve your computer’s performance.

Windows itself can help you do this with its Disk Clean-Up and Storage Sense features.

2. Hard Drive defragmentation

When data is stored on a hard drive, it can become fragmented, meaning it is spread out across the drive rather than being stored in contiguous blocks. Defragmentation rearranges the data so that files can be accessed more quickly and efficiently, leading to faster performance.

However, defragmentation is only recommended for HDD, not SSD.

3. Registry cleaning

The Windows registry is an important database that contains information about the settings, configurations, and software on your computer. Over time, old, uninstalled software entries can accumulate in the registry, causing it to become cluttered and potentially slowing down your computer. By removing these, you can improve system performance.

Many tools also go a step further and repair corrupted registry keys to reduce the risk of errors or crashes.

Although Windows has a manual Registry Editor, third-party tools that automate the process are easier for the average user.

4. Driver updates

Manufacturers regularly release new driver updates to fix bugs, add features, and address compatibility issues with new software or hardware. By keeping your drivers up to date, you can ensure that your computer is running smoothly and that all components are functioning properly. Outdated drivers can cause errors, crashes, and even security vulnerabilities, so it’s important to stay on top of updates.

5. Windows repair

All it takes for your computer to stop working properly is for a few system files to go missing or become corrupted. Instead of reinstalling the operating system, a good tune-up tool will detect problems and replace damaged files with fresh copies.

This can also include shared files like DLLs, which commonly go missing due to software conflicts and malware.

6. Malware removal

Malware and virus infections are often key reasons why your PC is running slow, or system files are damaged. So, it is always a good idea to perform a scan and remove any threats whenever you do a PC tune-up.

Many tune-up tools come with some form of malware removal feature, but you should also use a standalone antivirus to ensure you get the most sophisticated threats.

You can also run a scan with the built-in Windows Defender tool in Windows.

7. Startup manager

Over time the number of programs that run on startup can greatly increase, which takes up memory and is often just annoying. It can also slow the startup speed itself, which isn’t ideal when you need to access your computer quickly.

Startup managers let you easily disable programs that are set to run on startup. This doesn’t uninstall the program or prevent you from using it when you choose to, but it will no longer automatically run in the background.

8. Uninstaller and updater

When tuning up your PC, you should also consider the software and programs installed on the system. Are there any you never use and could get rid of? When was the last time you checked for updates?

Tune-up tools often come with a helpful interface to uninstall or update these programs. Some can also identify potentially invasive or malicious programs that should probably be deleted.

9. Browser optimizer

As well as cleaning web browser caches, tune-up tools can also analyze extensions and plugins that may be slowing performance or are simply old and forgotten about.

10. Diagnostics and monitoring

While tune-up tools cannot fix physical problems with your hardware components, they can help you identify them with diagnostic and monitoring features. For example, you might be able to check temperatures, fan speeds, and available memory, to determine whether something needs fixing or replacing.

Such tools might also pull info from the Windows event logs and crash reports so you can more easily see the causes of system instability, why certain programs are crashing etc.

11. Backup, restore, and erase

Additional tune-up features may include a way to backup and restore your files and Windows itself. You might also be able to safely and thoroughly wipe a hard drive of its data.

What is the best PC tune-up tool?

The above features are the most common things included in a PC tune-up. You can accomplish many of these tasks in Windows itself, though tune-up tools provide one simple user interface to do them all.

For example, Fortect takes just a few minutes to scan your system, then you can pick and choose which areas to fix or repair everything at once.

All you have to do is:

• Download and Install Fortect on your PC.
• Click YES to scan your PC.
• The repair process takes no longer than 30 minutes on heavily damaged systems.

You should regularly tune your PC to maintain performance and keep it error-free. While there is no hard rule for what is classed as a ‘PC tune up’, you should always aim to keep everything up to date, repair anything that’s broken, and get rid of the junk.