There are two ways to attempt to speed up slow computers; those that are certain, and those that are uncertain - and in some cases, risky.Many solutions touted on the Internet fall into the uncertain/risky and even deceptive category, at least from my personal experience. For this article, the focus will be registry fixes. With many of them being promoted, I decided to try four of them - for FREE, as the advertisements go. I will not mention their names and give them added publicity. They are the same ones that show up regularly in search engine queries. My reasons were to test them and research the viability of potentially marketing one or more of these products myself. I was curious because I advise IT staffs at Fortune 500 companies on industry best practices to speed up slow computer systems, and when I am not working my day job, I too market solutions on the Internet. I want to stay on the cutting-edge of technology. But I also want to be sure my recommended solutions work before I put my name to them.
The four registry fixes I happened upon were all downloadable for free. They all scanned my system for free. Well, three of four completed their scans. The fourth actually shut down my computer mid-scan. I rebooted, and removed it. Enough said there. The other three found errors ranging from 500-1900, but no two found the same number. Two of three generously offered to remove a small number of errors for free (less than 20), which I graciously accepted. All three offered me the option of purchasing the full license that would fix all remaining errors, but only one showed me the cost ($37) without requiring me to first give up my email. I did not order any of them. Instead, I waited to see what these programs installed on my computer would do next. See, when you agree to a free scan, you are also agreeing to download and install.
One of the programs had installed itself to my Windows startup log and actually slowed down my computer during boot. Upon boot completion, I had to close a pop-up window, every time I started my PC. That was annoying enough for me to remove that program. It was not offering to repair any more supposed problems. It just served as a daily ad for me to buy their product. I think if I had, it would have continued to boot on start up, slowing me down, and popping up daily to run a scam, I mean scan... I think. But who needs a daily registry scan if the problems were repaired at last startup?
With two programs left on my hard drive, I later found that one of them had installed with a weekly scheduler activated. The first time it happened I was taken by surprise. It scanned my system like the first time, found hundreds of errors again, fixed none this time, and offered me my second opportunity to buy the full license. I declined, and closed the window. Now, I do understand these companies need to charge for these products. I just want to make sure when I open my wallet that I am actually getting something of value. The next time it activated, it scanned for only a few minutes before shutting down my PC. Remind me before I finish this article to nuke that one as well.
While I cannot attest to whether or not any of these programs would have actually repaired the registry errors they identified (assuming they were legitimate errors in the first place), I can say that my uncertainty is a certainty. And that goes for all software programs that claim to fix errors with code or system settings - especially when it comes to operating systems. While Microsoft has been well-publicized for its mistakes over the years, they still invest a lot more in R&D than all registry cleaner manufacturers combined (regardless of what MAC commercials would like you to believe; but what great entertainment!). And, for that reason, it is one industry best practice to avoid the unknown. I know a lot of IT managers who regularly re-install operating systems on PCs because rogue users download programs they thought would speed up their slow computers only to end up with more issues than before.
Taken From : EzineArticles
Comments :
Post a Comment