How to Optimize Your Computer Right Now

Optimize and save a ton of space, speed up your computer, and make it easy to find your files.

Why Would You Need to Optimize Your Computer?

Think of your computer’s hard drive like a big library with all your files being like books stored within. Isn’t it quicker to find the book you want with fewer things in the library?

Having your files stored in the correct place or storage drive along with up-to-date applications (in most cases) will make your computer run speedily, allowing for a healthier machine with fewer problems. Remember, computers need to be serviced just like cars do to run more efficiently and without issue.

Let’s start by looking at the software installed on your computer and what you can do to improve.

Software

Uninstalling old software or old versions of existing software that you don’t need or use anymore serves a few purposes.

1. You create more space on your computer (which is always a good thing — see my library analogy).
2. Having different versions of the same software on your PC or Mac can sometimes conflict with each other, causing system crashes and bugs, stopping things from working as they should.
3. If you’re sharing files with other people, having the latest version usually allows for backwards compatibility with older versions of software, and this is more likely to stop conflicts between versions of applications.

Mac

For Mac, this can be as simple as using the drag-and-drop method and dragging the unwanted software from the applications folder into the recycle bin on the end of the dock. MacOS will handle taking all the applications files and get rid of them once the bin is emptied (right-click on the bin and empty it by clicking empty bin).

PC

Go to Settings on Windows 10 and click the Apps section.

Then, click Apps and Features highlighted here on the left.

Find the application you want to uninstall and click on it, then click uninstall. 

You can also use the Control Panel item Programs and Features (This used to be called Add/Remove Programs). To open the Control Panel, you can start typing Control Panel in the search magnifying glass on the bottom taskbar, or press the Windows key on the keyboard and type control panel and then open the desired item. If Category is set in the View field at the top right, click it, then click large icons on the drop-down arrow, then programs and features.

You can also choose Uninstall a program. This screen then shows everything, including patches and old software to uninstall. It’s generally not wise to uninstall anything Microsoft has installed, as these may be operating system patches and bug fixes that make your system work.

Click the application to remove, then click uninstall at the top.

This is going to give you a basic idea of how to remove software but can also leave remnants of the applications behind, which can be difficult to remove as they can be stored in the PC’s registry. In this case, you may want to consider a third-party uninstaller program. For my Mac, I use Clean My Mac, made by Macpaw, which is great.

Hardware

I would always suggest that spending out on the best computer you can afford at the time of buying is the best option. Don’t go for deals that stores offer on specific models, as they could be trying to get rid of entry-level specification models at a cheaper price. You might even be better buying a higher-spec refurbished machine with a warranty that’s a few years old than a brand new under-spec machine. Remember, unless you want to start taking your PC apart and getting it upgraded by a professional computer store or try this yourself, then you are generally stuck with what you’ve got, and that can sometimes be costly. With Macs, you won’t be able to upgrade the processor, as they are soldered to the logic board and almost impossible to change without changing major parts inside the computer and essentially costing you more than it’s worth. That being said, there are a few things you can do that are relatively easy if you want to give them a try.

RAM Upgrades

RAM is a good, quick win for creatives, as we generally need lots of it to run Photoshop, Lightroom, and video-editing apps such as Final Cut Pro or Premier Pro. Look for at a minimum 16 GB RAM with the new Mac M1 and at least double that if you’re buying the previous Intel versions. PCs follow the same architecture as the Intel Macs, so stick with 32 GB minimum and 64 GB or above if you can afford it. 

To find out how much you have on your Mac, go to Apple – About This Mac, and the Overview will show you how much you have. If you don’t see a Memory tab (if you’re using the new M1 processors, for example), then you can’t upgrade your Mac’s memory.

For a PC using Windows 10, you can just right-click on Start Menu and click on System in pop-up menu to open the information window.

Hard Disks

I always say to creatives that contact me: never store your images on the computer’s internal hard drive. Instead, I suggest keeping all your photo or video files on a decent fast USB-C drive, such as Lacie's 2TB Rugged USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C External SSD or an external hard drive (minimum 1 TB and ideally an SSD). 

Buying a new or used computer these days, you could get away with the purchase of a 512 GB internal SSD if you’re only storing your applications on there. Also, don’t be tempted to try to run newer operating systems such as Monterey, Ventura, or Windows 11 on the older, slower SATA hard drives. Even Apple’s own Fusion Drive (hybrid SSD/SATA) drive is no longer really a viable option, as it becomes too slow to access files, run applications, and boot up your computer. Newer operating systems are optimized for SSD drives. 

Quick Tips

Windows

• Go to the start menu and type in %temp% and delete everything in there (clears out all the temporary files used by Windows).
• Run the disk clean-up program and tick all the boxes to remove unneeded files.
• Run disk optimizer every so often. It speeds up your hard drive access and puts files back where they should be in an easy-to-access order.

Mac

• Disk Utility is a great place to start when you want to optimize your drives. Click on the HD in the top left and HD-Data one by one, and run first aid on both. It’ll fix permission issues and speed up your hard drives.
• Make sure you plug in an external drive and use Apple’s Time Machine application, as there’s no better way to ensure your work is safely backed up.