Restoring the Old PC (my personal experience)

Yah, this post has nothing to do with sewing, home decor, weddings, photography or anything else you'd put on a mood board. BUT, I think this is something many of you might want to pin for later because at some point in your lives you probably (for one awful reason or another) will have to use the....dunt, dunt, dunnnnn....KID'S COMPUTER. Image via anna_t.

If you at some point in your life need to use the "kids computer" or are too budget constrained to splurge for a nice shiny new computer then you might want to try this little tutorial and see where it takes you. Perhaps you can get a few more months....years?....out of your old one. If you like things like crisp clean fonts, fancy Windows color schemes and multiple background services then this tutorial is NOT for you. But if you just want to surf the internet without aging ten years or open an application without crashing the entire neighborhood then give this a try. I can't guarantee this will help you but it sure helped me. PS this is not for Macs:-( Also, I take NO RESPONSIBILITY for any loss of function of your computer. Do this AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! I am no computer technician. Just a blogger who tinkers with the computer every now and again.

Firstly, (the backstory behind this post)....It became was rather long so I put it in a separate page. You can read my harrowing experience that lead me to this post here. Or if you just want to get to the good stuff read below:

Step 1: Wipe all the encrusted food off the screen, keyboard, touchpad and cover. Yah,  I mentioned this was the 'kids' computer, correct?

Step 2: If you are not currently in "Classic View"....switch now. It takes help the computer to run better and the rest of this tutorial will be in "classic view". To do this click on the Start button . Then go to Control Panel, choose Appearance and Personalization, then Personalization, and then Theme. Under Theme, select the Windows Classic theme in the drop-down list, and then click OK.

Step 3: Stay in control panel and click on Performance Information and Tools. On the left hand sidebar click on Adjust Visual Effects. Then click the radio button that says "adjust for best performance". Click Ok.

Step 4: While still in Performance Information and Tools click "Adjust Power Settings" on the left hand sidebar. Then choose the radio button that says "High Performance". Then click the back button to get back to Performance Information and Tools.

Step 5: Click on "Adjust Power Settings" on the left hand sidebar. Then click the radio button for "High Performance". Click the back button TWICE to return to the Control Panel.

Step 6: In the Control Panel Click on the icon marked Personalization.

Step 7: Choose Window Color and Apperance.

Step 8: Choose Windows Standard and click OK.

Step 9: If that doesn't help with your computer speed then the next step should. But it will require that you turn off a lot of background services. If you find that something you need stops working you can always go back and turn on that setting again. First what I want you to do is turn off you computer and restart in Safe Mode WITH NETWORKING. To do this, repeatedly tap f8 until you get this screen. Choose the option "Safe Mode with Networking". What we are going to be essentially doing is making a selective startup that will mimic safe mode with a few extras options for the use of sound (safe mode does not allow for sound).

Step 10: Once your computer loads go to the Start button  and in the search bar type msconfig.

Step 11: Under the General tab choose the radio button for "Selective Startup".

Step 12: Then choose the "Services" tab.

Step 13: Click on the bar that says "Status". Your list will now be organized by applications that are running. Uncheck ALL services by hitting the "disable all" button below (sorry I forgot to highlight it).

Step 14: Now recheck all the services that have the "running" status next to them. You must scroll down to see all the services.

Step 15: Also check these services that are "stopped": 

"Windows Audio Enpoint Builder"

"Windows Audio"

"Multimedia Class Scheduler"

"Remote Procedure Cell (RPC)" Then hit "Apply". Then hit "OK".

Step 16: Now restart your computer like you normally would. NO safe mode. Start windows normally. Voila! Your computer should be running a lot smoother. Programs should load better, internet shouldn't be so clunky. If your sound is running fine then skip to step 23. Now, if you are having problems with sound here's what you should do....Under the Start button  type services.msc (This is my kids computer so don't be thrown off my the Tangled background).

Step 17: Scroll down to "Windows Audio".

Step 18: If the status says "Stopped" or is blank then right click and choose the "Start" option. If that doesn't work go to the next step.

Step 19: Right click on "Windows Audio" and click Properties.

Step 20: Under the "Dependencies" tab note which services are needed to run Windows Audio. Write these down. Now close out the Services windows.

Step 21: Go to the Start button  and in the search bar type msconfig.

Step 22: Go to the Services tab and find the services you wrote down. Check mark them. Then hit "Apply" and "OK". Restart your computer like your normally would. NO SAFE MODE. Your sound should be working.

Step 23: If you want to eliminate even more unnecessary programs. Go back to msconfig like you did previously. Now, click the "Startup" tab. Go through the list and if you see any unnecessary services then uncheck them. Finally hit "Apply" and "OK" and restart your computer. 

If you find that your computer is no longer working correctly (ie internet won't connect, sound won't work) DON'T FREAK OUT!!!! Go back and recheck them all and figure out which one is causing the malfunction by picking and choosing then restarting your computer. It's tedious I know. Hopefully you don't have too many items to pick through. For the most part I could tell which ones were garbage (like my old Brother printer items) and which ones were not (Adobe Acrobat, Windows Operating System). There were a few I was unsure of. You can also do a google search to see what they are meant to do. Or you could uncheck them and test at your own risk. If you ever have a problem restarting your computer after fiddling around with these settings go back to SAFE MODE. Open msconfig. Then under the "general" tab choose the radio button marked "normal startup" and restart your computer.

I hope this tutorial might have helped some of you who struggle with a lame computer. If you have any questions I can try to answer them but please keep in mind I am no computer technician. Just a blogger who tinkers with the computer now and again. I might not be able to help.