Imagine you’re dashing through the woods in a marathon and suddenly fall into a pool of mud. You’re straining your legs as fast as possible, but the dirt clinging to you makes your footsteps heavy and slow. That’s what your computer goes through when it’s clogged full of unnecessary files.
Junk files can pile up over time until they’re the digital equivalent of a mud pit, slowing your system’s processes to a slog. Every once in a while, you need to hunt down the useless files gumming up the works. This effort can speed up your computer and even improve its overall performance.
Tap or click here for one quick tip to speed up your PC or Mac. If that doesn’t solve the problem, no worries — we put together six tricks you can use to fix the fluff and focus only on what your computer needs to run smoothly. We’ll give you multiple problem-solving strategies to clear your computer of all that metaphorical mud.
This tip is brought to you by our sponsor, Dell. Read to the end to see how Dell can help you find the right tech for free. No one likes wasting money!
So, what are unnecessary files?
It’s an umbrella term for all the gunk you don’t need. For instance, old files you no longer use as well as duplicates.
Another source of clutter comes from temporary files your system uses to store data while running programs. They’re also helpful when creating permanent files.
For example, say you’re saving an important document in Microsoft Word, but something goes awry with the program. You don’t have to worry because your computer saved a temporary file as a backup. They can be helpful in case of emergency, but they can build up to a significant chunk of space you don’t need over time.
Here are six ways to clean out your Mac or PC.
1. Use native software
In other words, use the program that naturally comes with your Mac or PC. They’re tailored to your device’s requirements, making them the optimal software. If you download extraneous programs all willy-nilly, you’re likely using something with more features than you need.
Got a PC? Use the Disk Cleanup tool
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