Simple steps to speed up your pc.

I know most of you reading this have at some time have issues with a slow computer. Maybe it’s just old? Possibly. Then again, maybe your computer is loaded with programs you don’t use.. or your registry hasn’t had a good cleaning in years. Whichever the case may be, I’m going to give you a few tips on how you can keep your computer running smooth as a baby’s bottom.

1. Free up unused programs and disk space.

This is a fairly easy step. The disk cleanup tool should already be installed on your computer. All you have to do is load up the tool and put it to work. The tool will do a disk analysis when you first run it. It identifies files that can generally be deleted safely.

Use disk cleanup to:

• Empty the recycle bin.

• Remove optional Windows components that you don’t use.

• Remove installed programs that you don’t use any longer.

• Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore.

• Remove temporary Internet files.

• Remove downloaded program files (Java applets, ActiveX controls).

• Remove Windows temporary files such as error reports.

To use Disk Cleanup:

1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, then click Disk Cleanup. You will most likely be prompted to select which drives you want the tool to clean (such as C: or D:).

2. Disk cleanup will begin to calculate how much space you will be able to free.

3. Look through the list of options and uncheck any box that you don’t want the tool to clean.

4. When asked to confirm if you want to delete the files. Click Yes.

2. Defragment your hard drives.

Defragmenting your computer speeds up access to files and gives your PC an overall boost in speed. Defragmenting reorganizes the hard drive by putting pieces of related data back together so that files are organized in a contiguous fashion. This step can take some time but is worth it in the end, so just be patient.

To use Disk Defragmenter:

1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
2. Once you see the dialog box pop up, Click Analyze. After the disk is analyzed, a dialog box will pop up and tell you whether you should defragment the analyzed drives. Always remember to analyzed first so that you get an estimated time on how long the process could take.
3. Start the defragment process and let it run. This may take awhile so you could go run some errands and come back to check on it later.

3. Fixing registry errors.

Registry errors can be a pain. But this may be one of the most important things you do for your computers performance. The registry holds all the computers data about updates and programs and generally tells them how to run. As time passes and more programs are installed or uninstalled, the registry becomes full of invalid entries. You should always backup your registry before doing anything to it just incase something goes wrong. Never attempt to manually fix the registry. The best thing you can do is buy a registry cleaning program. The program will clean and fix errors for you and save a lot of trouble. You may also be able to search for a free registry program online. If your short on pocket change, this would be my suggestion.

4. Protect against Spyware.

Spyware can really slow down your computer. Keeping your PC spyware free is one of the most important things that you should do. Spyware collects information without letting you know or asking for your permission. Spyware can put you at risk by gaining passwords, usernames, credit card numbers and numerous other information about you. Besides stealing personal information, spyware affects your computers performance on a massive scale. In order to check your computer for spyware, you might want to consider using PC safety scan from Windows Live OneCare. The scan is free and will help check for and remove viruses.