In a perfect world there would be no lines at the bank, all of the traffic lights would stay green for us, and our systems would all run at lightning speed! Regrettably we actually don't live in a perfect world. We live in a real one where things don't always move as fast as we would like and there is not much we can do about it. Or is there? At least when it comes to your computer system, there are a few easy steps that you can take that will speed it up and make it perform better. So if you're always asking your friends how can I speed up my computer? - read on.
First of all find out if your hard disk drive is too full. The hard disk is where the operating system is stored, along with all other programs that are necessary to make your computer run properly, so if there is a lot of extra stuff there it's going to slow your computer system down. Ideally there must be 300MBs to 500MBs of free space on your hard drive. It needs this free space for temporary files and other disk file chores. If other things are being stored on your hard drive, move it to a different location on your PC or to an external hard disk drive, zip drive or back up disk. That's the initial step when you're wondering how to fix a slow computer.
Now look at your control panel to see if there are any programs there that you do not use. If you don't use them, make them go away. Uninstall programs which serve no purpose as they are just taking up space. However, when you uninstall a program, be aware that it will leave empty spaces on your computer, and when you install a new program or download a file, your computer might fill these spaces with fragments of the new program. Because of this, when you will try to open this program, the computer has to go searching for all of the pieces of it. In addition to slowing your computer down, this also causes it to use up a lot of energy and might result in the hardware on the PC to wear out, that's why you need to defrag your disk drive on a regular basis.
When you defrag your computer you will find that its overall performance will improve. Programs will run faster, and you will gain a good amount of free space. If you have not defragged your PC before, it will probably a bit longer the first time, but when it is done routinely it is a pretty quick process and it keeps everything running smoothly. You should run the Scandisk before you defrag to make sure the hard drive is running appropriately. Both the Scandisk and the Disk Defragmenter are positioned in the System Tools folder under Accessories. They come standard on virtually all computer.
Always make sure you are backing up your files on a CD-ROM or an external hard drive, especially if you are going to defrag. If for any reason the PC shuts down during this process it may cause your whole system to crash your information may be lost permanently.
You will be able to speed up your computer and have it perform better if you simply keep it clean and properly organized. Then you can stop wondering why is my computer so slow.