Has your computer slowed down compared to when it was new? Does it take a whole lot longer to start your computer? Do programs seem to take a much longer time to load up and run now? Here are some quick and easy tips designed to speed up your computer.

If you have been using your computer for six to 12 months or even longer than the first thing you should do is locate the defragmentation program that came along with your computer. This is a built in program that you should run on a regular basis in order to make it easier for your hard drive to perform well. It will take the pieces of files that have been broken up and stored in a variety of locations or your hard drive and consolidate them into smaller areas. Because your computer does not have to work as hard to find all of these pieces it runs quicker.

After you defrag your hard drive, which is as easy as running any other program on your computer, the next thing you want to do is run your disk cleanup utility. This utility also comes along with the Windows operating system and is extremely easy to use. It simply examines your hard drive closely looking for bad sectors that your computer is tripping over and slowing it down. Repairing these bad sectors will make your computer run a lot faster.

Another problem for anyone using their computer on the Internet is the existence of spyware programs. Spyware programs are installed by people who want to spy on your actions and attempt to control the websites that you visit. Almost no one ever invites these programs on to their computers. Evil people sneak them in when people do things like downloading free screensavers, backgrounds for your desktop, and many other sneaky tricks. To protect yourself for free you can use Microsoft’s Internet Defender program on your computer. Or, for a bit more of protection you can buy a commercial anti-spyware program to protect you. Yes, it is true that this software may cost you $30 or $40 or more but it can be well worth the investment.

It will also be worth your while to clean off the thousands of files that are stored on your computer that you never ever use. These files include temporary Internet files that your browser stores to speed up your access to websites many of which you will never ever visit again, also Windows temporary files, optional Windows components that you simply don’t need, and even software programs that you installed intentionally but you have not used for the last year or two. Removing all of these things will also speed up your computer dramatically.

This last tip may cost you $50-$100 to implement but it will probably do more then all of the other tips combined in terms of speeding up your computer. Check your instruction book that came along with your computer and see if it is operating with the full complement of random access memory. Then come in to Computer Connections and see one of our sales associates to buy more random access memory. Bring your instruction manual with you and we can look up the exact type of memory that you need. When you get home find a screwdriver to remove the case on your computer and in less than 10 minutes that you will find that even the most inexperienced of us are shocked by how easy it is to install memory into our computers. If you can plug in a toaster in the morning then you can install additional memory in your computer. If you still feel uncomfortable doing this for yourself, be sure to bring in your computer when you come in and we can do this for you while you wait.

The tips listed above are just a few of the many things that can be done to remove much of the frustration that comes along with using a slowed down computer. You really do not have to suffer through this slowdown.