10 Tips to Help Speed Up Your PC

When you buy a new computer it works perfectly but as time goes by it gradually becomes more and more sluggish, web pages load slower and downloads take longer to complete. Sounds familiar? It seems that many people don't realize the importance of regularly maintaining and cleaning their systems up from unnecessary software, old files and unused programs.

Here are a few basic things you can do to insure that your computer is performing at its best:

1. Open your Control Panel and go to Add/Remove Programs. Check for programs you don't use and programs that are just taking space on your drive. Press Remove to uninstall them.

2. Regularly delete your Temporary Internet Files. These are files that your computer uses to store information about pages and sites you visit on the Web for faster future viewing. To do so, go to Tools (on top of your screen)-Internet Options. On the General Tab you'll see Temporary Internet Files. Press Delete Files; also delete all offline content and cookies. You can clear your History, too. While you are still on that General Tab go to Settings. Check the amount of disc space that the temporary files use. This number shouldn't be higher than 120 MB. You can set it anywhere between 60 and 120.

3. Go to Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disc Cleanup. Select the drive you want to clean up. You can see how much space you can free up by deleting unnecessary files. Make sure the files you want to erase are checked and then press Delete.

4. Defragment your hard drive whenever necessary. It helps your computer work faster and more efficiently. Go to Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disc Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to check. A dialog box opens and it tells you whether you need to defragment the drive or not. Be careful, excessively defragmented disc can cause your programs to run slower.

5. Adding more memory is one of the cheapest ways to increase the speed of your PC. You can check how much memory you have by going to Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Information. Generally if you have less than 512 MB you'll need to add more. Memory is available in all computer stores and online. Make sure you know what kind you need or at least have all necessary information about your computer (model, brand, year) ready.

6. Check for updates available for your computer.

7. Check how many programs run in the background. Too many programs running in the background can significantly slow down your computer. To do so go to Start - Run then type msconfig.exe and press OK. Go to the Startup Tab where you can see the names of those programs. You can disable them by clearing the check box in front of them. If you would like to know more about startup applications you can visit the following site: Pacs -portal.co.uk

8. Regularly check for spyware and adware on your computer. These are programs that run in the background and track and gather personal information about you - the websites you visit, the products you might be interested in, etc. They also might cause your computer to run slow. Where do these programs come from? Usually when you download something for free - like music, screensavers, or games you get a whole lot more than you think- spyware/adware programs are downloaded to your computer without you even knowing it.

Good and free to use anti-spyware software is Spybot-Search & Destroy available at Download.com. Another great program is Ad-Aware SE which is also free for personal use and can be downloaded here.

9. If you need to access your registry go to Start - Run then type regedit.exe and press OK. It's not always a good idea to make changes in it because it's not only time-consuming but also there is a good chance you'll make a mistake if you don't know exactly what you are doing.

10. Back up your data regularly.

In conclusion, keep your system up-to-date, check regularly for spyware and adware, defragment your hard drive whenever necessary and your computer should perform adequately.