Making Your Computer Run Faster, Vacuum It

I have gone over this numerous times with customers, as I am a computer technician. People ask why there computers go slow. They think they need new hardware automatically... They think it will speed up there computer. To an extent... Yes it will, but that is not always the main problem. Whether you have a 1 GHZ processor or a 3 GHZ processor, the main concern for sluggish systems is the information that is on the hard drive. In this article I am going to explain the ways you can keep your computer clean, and what exactly makes a computer run fast.

1. Spyware
Spyware... One of the internets most annoying pests. If it weren't for the internet people wouldn't have this problem, but that's the way it goes. Although 100 % of people who us the net get spyware, it can be avoided. Spyware is potentially malicious background running programs normally that run behind the scenes. They can cause pop ups, hanging of the computer, and crashes. Many people do not even know what spyware is nor what it is doing to there computer so for you people listen up carefully. There are many programs out there that clean spyware, but most of them are garbage. I do not endorse the programs I list, I just recommend them as I have had great success with them. Programs such as Counterspy, Spy Sweeper, No Adware, and Spyware Doctor are all great anti spyware programs. The all have daily updates, and can be run in the background with very low usage. I highly recommend these programs. You have to pay for them but it is well worth it. Once you run these programs and update them you will see a major difference... I guarantee it.

2. The Registry
The registry is one of the most dangerous places to access on a computer. If you don't know what you are doing, please do not attempt to change anything in the registry. For newbies, there are programs that do the dirty work for you. I recommend you use them. Again I do not endorse any of these programs. System Mechanic, and Registry Mechanic are both of the top programs on the market. They clear the registry up of any excess information or holes in files. Also while doing this and updating it daily, your computer will run very much faster.

3. Virus's
Virus's are a highly contageous way of destroying your computer on the net. No matter where you go on the net, if you do not have an anti virus program running you are more than likely vulnerable to getting a virus. It is just that simple. Downloading programs, accessing fan based websites, and what not are all ways you can get virus's... Even opening emails can give you virus's. When I say virus's... I mean hundreds of them at a time. They infect your computer and steal any valuable information, while clearing out your system information. If not treated properly they can shut your computer down until you give it a good reconfiguration. Some of the programs I recommend but do not endorse are, Norton Anti Virus, and Mcafee. Trend Micro is also a free way of getting rid of those virus's. Norton and Mcafee are both normally between 20 and 50.00, but are a great way of keeping your system virus free, as they both run in the background. After an update, and a good cleaning you will see a great difference in the way your computer runs.

4. Clearing out your System and Internet Cache
This makes a minor difference, but still helps your computer and frees up space. Cache is the information that is received by the internet to the computer, or storage for the information. It can pile up greatly, even though it is very very small, the amount of cache can create a pretty big overall difference, so clearing it out can clean up a lot of tracks your computer drags in from the internet. You can simply go to Start - Windows - Control Panel - Internet Options - Hit the General Tab - and Delete Cookies - Delete Files - Clear History. This is for Windows based machines. It might take a few minutes depending on your computer. This will add to the cleaning process and make a slight difference.

5. Defragmentation
This is probably the most important of them all. Many people don't even know where or what this is. Without this feature a computer would have files scattered all about and wouldn't know what to do. Defragmenting in simple terms is organizing the files that are scattered about and putting them in there places, and putting whatever files that are useless in another pile. This makes the computer run 100 % better, believe me. What you can do is simply from a Windows based machine... Hit Start - All Programs or Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Defragmenter or Defragment. Once there hit Analyze which will analyze what needs to be defragmented, then hit defragment. The process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours, possibly even more depending on how bad your computer is.

- After Effect
The after effect while doing all of this will make your computer run so much bettter. It will feel like the time when you first purchased the machine, with all of your stuff on it.

- What Makes The Computer Run Faster?
As I promised to explain this I will. People think processors make the computer run faster. As a fact it does, but my opinion... No! Processors are a factor, but only a minor one. There are other hardware parts in the computer that need to be ran, and a processor can't handle all of that baggage. Hard Drives have speed control on them automatically, known as RPM or Revolutions per Minute. That being created in the old days, is still known now a days as the same thing. When looking for a hard drive, many people look for the size of the hard drive. But it is the speed of the hard drive that makes the most difference. Many people have between a 5400 and 7200 RPM hard drive. While 5400 RPM hard drives will do the job, it will not load programs as fast as a 7200 RPM. Looking for a 7200 will not be much more money, and is worth every extra penny. You also have the "Seek Time", which is the speed at which data is accessed. Average seek times are between 7 and 9 milliseconds. With that and RPM, the hard drive makes a huge difference, and while without the processor can't run, makes a bigger difference than what a processor actually does. There are other things to look at when explaing hard drives, like the type of controller, etc, but the basic parts are the RPM and Seek Times. Next thing to look at is the RAM or the Random Access Memory. Very important! You can't really run programs with just the hard drive and processor, because without that there wouldn't be enough power to open multiple programs, so that is where the RAM comes into play. RAM is the organizer and main part when programs are running. Without RAM you wouldn't be able to multi-task, or run more than one program. Average RAM in a computer now is around a gig or 1000 MB. In a laptop 512 KB. Although you can add extra RAM with ease, it is well worth it. The more the merrier. I wouldn't add too much more than 1 gig though, as it won't make much more of a difference, as many people do not run more than 25 programs at a time normally. When I say that I mean running in the middle of your bar where the Start Button is, not the background programs. Background programs need RAM to run as well, as if you CTRL-ALT-DLT, and check the memory of the program that is the RAM being used. Windows 2000 and XP shows this information. Now... With all of this being said, these three features make the computer work, and of course the more power you get, the faster it will run.

All of you have just had a great lesson on how a computer runs. So enjoy the article and use it whenever you need!

Oh and can't forget this... Where does all this hardware go? Any answers?? Yes the Motherboard, which is the mainframe of the computer. Keyword Mother, meaning it takes care of all of the hardware, and runs and takes care of it.