Your computer is slow, sluggish or just lags tremendously; your programs will not load, startup is slow and computer shutdown is even slower – you just want a cure.  All you want to know is how to speed up your PC – and we have a couple of tips in mind that may just do the trick for you.

Common problems that cause your computer to run slowly

While there are a number of PC problems that can lead to a slow computing experience, many of these problems arise due to one, or both, of these two circumstances:

1. You have spyware, Trojans, viruses or other malware running on your computer
2. Your  hard drive is heavily fragmented

The good news for you today is that all of the above problems have easy solutions, regardless of whether you are a PC expert or a complete computer novice.  Both solutions are free, and all you really need to do is invest a little bit of time on computer maintenance and you may be able to speed up your PC in a few easy steps.

Why defragmenting your hard drive will speed up your computer?

When your computer’s hard drive is fragmented, it means that certain files, which are stored on your hard drive, are saved in various locations on your hard drive instead of in one location.  When your computer has to retrieve these files, it has to work harder in order to pull all of the pieces together, thus it can cause your computer to run more slowly.

Moreover, if you haven’t defragmented your hard drive in a long time (or ever!), chances are your computer is running much slower than it should be simply because you likely have an over-abundance of fragmented files on your computer.  All Windows computers have a built-in defragmentation utility, and by just running this program, you may see an improvement in your PCs speed.

Spyware, viruses and malware – your PCs worst enemy

Spyware and viruses abound online, and it’s about as easy to get an infection on your computer as it is to pick up a cold or the flu from sitting in a hospital waiting room.  Many times, we do not even notice the malware running on our computers until it starts to cause problems, such as error messages, computer crashes, or just sluggish behavior from our PCs.

Any type of malware, whether it is a virus, trojan horse, or spyware, can rob your computer of its resources and can cause the common slow computer startup problem and slow PC performance issues.

AVG Antivirus offers a free virus and spyware-cleaning tool that will help rid your computer of malicious programs that eat away at your computer’s resources.

Taking action to improve your PCs performance

Now that you know how to speed up your PC, all you need to do is take a little bit of time to implement the tips we have outlined above.  These tips are super-easy and best of all – they will not cost you anything but a few minutes of your time to see real improvements in your computer’s performance.

The importance of cleaning up your computer’s hard drive is often overlooked by computer users, if for no other reason than they really don’t know how to do it.  Quite honestly, a “clean” hard drive can be likened to a clean house – if it’s in order, you can find things easier and therefore you’re generally more efficient when you’re performing day-to-day tasks indoors.  Likewise, a clean hard drive results in better PC performance and more efficiency.

Now, before you head to the garage to grab the screwdriver and the kitchen for the soapy water, we’re going to share with you how you can properly clean up your computer’s hard drive.

Cleaning up temporary files

On many PCs, temporary files take up an immense amount of space; especially if such files haven’t been cleaned in a while (or ever!).  Unfortunately, Windows does not have a built-in, easy-to-use temporary file cleaning program, but there are plenty available to choose from.

A popular program that others use to clean up their temporary files is the program located at CCleaner.com – not only will it clean most web browsers’ history, cache and temporary internet files, it clears your Windows recycle bin and recent documents as well.

Defragmentation

A defragmented hard drive is like a hopelessly cluttered home where you are looking for your misplaced keys.  Your computer’s files, even through general use, will become “fragmented” whereby bits and pieces of certain files are stored at different locations on your hard drive.  When you run a defragmentation tool, you are essentially tidying-up your hard drive and organizing your files in the way that they are meant to be stored.

If you’re familiar with the hobby of scrapbooking, you can think of a whole file as a scrapbook and the individual sleeves as fragments of that book. When you’re scrapbooking, you’ll often times have a sleeve on the table, on the couch and maybe even at a friend’s house – in order to access the entire book, you have to locate and retrieve each sleeve – which can be time-consuming and can slow down your access to the book considerably.   This is what happens when files become fragmented on your computer.

In any case – defragmenting your computer’s hard drive is simple and straight-forward:

1. Double click on My Computer
2. Right click on Local Disk (usually C:)
3. Choose Properties >> Tools >> Defragment Now >> Start

It’s likely that the defragmentation process will take a while initially, but it’s highly recommended that you run this utility on a regular basis to keep your files organized and your hard drive running efficiently.

These two steps alone will help you remove temporary files that take up hard drive space as well as cleaning up fragmented files that degrade your computer’s performance.  Just remember, though, your hard drive is something that soap and water will not clean!