PC Slowing Down

There are any number of reasons for your PC slowing down. You could have a virus, you could have spyware, you could simply have an overloaded hard drive. The good news is that your pc slowing down is something that you can almost always fix yourself! This will save you time and money. Here are a few hints and tricks to keep your pc running like clockwork:

There are a number of programs that you will want to run on a regular basis: your registry cleaner, your disk cleanup, your disk defragmentor, an anti-spyware program and a virus checker. This sounds like a lot to do, but it hardly takes any time at all and these are all programs that will run in the background of your computer which means you can still use your computer while they are working.

The first thing you should do is run your anti-spyware program. Even websites that seem perfectly harmless might be installing spyware onto your computer and this spyware is one of the main reasons for pcs slowing down. Running the anti-spyware program once or twice a week is a good way to keep your spyware problem under control.

After you finish running your spyware program, you should run a registry cleaner. The registry cleaner checks for any leftover bits of files or programs that you might have deleted recently and gets rid of them. It also makes sure that all of the programs on your registry are complete and not missing any of their components. A computer with lots of little unattached bits runs quite a bit slower than a computer whose registry is clean.

From here you will want to run your disk cleanup and check to see if you need to defragment your hard drive. You shouldn't have to defragment your hard drive very often if you keep up with your maintenance tasks. The disk cleanup gets rid of the files in the temporary internet files folder, and anything that you might not have used in a while. These are files that you might not think to check for. The disk defragmentor makes sure that all of the files on your computer are located in the correct folders.

Finally, you will want to run a virus check on your computer. There are a couple of good free virus checks that you can run through the internet, but there are also plenty of virus programs available for downloading or purchase. These should be run at least once a week. A good virus checker will not just check for viruses but will get rid of them for you as well.

It is amazing how just these few simple maintenance tasks, when done on a regular basis can help to stop your pc slowing down. A well maintained computer is a computer that ages more slowly and will run quickly for a longer period of time. It might seem like a pain to do these regular maintenance tasks, but your pc will thank you for it.

Slow Computer Problems Tip #1

Check your internet cache. Not only does every single page you look at on the internet get stored into a history folder in the depths of your computer, but every single part of those pages gets saved as a separate file in what is known as the cache folder. Yes, every single tiny graphic gets stored in its own file. That green dot that repeats twelve times as an illustration of bullet points? Twelve separate gif files in your cache. Make sure you clean out the cache often.

Slow Computer Problems Tip #2

Ad ware is the devil. Ad ware can be attached to your computer by any number of sites (though it is most famously used by sites of an "adult" nature). This ad ware keeps track of where you go online like a cookie does, but ad ware is typically a covert program that slows down the computer to make it easier to track where you go. Run a spy ware or ad aware program on a regular basis to keep these programs and files at bay.

Slow Computer Problems Tip #3

Defragment your hard drive regularly. Sometimes parts of your files get corrupted. The more files that are corrupted or "fragmented," the more slowly your computer will run. A defragmentation of your hard drive should be done on a regular basis. It is a long process, so the defragmenting program is best run overnight.