How Can I Speed Up My PC?

There are so many different things you can do to speed up your PC, it can feel overwhelming. I prefer to make things as simple as possible. So, to answer your question, there are basically two ways to speed up your PC:

#1 - Get rid of old data.

Or

#2 - Add more memory.

I’m going to address both of these options, but I’ll start with the first. The best thing to do, of course, is to get rid of old data, unused programs, etc – basically all of the stuff that has built up on your hard drive over the years. This is something you should do periodically to make sure your PC doesn’t crash on you one day.

OK, so how do I get rid of old data on my PC?

Here’s an easy answer — remove old programs. You know that program you downloaded eons ago, the one that you used once and then forgot about? Well, there are probably a few of those collecting dust on your hard drive. So, get rid of them.

Here’s how you do it:

- Click on the Start menu, then Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs.

- A long list of your programs will appear.

- Select the program you want to remove, then click on the Remove or Change/Remove tab and follow the prompts.

- Rinse, Repeat …

It’s that simple! Now that you have de-cluttered your hard drive, your PC will run faster.

What about Defragmenting my PC?

This is another easy way to speed up your PC. Defragmenting your PC basically means that you are letting your PC reorganize data in such a way that it is easier to retrieve. It allows your PC to access info quicker, and that means you don’t have to wait forever for your computer to perform everyday tasks.

Here’s how to defrag your computer:

- Click on the Start menu, then My Computer

- Right click on the letter associated with your hard drive (it should be C:)

- Click on the Tools tab, then the Defragment Now button, and follow the prompts.

- That’s it – you’ve just defragged your PC! It should run much better now.

Are there any other ways to clean up my PC?

I’m glad you asked. If you want to take a “hands off” approach to cleaning the junk off of your hard drive, you will want to use a Windows Registry Cleaner. This is a software program that does all the work for you. It scans your PC, shows you the results, and you can have all of the junk gone from your computer at the click of a button. Most Registry cleaners have advanced options if you want to get really picky about what gets deleted and what stays. But for the most part, Registry cleaner technology is advanced enough to know what can safely be deleted from your PC.

If you want to browse through a number of Registry cleaning products you can do a quick search on Google, or you can save time and check out my favorite Registry cleaner. You won’t be disappointed.

What about adding more memory to my PC?

I promised I would address this option, so here’s the deal with adding more memory:

If you are using Windows XP you want a minimum of 512 MB of RAM, although I would recommend upgrading to 1 GB (this will make your user-experience much better).

If you are using Windows Vista you want a minimum of 1 GB of RAM (ideally 2 GB to really make your PC sing).

The first thing you want to do is check how much RAM your PC currently has. To do this click on the Start menu, then My Computer, then Help, then About Windows. You’ll see a grey box, and at the bottom of that box it will say “Physical memory available to Windows _________KB.” The number that you see displayed is the amount of RAM your PC currently has. Unfortunately this number is given in kilobytes, which makes it a bit confusing when you really want to know how many megabytes or gigabytes you have. Well, don’t fret, you can easily convert this number by going to the following link:

http://www.egret.net/kb__mb.htm

Once you figure out how much memory you have, you’ll probably want to get more. I recommend using TigerDirect.com to order the right kind of memory card for your PC. I’ve ordered memory from them before and it’s worked out great.

So, that’s it. I hoped you found this information useful. If you implement even one of these suggestions you should notice that your PC will run faster than before.