How to Make Computers Faster

This article deals specifically with an extremely common question -- how can we make our computers faster? We will provide you with the latest information and tips on how you can speed up your PC or laptop in a matter of minutes.

It was all just a blur. One moment your PC or laptop is cruising along at a fast pace, programs would load smooth and fast, and it took almost no time for your computer to start up. Then things changed and not for the better. Now, it seems to take forever to start up, software programs load at a snails pace and your screen starts freezing up. What the heck is up with that you may think? Unfortunately, this is a fairly widespread issue encountered by folks all around the world. Not only is it completely frustrating, but the even more annoying problem is it reduces your productivity whether you are using your PC or laptop for work, school, games or just browsing the web and sending emails.

That is a load of garbage you may think to yourself. Or perhaps you might wonder, what in the world made my once magnificent PC or laptop turn into this bogged-down piece of junk? What is the cause of this dramatic loss of performance? There are, without a doubt, numerous causes of declining speed and performance in our computers. But it's not all doom and gloom, however! There are definitely a fair amount of things the average person can do to make their computers faster. Nothing wrong with that, eh? Ok, enough with the chit-chat, let's get down to business.

As people start to buy and download software programs on their computers, a good percentage of these programs will begin to run as soon as the computer is started up. As common sense dictates, this does not do you any good because unless it is a software that you wish to use immediately after your computer starts up, it just results in hogging your system's resources which could be used by programs you actually want to run at that particular moment. Ok, that was a bit of a run on sentence there. Curious how you can stop these programs from running at startup? Awesome. I thought you'd never ask.

Here's how you do it:

• Click on the Windows button - aka, the start button
• Next, type msconfig in that box that appears
• Then proceed to click the msconfig graphic
• Next, go and click the Startup tab
• Un-check the programs you don't want to automatically start up every time Windows does.
• All that's left is to click on the 'ok' or 'apply' button

Ready for a second great tip? Are you sure you can handle it? Here it is. Check into the possibility of increasing more RAM on your PC or laptop. I know, I know, this may seem like Increasing PC Speed 101, but it is one of the simplest things anyone can do to dramatically speed up their slow computer. This is especially the case if your PC or laptop is a few years old. You can even quickly look at how much RAM your system is using at any moment. Just head to task manager by pressing "ctrl-alt-delete" and clicking on the performance tab. If RAM usage is consistently over 70%, increasing RAM would be worth your while.

Speaking of basic, yet very important things we can do to make computers faster, I've got another suggestion. If you notice your computer system slowing down, simply check and see how many software programs you have running at the moment. As an example, it doesn't take long for people to open up 7 or more internet browsing windows without even trying when surfing the net. Plus remember that your email program is probably running as well as an instant messenger program. Maybe even a media player and a game you were playing a few hours ago.

Simply take a metaphorical step back, see how many programs are running at once and close the ones you don't need. Yes, yes, once again I completely realize this seems rather basic advice, and it is, but when I started using this tip myself, I was able to close a lot of unnecessary programs and significantly regain lost computer speed.

Getting back to the theme of Windows tools that can help your computer reclaim lost performance, check into using the Disk Defragmenter utility.

The good thing about the defragmenter tool is that it's already included as part of your Windows operating system. Defragmenter is a good thing to run every so often because data, as time goes on, will become fragmented over your hard disk, resulting in your PC or laptop taking much longer to look for and locate file fragments and put them back together. This results in a slow-down of your computer. By using the defragmenter tool, you are enabling Windows to re-align fragmented data that is on your hard disk, thus allowing it to be found faster. Essentially, the end result is data can be located faster and as a result, computer speed increases.

Here's how to use Disk Defragmenter:

• Click the Windows button (aka, start button)
• Next, proceed to double-click All Programs
• Then click the Accessories tab, then System Tools tab and lastly, Disk Defragmenter

One other good benefit of the defragmenter is the capability of it to schedule regular scans of your hard disk, thus keeping it from ever becoming too fragmented. I truly think it's worth your time to try out this useful little tool.

While we happen to be on the topic of helpful Windows utilities, an additional one that's worth checking out is called the Disc Cleanup tool. This handy utility is also located in the system tools area of Windows. What makes disk cleanup very useful, is its ability to clean up your hard drive and get rid of unimportant items, including: temporary internet files, downloaded files and cookies from your net surfin' sessions.

Additionally, one has the ability to free up some hard drive space by removing Windows components that aren't in use anymore and ancient system restore points, all taken care of by the disk cleanup utility.

Without a doubt, one of the primary reasons why computers slow down over time is because of a bloated and corrupt Windows registry. Your computer's registry is in actuality a database. Whenever you add hardware components (i.e. a printer or keyboard), install software or games, increasing amounts of information are pushed into the registry. Even after the software, hardware and games are removed, data remnants still linger in the registry. As time passes, the registry starts to get all bunged-up and tangled and ceases to work nearly as good as it used to.

A lot of folks become aware of blatantly obvious changes to their PCs or laptops when the registries become bloated, such as: the computer taking much longer to boot up, software programs loading a lot slower than they used to as well as a frustrating increase of blue screen errors, frozen screens and the always-fun system crashes. Some computer specialists estimate that 94% of PCs and laptops suffer from registry errors.

But take heart! All is not lost if you have registry errors. Why would that be you may wonder? Well, it's for the simple fact that there happen to be good registry cleaning software programs that will clean your computers registry in minutes and give your slow computer a new lease on life.

Want to learn more great free tips to speed up slow computers and try a free registry cleaner scan for your computer? Click here to learn how to make computers faster!