How to Speed Up Your Computer to Help it Run Faster

No one likes it when their computer isn't working properly.  It's frustrating when the machine is sluggish, lagging and not operating up to optimal performance.  Most notice that at some point in time it seems that the computer is going much slower than it was when first purchased.  There are a few steps that need to be taken on a regular basis to make sure your computer continues to run fast like it was intended to do.

Step 1: Update your operating system and applications.

The first step that must be done regardless of speed issues or not is to do proper updates to the system.  Many times there are updates to the operating system that will optimize the system and help speed it up.  Don't forget that there are also updates on software, like your browser, that are necessary at times as well.

Step 2: Run your virus and spyware software.

Virus and spyware problems not only leave you vulnerable from a security standpoint, but they also slow down your computer.  Update these and run full system scans.  This should be at least a weekly process if you spend time on the internet during the week.  The less of these problems you have, the more speed you will have.

Step 3: Consider installing applications again.

If you notice that your machine is running fine until you use a certain application, an easy fix is to install that application a second time.  At times there is an error in the application that generally will be fixed after installing it to the system again.

Step 4:  Make sure your computer shuts down properly.

During shut down on a Windows system, certain settings are saved to the system in the registry.  It's important to use the actual shut down that is provided versus holding down the power button until the computer shuts off.

Step 5:  Fix errors that are on your machine.

If you see an error that pops up when you start the machine or when you open an application, you need to attempt to take care of this problem.  The best tip is to take the exact error message and type it into a search engine in quotes.  This will bring up a series of results, much of which are forum listings, that many times will have solutions to your problem.  As a novice user, this is one of the easiest ways of finding step by step guides to solving computer errors.

Step 6:  As an extreme measure, consider reinstalling your operating system.

It's not necessary to reinstall the operating system, but it is something that should be considered.  If you have had your computer for a number of years without proper virus and spyware protection and have a number of errors, the simplest solution would be to install the operating system again.  This will leave you with a clean machine that doesn't have years worth of malicious programs and errors that are slowing down the system.  Before doing this, be sure you have everything backed up and have the ability to install the software that you use on a regular basis again.

Tips:

Following these steps will help take care of quite a few of the problems that cause a slow machine.  Do what you can right now to get those updates to the operating system and run your protective programs like your virus scanner.  Keep these tips in mind to help have a more efficient and faster running system.

Comments (1)

William Smith said:

	... To speed up your system speed, I think there are more option available such as cleaning Up Registry, Junk Files and Cleaning of Internet Activity (history). I have run Stellar Phoenix Registry Cleaner to run my computer faster. I am happy that all unwanted junk and internet history got cleaned very easily, now I have got more memory space too.
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May 16, 2012
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