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Does your PC seem to have lost some of the zip it had when it was new and  more agreeable? Don’t be alarmed, there are some simple steps you can take to have it purring like a well tuned hot rod once again. In this article we will focus on 3 areas:

Easy (nearly anyone can do – if you are a total klutz, contact your nearest teenager for help)

Intermediate (if you have a little PC experience you can handle these too – if not a teenage will do fine)

Advanced (you need to have some skill, and you may not want to trust any and all teenagers, but look for the local PC geek or stick to the first 2 categories)

So here goes, are you ready? Easy Techniques –

1) Free up Space on Your Hard Drive. 

This is about the easiest way to speed up the ol PC. When your HD starts getting loaded up (85 – 95% full) your machine will slooooooooow way down!

One handy little tool for doing is called Window Washer and can be found at:

http://www.webroot.com

Windows also has a Disk Cleanup option. Go to “My Computer” and right click on C Drive (or whatever your main hard disk is) then select “Properties”. From there you will see the “Disk Cleanup” button (under the “General” tab).

Get rid of programs you don’t use, and think about adding an external drive (USB makes it really easy to do) to download all those ebooks and tools, and get them off your hard drive too. The less you have on the main drive, the better your machine will perform!

2) Defragment Your Hard Drive

OK, so you know about this one right? But when was the last time you did it? Defrag can make a huge difference in how your PC runs. Over time your files get loaded all over the HD. Defrag gets files that are related to one another closer together, and speeds up access time.

To defrag go to “My Computer”, then right click on your C Drive, then select “Properties”, then the “tools” tab. From there you should see the defrag option. One clue here, disable your screen saver, and just shut your monitor off after you start the defrag. Go to bed and come back later as it takes some time.

If you use Windows 95, 98, or ME you may have to boot up in “Safe Mode” to stop the defrag from timing out. 

3) Index Your Hard Drive in Windows 2000 or XP

This is another slow process, but can really give you back some performance! Just go to: Control Panel/Administrative Tools/ Computer Management/ Services & Applications/Indexing Service and then right click and select “Start”. Then go to bed.

4) USE NTFS in Windows NT, 2000, & XP

If you use one of these OS, then you might want to take advantage of the newer NTSF file system. It has some advantages over the FAT system including more speed! Just be careful as older programs and utilities will not recognize NTFS files. If your PC and software are fairly new, this should not be a problem (if your PC is really new, then it probably came set to NTFS).

Like Defrag and Indexing it is a slow process, so start it and go to bed. To start the conversion process from FAT to NTSF go to: Start/ Programs/ Accessories/ Command Prompt/and at the prompt (C:\) type in “CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS/V” (not the ” – leave those out) or type in “CONVERT/?” for help.

5) Get The Latest Version of DirectX to Speed up your Video

If you use a lot of graphics or play games on your PC, make sure that you have the newest version of DirectX at the MS download center at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx

6) Eliminate Unnecessary Start Up Programs

Each time  you fire up your PC certain programs load or partially load just in case you want to use them. This can overload your memory and system resources once you have downloaded and/or installed several utilities and programs.

If you have Windows 98, ME, or XP you can use a build in utility named MSconfig.exe. Just click on Start, then “Run” and type in MSconfig.exe. Once you are there select the “Startup” tab and unselect the things you no longer use. Be careful of deactivating all your Windows utilities. Some of them may be needed on your system for certain functions to work right. You can always come back in and activate things later if you find you need them. You may be surprised how many things are loading each time you start your system (no wonder it’s running so slow).

Intermediate (Have you found that teenager yet? If not surely some of your neighbors will be glad to give you – or at least loan you – theirs)

1) Invest In More Memory (RAM)

We almost listed this in the easy section, but it can be scary if you have never opened up your computer before. It is however a simple process. Normally you just add a memory chip to an open slot, and that is all there is to it. We suggest getting your memory from Tigerdirect.com. They are really good about answering any questions you have, and can tell you how much memory you can add, and how much you need. They also have some of the best prices around. You can call them toll free at: 800 800-8300 24 hours per day.

2) Reformat Your Hard Drive & Reinstall Windows

You really need to be careful with this one (or make sure that teenager really knows what he is doing). Be sure to back up all your important files. You will also need any programs that you downloaded. Another great time to install an extra hard drive (USB makes that easy). You might even want to make the new drive the primary, and keep your old drive as a back up. This would be the last resort for many of us.

3) Speed Up Your Internet Connection

The best way to do that is to get Cable or DSL. If you have done that and still are not getting the speed you want, check out broadbandreports.com for help. You may not even need the teenager here, but you might.

Advanced (send that clumsy kid over to the neighbors and get a real live techno nerd to come over for these techniques)

1) Fine Tune Your Bios

If you don’t know what you are doing here, you can kill your computer. Without the Bios working, the thing won’t even boot up. So we are not going to give specifics here. If you or the teenager don’t know how to tune the bios, skip this one, or take it to the shop.

2) Speed Up Your Video Accelerator

The only time you might want to do this is if  you play a LOT of games on your PC. If you are like most of us and get enough from working with the computer, this is not a problem (you want to get as far away from your PC every chance you get). 

What this would involve is installing a new Video Card in the system. If you really need this, a local kid may be able to do it for you. Check with Tiger for the parts you need. They will even send you instructions.

3) Install a New Motherboard & Processor

One step from buying a new PC is to install a new motherboard which would give you a new Bios and processor. If your system is over 3 or 4 years old, this might not be a viable option for you. If you don’t know what you are doing here, take it to a shop. COMP USA will do this type of work fairly inexpensively. Then again, it might be time to give that old monster to the grand kids and get yourself a new hot rod. Again, check with Tiger. The machines you can now get for around $400 are speed demons, so you would not want to pay anything close to that for an upgraded PC.

There you have it. Now speed up that old system and let’s all get back to work!

Doug West
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/how-to-speed-up-your-slow-pc-683640.html