by Matt Lawless

Created on: February 09, 2007   Last Updated: April 16, 2007

First things first... DON'T UPGRADE YOUR MEMORY! (Not yet anyway). There can be a whole host of reasons why your PC is slow. Generally, as your PC is used over time it picks up things that slow it down. This may be that you have installed lots of programs which are taking up memory, your hard drive may be nearly full, or simply that you have picked up some sort of malware (virus, worm, trojan) or spyware that is affecting the way your system is working. All of this can be addressed quick and cheaply (free) without the expense of upgrading any of your system components such as memory.

In my opinion, you should look to do the following in order:

1) Run the built-in Windows De-fragmentation utility. This can be found in the Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> "Disk Defragmenter". What does this do? Well when you install programs or save anything to your hard drive in your PC, you are storing information on little 'pockets' on your hard drive. Over time, as you delete files, then install others, then delete more, etc, these pockets of information get moved around. When an application wants to use these pockets, it is most efficient for the PC to read these in order. By having to get pockets from all over the hard drive, this slows the system down and subsequently affects performance. When you run the program it will suggest that you analyze the disk to see if defragmentation is necessary - follow the advice. In my experience this is worth at least checking once a month or so.

2) Check for spyware by installing and running AdAware and Spybot ("Search and Destroy"). I know these sound technical but they are easy to use, especially if you have ever used anti-virus software, and will do a great job in finding incidental software that may have been picked up which may be affecting performance. This is especially good if you ever have had your browser hijacked (where your home page is changed without your involvement).

3) Remove any unwanted programs. Over time we tend to install all sorts of little programs on our PCs. Lots of these you will not be using any more and so they are just taking up space (and possibly processing power). Remove them by running the utility that can be found at: Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs. This will bring up a list of installed programs which you can go through and uninstall any that are no longer needed.

4) Empty your Recycle Bin. You may not realize it, but whenever you delete a file, it is not actually

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