When your computer is running slowly it is most often caused by excessive system load. Although some people will tell you that a system slowdown is caused by malware (spy-ware, viruses, ad-ware, etc.) this is not always the case.

Some other reasons for your computer to be running slowly include:

-Multiple programs running in the background; not all of these are bad programs, for example many people use 'Live' virus blockers, P2P downloaders and even such programs as 'Zone Alarm' while running take up some of your computers resources. (This does not mean you need to turn those programs off immediately.)

-Insufficient RAM/SWAP space; this is caused by a combination of the gradual increase of programs needs over time and the loss of free physical disk space as programs are installed (Compare how much memory even the operating system needed from for example Windows 95 to 98 and you see what I mean).

Now that I've briefly covered why your computer may be running slowly, here are some tips to resolve the issue.

1. Use a program produced by a company you trust to scan for and remove any malware that IS present (programs that I am familiar with include "ad-aware 6.0" and "Spybot search and destroy" these both detect security risks ranging from cookies to programs which record keystrokes (which include any passwords, private emails, credit card numbers that you type) and report what was typed to a remote computer. You will also want to use a program dedicated to the removal of viruses, (a free one which I like to use is "Bitdefender" which can be found at www.bitdefender.com along with some other free tools) even the most trustworthy sites can be infected with viruses and pass them on to you without their knowledge, so regular scans are important.

2. Change the settings of your programs that you don't use all the time to not start when your computer starts, or even uninstall them if you don't need them. As simple as this step is it can make a big difference.

3. Defragment your computer, even though Windows XP (and presumably Vista) claims to not need defragmentation there are tools available to move the data on your hard drives into consolidated spaces, making any space used after that available all in one chunk which allows for less time spent by your computer searching for one part or another of a file (think of it as a lazy secretary, they need some time set aside from time to time to organize your files, or some will get lost)

4. If after removing any viruses or other malware, cleaning up your programs and reorganizing your hard drive you still find your computer is running slower than you would like, try looking into some hardware upgrades. The most effective upgrade would be to your RAM, which allows your computer to hold more information to work on at a time without having to look it up from the hard drive again, followed by a new CPU although at that point if you're not going to be installing it yourself you may end up putting out more money than you had hoped.

Learn more about this author, Kevin Bowering.
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