bin.

Give this tool a few minutes, sometimes it's a little slow, especially if you have never done this before. You'll want to clean out cookies also, you can do this by clicking your START MENU and then RUN, type cookies in the text box and all your cookies will open up in a window, delete these files. (*If you use Internet Explorer as your browser you can delete both cookies and temporary internet files through tools there, but you'll have to separately delete your recycling bin and other temp files).

To run the defragmenter tool, go back to "My Computer" and then right click your hard drive again and select "properties"; this time go to the "tools" tab and select "error checking" and after that is complete, run "defragment". Depending on the size of your hard drive, the defragment tool may also take a while.

Problem: Too many programs running at the time your computer boots up.
If you have too many programs that load up when you start your computer, chances are most of them are programs running in the background that aren't necessary.

There will be some programs you need to load, but many applications at the time of installation like to set themselves to automatically start-up to run when you turn on your computer. This is not needed because the program will work just fine when you click it's icon, it doesn't need to be hogging up valuable RAM memory at all times.

Solution: Reduce the number of programs constantly running.
Disable the programs you don't need to be running all of the time, this will increase the availability of working RAM. You can do this by going to your START MENU then to RUN, type msconfig into the text box and you'll see the SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY, click the STARTUP tab and uncheck any obvious programs you know you don't need for your computer to run (i.e. AOL, Yahoo, MSN Messenger, Quicktime).

Be careful though, if you are unsure of an application, don't deselect it because this isn't an area you want to mess too much with unless you know what you are doing. If you find an application doesn't run correctly after removing it, you can add it back in by following the same procedure you did to remove it.

After you've finished checking off programs to stop running at time of start up, click OK. You will be prompted to reboot your computer, and you'll need to do this in order for the new settings to take effect.

Problem: Too many installed programs that you don't use that have taken up residence on your hard drive.

Solution: Move them out.
Uninstall software programs you don't need. To do this go to START>CONTROL PANEL>Add or Remove programs and then go through the list and uninstall the programs you no longer need or use. This will free up room on your hard drive.

By checking all of these elements and taking corrective measures, you'll probably find that your computer will run much smoother and faster. Your computer, like autos, lawnmowers and other appliances, from time to time need a good tune-up to keep it running optimally.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Goessl.
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