If the prospect of the upcoming Windows 7 release has you wondering how you can speed up your old computer, here are a few tips that may put a little extra pep into your older computer equipment. How old is old, you say? “Old” in terms of computers is actually relatively recent. If your processor is still being shipped in new computers, that’s a good sign. If your equipment is more than about a year to 18 months old, however, you may benefit from these tips more than you think!

Do The Cheap Stuff First

I’m always a huge advocate of doing the “cheap stuff” first. “Cheap” includes maintenance that can make a big difference in the performance of your PC, but that doesn’t cost a lot. In this case, the “cheap stuff” includes downloading and applying all security patches and critical operating system updates. These updates fix “hidden” problems within the operating system that can slow your computer’s performance, and make it more prone to crashing. Since the updates are free, this falls into the “cheap stuff” category.

Along with the “cheap stuff” is the “obvious stuff.” Obvious stuff includes updating your anti-virus and anti-malware software, and running scans on your computer regularly. You can pick up malware even from sites you trust, so running scans regularly can help you spot and remove this nasty, performance-degrading sludge from your computer.

Another “cheapie” is removing auto-loaders. When you load new software onto your computer, there’s a good chance that the “standard installation” routine that most of us choose will install stuff that automatically loads into your computer’s memory whenever you start the computer. These autoloaders take memory away from your operating system and from the other applications. That could be a big price to pay if you don’t plan to run these memory thieves every time you start the computer. Use MSconfig to spot and remove these autoloaders.

Clean your registry periodically. Your computer’s registry gets filled with information when you install a program. Unfortunately, uninstallers aren’t always good at cleaning up this information when the program is uninstalled. These orphans can clog up your computer’s memory and make the operating system run more slowly. Use a program like RegCure to find and eliminate these time-wasters from your registry.

Finally, if you like to leave your computer on overnight, you’ll benefit from rebooting your computer now and then. Rebooting will give your computer a clean start and will clear memory that may not have been properly deallocated when you quit an application, or when an application crashed.

Photo Credit: Fred, via Flickr

Tags: easy computer maintenance, RegCure, speed up computer