There are certain things you can’t change about your computer without spending some of your hard-earned cash. The processor speed is fixed; the graphics processing capabilities are fixed; the amount of memory you have installed is also fixed. You can modify all of these things, but that will require an investment. If you’re hoping to speed up your computer without having to lay out a lot of money, consider these tips.

Little Things Can Make A Difference

What You’re Doing: Keeping unneeded files and data. Over time, your file system can become overloaded with materials you no longer need. Keeping track of where these unneeded items are takes up resources and space that you could be using for other stuff.

What You Should Be Doing: Pare down your file system and archive the materials you want to keep but don’t need to keep on your hard disk. Consider transferring this kind of data to a CD or DVD.

What You’re Doing: Keeping programs you don’t use. New computers often come loaded with “demo” software that either expires after a particular period of time, or is a locked version of the full package. Software publishers have agreements with PC manufacturers that permit the manufacturers to load these programs on the computer before it ships to the end user.

What You Should Be Doing: Eliminating unnecessary programs. When you go through your computer, remove all applications that you no longer need, or have never used. Demo programs take up space and resources. Remove whatever you don’t use, or no longer use. If you like to download shareware or freeware, but decide that what you’ve downloaded doesn’t suit your needs, uninstall it right away.

What You’re Doing: Letting regular disk maintenance slip. When you delete a lot of files, your hard disk becomes fragmented, making it harder for the computer to find the necessary storage space for new files and applications.

What You Should Be Doing: Defragmenting your hard disk. After deleting so many files, defragment your hard disk using the built in Defragment tool. This tool will enable your hard disk to optimize the placement of the data that remain on your hard disk and speed up access and write times. Even after you defragment, you’re still not done!

What You Should Be Doing: Cleaning your registry. After doing some wholesale deleting and defragging, you’ll also want to clean your computer’s registry. Each time you add programs, new entries get written to your registry. Not all uninstallers are created equal, however, and useless bits of program code are often left behind. A good registry cleaner like RegCure will help clear this information out and restore performance to your computer.

Photo Credit: Andrew Griffith, via Flickr

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