If there is one thing that you expect out of your computer, its fast speed. Computer speed is one of the most sought after features of both desktops and laptops. Whether gaming, surfing the Web, executing code, running financial reports or updating databases, a computer can never be too fast. Spy ware and viruses are ever growing threats which can help slow down a computer.

If your system is low on RAM or routinely requires freeing RAM, installing more memory should improve computer speed. Without enough RAM to hold the programs you’re running, some of them get swapped to virtual memory, and that’s a LOT slower than RAM. So in that case, you’ll be able to do things faster, because you won’t be pending time swapping.

Here are 5 easy ways to speed up your computer:

1. Disk fragmentation leads to system slowdowns, PC crashes, slow startups and shutdowns. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer.Every few months you may need defrag to optimize your computer and speed up your computer.

2. Turn off disk compression software. Hard disk compression removes redundancy from files as they are written to disk, which helps conserve disk space, but when files are read from disk, they must be decompressed on the fly. The decompression process consumes CPU resources that would not otherwise be used if the file is not compressed.

3. Use No script or similar programs when surfing the Internet .The problem caused by scripts is that they block parallel downloads and cause pages to load more slowly. Scripts containing malicious software represent one of the greatest threats to user security on the Internet. Malicious software collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the Web sites you visit to usernames and passwords, spy ware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spy ware can hamper your computer’s performance.

4. Check Hard Disk for errors. Perform a scandisk to see that your computer hard drive is in healthy condition and it helps your computer run faster. Hard drive can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced. If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

5. Increase memory of you system. Windows XP loves RAM. Installing more RAM is probably the best hardware upgrade you can do at the moment comparing the speed increase and the cost. Windows XP needs a minimum of 512Mb to work effectively. Install a stick or memory and you would be surprised at how much faster your computer becomes.

You should notice markedly increased speeds in your computer. Remember that this is not a “do once and forget it” procedure. Crud is constantly building up in your computer, so make sure and set up a maintenance plan to keep your computer clean.

It’s important to keep your Windows registry running lean, and that takes regular computer maintenance. This will prevent your computer from running slow.

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