Let’s face it; anyone who owns a computer ends up becoming annoyed and frustrated at times, especially when the computer slows down to a snail’s pace. While this can sometimes be painfully obvious whenever you try to load a program, it can also mean that your computer takes forever to boot up.

Even though there are several reasons for a computer slowing down, a slow computer is something that millions of people around the world are faced with almost daily. The good news is however, even though there is no magical quick-fix solution, there are certain things you can do, which in many cases will help to speed up your machine.

#1. Computers need to be rebooted

You’d be surprised at just how many people never bother rebooting their computers, and this in itself is a major cause for computers being slow. With so many people having 24 hour Internet connection, and their computers being an integral part of their lifestyle, many people tend to overlook the fact that all computers need to be rebooted frequently.

Some computer programs do not really quit running even when you close them, some of your software probably has memory leakage or seepage, and over time, these memory-thieves will take their toll on your computers available memory. When your computer is using up a lot of its available memory, your computer is not nearly as efficient as it should be, and likely, its downright sluggish. A fresh reboot from time to time will help you to reset your memory to an optimal state, and chances are, your computer will speed up considerably from this small act alone.

#2. Memory upgrade

One could almost say that a computer’s memory is like its muscles, in that if it doesn’t have sufficient available memory, it becomes weak and slow. In fact, insufficient memory is perhaps the biggest course for personal computers becoming slow and sluggish. Nowadays, you simply cannot get by without at least 512 megabytes of RAM, and that only if you’re running one of the older Windows operating systems such as XP for example. Those who are using the Windows Vista platform will require at least 1.5 GB of memory, while those using the new Windows 7 system will require at least 1GB. Irrespective of which operating system you’re using, you should ideally have at least 2 GB of memory if you have a 64-bit system, or if you frequently play games and run many programs simultaneously.

#3. Defragmenting the hard drive

The bottom line is; a hard drive which is never defragmented will always be inefficient. You can be rest assured that if you have not run a defragment tool, you’ll be sacrificing a considerable amount of speed. This is because when the files on your computer become fragmented, your machine has to work much harder in order for you to be able to access those files.

Remember, it’s not without reason that Microsoft includes a defrag tool with all of their operating systems. Essentially, you should defragment your hard drive at least once each month and providing you do so, the resultant increase in speed will certainly be noticeable. In fact, it will be even more noticeable if you haven’t run the defragment tool for quite some time.

#4. Registry cleaners

Registry cleaners allow you to de-clutter your Windows registry. Which, if you dont know, your registry is like the brains of your computer. When you install or uninstall programs, add or remove drivers, etc, data is added to, and taken out of, your computers registry. However, sometimes programs do not uninstall correctly, or they leave information in the registry which is either just taking up space, or will cause conflicts with certain programs, which in turn can lead to a system slowdown and intermittent errors on your PC. Running a good registry cleaning tool every once in a while is recommended if you want to keep your PC at its optimal running state.

In many cases, even using a couple of these tips will help you to improve your PCs speed significantly. While just about everybody experiences a PC slowdown on occasion, its not a fun experience, especially when you think the only options are to format your PC or send your computer to the repair shop. By using the tips above, you will help to ensure that you can enjoy a speedier PC today, and hopefully, for many years to come.