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by Tom Berry
(trust him - he's older now)

Slow Woes
Speeding up a slow Windows computer

Does your Windows computer seem s-l-o-w?
As in slow to start up, slow to open programs, slow in general?
You might be able to speed things up.

If you are running a version of Windows older than XP (2000, 98, or ME) your best option is to either upgrade Windows or upgrade your whole computer (prices are low these days).

If you are running Windows XP or 7, these are things that might help:

  • Add more RAM – the active memory used when programs run.

  • Defragment the hard drive – moves data around to make finding and retrieving it faster.

  • Clean files off your hard drive to free up space.

  • Scan for viruses and remove any found – use current anti-virus software.

  • Uninstall programs you don't use anymore – they use up resources.

If problems are serious enough, you may need to start clean by formatting the hard drive and reinstalling the entire Windows operating system (you'll have to save and reload all your files too).

A good source of how to do any of these things is YouTube.
Go to www.youtube.com and search for "how to speed up computer xp" or "how to make computer faster xp". The more popular videos can be great help and can give you the courage to go forward.

There’s always the repair shop as a last resort, but be aware of how quickly computers become obsolete and how inexpensive a new computer can be.

Posted 10/10/2011