You're not alone! Over time, Windows can slow down dramatically due to an overloaded file system and registry, temporary and aging file residue, incomplete uninstalls, virus/spyware and more. Like a car, your PC needs regular maintenance to help keep it in tip-top shape.

Malicious code (also known as malware)-such as viruses, Trojans, spyware, and worms-uses your computer's resources to do all sorts of nasty things to it, including causing it to slow down. Read our article Remove Virus/Spyware.

Keeping your operating system current with the latest software patches and updates from Microsoft is an important component of both performance and security. Microsoft Windows can automatically update itself. All you need to do is to enable the option as follows:

1. Click Start and click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click Switch to Classic View and double click Automatic Updates.
3. Choose Automatic (recommended), and select update Every day, then click OK.

Browser Helper Objects are just like startup services; they're activated whenever you start your browser, and consume memory and other system resources of your computer and browser whether you access sites or features that use them.

In Internet Explorer,

1. Click Tools, Manager Add-ons, and Enable or Disable Add-ons, then it will bring you a pop-up dialog window.
2. In the dialog window, disable the add-ons you don't need.

When your computer starts up, many programs and services can be configured start up automatically as well. These services start whether you use the application that installed them or not, and they require your computer to devote memory and overhead to monitor them. These services are often 'helper' services that enable the applications themselves to start up more quickly, notify you of updates, or enable other features; turning them off should have little effect on running the applications themselves.

PC Fixers scans and detects unnecessary service and startup and provides you a list of suggestions.

Over time, you or members of your family may install software programs on your computer. Sometimes, these new programs are exactly what you're looking for and you use them all the time. Other times, these programs don't do what you hoped and you use them less and less until you forget about them altogether. Even though you aren't using a program, though, it still consumes resources and can affect your computer's performance.

To remove programs you don't need anymore:

1. Click Start, and in Category View, click Control Panel.
2. Click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove Programs.
3. Scroll through the list and examine each program. Windows XP lists how often you use a program and what day you last started it. Note: Don't remove anything labeled "Update" or "Hotfix." These things improve the security of your computer.
4. Click each program you no longer need, click Change/Remove, then follow the prompts to uninstall it. You may have to restart your computer after removing a program. After your computer restarts, repeat steps 1 through 4 to remove more programs.

Lots of things get saved on your PC that you don't need. Some are benign. Some slow you down. And some let prying eyes track what you do on your PC.

Windows XP/Vista comes with a disk cleanup tool. It will find obsolete temporary files and tell you if it's time for you to clean up your hard disk. Removing these files not only clears up clutter on your PC, it can also help improve your computer's performance.

1. Click All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Cleanup
2. It will check your hard disk for unnecessary temporary files and make recommendations for which ones you should delete or compress. It can take as long as a few hours. Please be patient.
3. You can then choose to follow the recommendations or customize the clean up.

The hard disk on your computer tries to store its data in blocks; when you copy, add, move, and delete files or applications, you can create 'fragments' of files. On a badly fragmented disk, a single document can be broken up into many separate pieces. Just as it would be much harder for you to remember where each key was if you didn't have them all together on a keyring, it's harder and slower for a computer to manage a hard disk with lots of fragmented files.

How do I defragment my hard disk? Windows XP/Vista comes with a disk defragment tool.

1. Click All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defragmenter
2. Now the Disk Cleanup starts scanning your disk. It can take as long as a few hours. Please be patient.
3. It will show you the disk map where the red color indicates files are fragmented. You may need to run it one more time if your disk map is still quite too red.

The Windows Registry is the place on your PC where Windows stores information it might need to retrieve later--for example, when you open an application or change a system setting. The registry contains profiles for each user, the applications installed on the computer and the types of documents they create, what hardware exists on the system, and the ports being used.

Over time, the Windows Registry can begin to contain information that's no longer valid. Maybe you uninstalled an application without using the Add or Remove Programs function in the Control Panel, or perhaps an object or file in the registry got moved. Eventually this orphaned or misplaced information accumulates and begins to clog your registry, potentially slowing down your PC and causing error messages and system crashes. You might also notice that your PC's startup process is slower than it used to be.

Cleaning your registry once a month via free Reg Repairer is the easiest way to help avoid these common problems.

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