Have you had your computer for a while and it just is not the same as it used to be? You turn it on and it boots up, and you wait, and wait for the computer to finish loading everything so you can finally start using it. Then what happens after that long wait? You have to wait a while again for the program that you want to use to load up. Frustrating, isn't it?

Well hopefully these tips to speed up your PC, or computer that runs Windows based OS, I give here can give some spark back to your ol' computer.

Some of the major problems that start your computer on a downward trend is surfing the web a lot and not cleaning up the cookies, or Temporary Internet files, leaving unused program files in the Temporary folder, not Emptying the Recycle Bin, removing installed programs that you no longer use, removing optional Windows components that you don't use, and a couple of other things that I will go through. Do you kind of see whats happening here? There is a lot of "trash" lying unused on your hard drive and just taking up valuable disk space!

Luckily there is a program that you have right now, this instance, on your Windows OS (OS is Operating System). That program is the Disk Cleanup. What it does is scan your computer for old, unused files. Also Temporary files that are not being utilized by your system. It is really easy to access and use. Just follow these steps:

1. Click Start (usually bottom left corner), then All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and there you will see Disk Cleanup. Click on that. (Note: If you have a hacked copy of Windows XP. etc, this tool may not be available as hackers remove it to make the OS smaller to download. Why I know this, I don't know).
2. Once you click Disk Cleanup, a little box should appear and will start to scan your drive. If you have more than one drive, it should prompt you to choose which drive you want scanned. After it is finished with the scan, it will show you how much space can be freed with a list of files that you can check, or uncheck, to be removed. Sometimes on computers that are really full of old, unused files, this process can take several minutes.
3. Check, or uncheck, any files that you want removed, or not removed. Checked boxes means remove; simple enough. Now you can click OK to start the process.
4. Once the process completes, the Disk Cleanup box disappears and your files that you checked will be removed. At this point, I will usually restart my computer. You don't have to, but it's always a good thing to do. Now hopefully this will leave your disk cleaner and hopefully will have added a few more nanoseconds of speed!

Now let's clear up those cookies and Temporary Internet files that are taking up room on your Disk. To do this on Internet Explorer versions 6, or older:

1. Open up your Internet Explorer web browser.
2. Click on Tools on the very top of the page.
3. Go to Internet Options
4. Click on Delete Cookies, then when the little box pops up, click OK
5. Then click on Delete Files, then when the little box pops up, check the box that says Delete All Offline Content. Then click OK.

For Internet Explorer versions 7, I will update this at a later date, maybe in a day, or two.

Another useful thing you can do is to remove programs that you no longer use, or need. You know, those programs you installed months ago that you couldn't wait to use when you first got them? Now you don't even remember they are there? Yes, those programs!

One of the useful tools in the Windows arsenal is the Add or Remove Programs tool. To access this helpful program:

1. Click on Start, go to and click on Control Panel, which is usually on the right hand side of the box, mid-way up, and
   
2. Double-click on Add or Remove Programs. It will take a few seconds to compile a list of the programs that you have installed on your computer. Go over those programs to find the ones that you don't ever use, or don't really need
3. Click on the Remove button on the right hand side. The program will then begin the Uninstall phase and will most likely open up a new window to show the progress. Some programs will ask if you want to restart your computer after they have been uninstalled. I do not restart until I have removed all the programs I want removed from my computer.
4. After you have completed the removal of unwanted programs, you will then have made a lot more room on your hard drive.

The last thing I will go through is how to Defragment your hard drive, or disk. What happens after a while on your hard drive is that files and folders start becoming fragmented, or moved around, making it harder for the programs to load, or access files because now it has to search for those files and folders that are not where they are supposed to be.

What the Disk Defragmenter tool does is puts those files and folders back in order so that the program search time is more efficient and, thus, faster. You can say it speeds up access to those files and folders. Disk defragmentation should be done once a month. I know, don't be shocked if you haven't done it since you bought your computer. LOTS of people never do this. At leasat try once every two months if you can.

To access the Disk Defragmenter tool:

1. Click on Start, and go to All Programs
2. Click on Accessories
3. Go to System Tools
   
4. Click on Disk Defragmenter

When the program opens up, at the top you will see disk C:, which is the default letter for your original hard drive. If you only have one hard drive, and most people do, the just hi-lite that drive. Now, you can either hit Analyze, or Defragment. These buttons are located on the lower left hand corner.

What Analyze does is just that; analyzes the disk before defragmenting. Clicking the Defragment button just starts the process. I would suggest just hitting the Defragment button. I would also suggest doing this before going to bed, especially if you have not done this for a long time, or never before. Because it will take a long time to defragment if this were the case. Once the defragmentation process starts, you will see colored boxes representing files and folders, being rearranged on your hard drive. A couple of hours later, your disk will be defragmented and ready to go! One more thing to mention, when using this tool, it slows your PC down considerably. Which is another reason I recommend starting it before going to bed and that way in the morning it will be all done!

Utilizing these simple, and free, techniques will definitely increase your computers speed considerably. I would recommend that you do these at least once every two months to keep your system running in great shape. Oh yes, don't forget to empty that Recycle Bin every so often too!

If you feel there is a problem with your registry, that requires special know-how and is a bit beyond the scope of this hub. There are many programs that will scan your registry and repair it. Below is one such program, but it is not free. However, I feel that it is worth the purchase, especially dealing with the registry.