Is your computer driving you crazy- going slower every day, taking forever to load pages, not displaying pictures? A lot of ads popping up too I bet, and toolbars you never use.

Many people's p.c.s become congested over time, slow and barely functional. Even if you have DSL, it can seem like it is slower than dial-up service. Here are a few of the best ways to get it running like new again, or close to it at least.

First, clean it. The processing creates heat and heat slows it down. That is why there is a little fan right over the CPU, which revs up when opening pages or playing a video. If the heat cannot be vented off effectively, everything will slow down. Gamers, who need extra cooling to vent off the heat created from lengthy graphics programs, often install extra fans and even little air conditioners inside their towers. This is not necessary for most people. Just open the tower by removing the outer shell. See if there is any lint, animal hair, or dust on the circuit board. If so, it is acting as an insulative blanket- keeping things hot. Touching the circuit board can get you zapped, and can also damage some components with static from your body. So buy a couple cans of compressed air at a department store and blow the dirt out.Put the cover back on and make sure there is plenty of ventilation around it; do not stick it into an enclosed desk compartment with a door on it.

Second, free up as much space as you can on it. The emptier your hard drive is, the more room it has to breathe, in a sense. You can buy an extra hard drive, but they are not cheap, starting at 50. or more. If you get one you can move all of your large files into it, freeing up the main drive. If your computer makes a constant clicking/buzzing type noise, it is probably the hard drive wearing out. Then you may need a new one anyway. If you don't want or need to buy another one, put all or at least most of your pictures onto CD's. This is a cheap way to free up a lot of space and still retain your stuff. Other files can be placed on disc as well, or onto flash drives. Flash drives are a good choice for video storage. Videos take up a lot of space on your computer, and it is good to store them elsewhere.

Next, clear your unneeded files out. Use the windows menu to go to the control panel. Then open "internet properties" and clear out your browsing history, cookie cache, and temporary internet files. Some people never do this and it wastes a lot of space. The reason they are saved to begin with is to make pages load faster that you visit frequently. Once they pile up though, it becomes counterproductive. Just clear it out initially, and then weekly or so after that. This is the best compromise.

Third, you need to clear out all of the malware that is surely on there. Malware can cause slow performance, pop-up ads, unwanted toolbars, error messages, redirects(usually to porn sites), and many other problems. Many people feel that their anti-virus program is something great and there cannot possibly be a virus on their machine. Most if not all anti-virus software misses stuff on ocassion, even the big name brands. On numerous ocassions I have found dozens of trojans and worms on a computer 'protected' by a major brand of antivirus software. The best brand I have found is free! To use it, go to Yahoo's home page. Open their 'all services' menu, and find 'toolbar'. Install it per their instructions. Then, install the 'anti-spy' feature. Use it. You will be amazed. If you do not want a Yahoo toolbar, you can remove it or hide it until you need the anti-spy feature again. Hiding it is as simple as going to "view" in your main browser bar. Under it will be "toolbars". Find the Yahoo one, then uncheck it. It will then be hidden until you recheck it. (I do not work for Yahoo by the way, just speaking from experience). On top of this, do buy an anti-virus and anti-spyware program and install it. Keep it current by buying a new one yearly.

After this, you should go to the control panel once again. Find the part called 'add or remove programs'. Open it and peruse what is on that list. If there is something you are not sure of, leave it in case it is an important program. But if there is something fishy like a casino game you never heard of, delete it. A lot of p.c.s end up with QuickTime, Real PLayer, and WIndows Media Player on them. Only one is needed. QuickTIme works best on Macs, and usually is not needed in lieu of Windows Media Player. RealPlayer is rarely needed exclusively, and you can choose which ones work best. Also look out for 'optimizers', 'email assist' and games you never heard of or use. Delete programs for old printers you no longer have. Once again, make sure you know what you are deleting.

Now, close that out. Use the Windows menu to find the list of programs. On it will be "accessories", then "system tools". Locate scandisc, and defragmenter. Use them. Set the computer to run them automatically once a week.

Other than these measures about all you can do is buy an extra hard drive or one with a larger capacity, increase RAM capacity by purchasing more chips (the green card about the length of a pencil sticking up from the main circuit board. push white tab to pop it out, take to electronics store and ask for help in getting one to match it), or, getting a whole new machine.

These simple measures usually take a half hour to an hour is all, and your p.c. will be noticably faster when you are done.