How to Speed Up Your Computer for Free

"My computer is so slow" is something a lot of people complain about. Indeed, no matter how fast your PC is when you buy it, it starts slowing down after about six months of use. The first sign is slow Windows startup. Then your files start taking ages to open, your browser starts freezing, and applications take longer to respond. On top of that, you notice that you don't have much disk space left. But don't despair - there are easy ways for you to speed up your computer for free.

1. Remove malware

The first thing you should do when your computer starts slowing down is check it for malware. This is especially true if your computer grinds to a halt all of a sudden. Malware often prevents Windows from functioning correctly, damages the registry, and steals your bandwidth. Good anti-malware programs are Malwarebytes and Hitman Pro.

2. Run disk cleanup

The next thing you should do is run disk cleanup. Your computer records everything that goes on in various temporary files. On top of that, your browser creates temporary Internet files that can occupy gigabytes of space. When there are too many temp files on your computer, Windows needs more time to process them all. As a result, your PC becomes slow and your disk space starts decreasing. This problem can easily be fixed by running disk cleanup either using Windows built-in disk cleaner (Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleaner) or with the help of a free program like FileCleaner Pro.

3. Configure Windows startup

If your computer takes ages to boot, your installed software might be the cause of that. You see, a lot of applications configure themselves to launch automatically on Windows startup whether you want it or now. The more applications run on startup, the longer Windows needs to load them all. You can speed up Windows startup by disabling unnecessary startup items, like Skype, Windows Live, Adobe updater, eMule, uTorrent, etc. To do that, click on Start and type msconfig in the Search box (Windows 7) or in the Run box (Windows XP), hit Enter, go to the startup tab in the window that opens and uncheck everything you don't want to start automatically. Reboot your computer and enjoy the extra speed.

4. Uninstall unused software

Do you use all programs that you have installed on your computer? Most likely the answer is "no". But did you know that the more software you have installed, the slower your computer becomes? That's because disk space is wasted and a lot of programs run services in the background without your knowledge. That's why uninstalling unused software will make your computer run faster. To do that, simply go to the Control Panel and uninstall the programs that you don't use, especially expired trials.

5. Defrag your hard drive

If your programs take a long time to open, it could be because your hard drive is fragmented. File fragmentation happens because Windows usually splits large files you try to save and fills every available bit of free space with bits of files. When there is too much file fragmentation, your computer becomes very slow. This can be fixed by running disk defragmentation. To do that, click on Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Defragmenter or download the free Auslogics Disk Defrag.

There is a lot more you can do to speed up your PC. But these tips will help you get started and redeem the lost speed and performance. If you are looking for more free ways to speed up your computer, download a free ebook called "Turbo Windows". This book is written by experts from Auslogics software and offers tons of great PC speedup advice that really works.