How to make a computer faster: 6 ways to speed up your PC

By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer, help increase your PC speed, and help keep it running smoothly. This article discusses how to use the tools available in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Service Pack 3 to help make your computer faster, maintain your computer efficiently, and help safeguard your privacy when you're online.

Note: Some of the tools mentioned in this article require you to be logged on as an administrator. If you aren't logged on as an administrator, you can only change settings that apply to your user account.

1. Remove spyware, and help protect your computer from viruses

Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the websites you visit to user names and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. To combat spyware, you might want to consider using the PC safety scan from Windows Live OneCare. This scan is a free service that helps check for and remove viruses.
Download Microsoft Security Essentials for free to help guard your system in the future from viruses, spyware, adware, and other malicious software (also known as malware). Microsoft Security Essentials acts as a spyware removal tool and includes automatic updates to help keep your system protected from emerging threats.
The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is another utility that checks computers running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software, including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom, and helps remove any infection found.

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2. Free up disk space

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you to free up space on your hard disk to improve the performance of your computer. The tool identifies files that you can safely delete and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup to:

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Delete downloaded program files, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets.
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files, such as error reports.
• Delete optional Windows components that you don't use.
• Delete installed programs that you no longer use.
• Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore.

Tip: Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.
To use Disk Cleanup:

Windows 7 users

Windows Vista users

Windows XP users

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3. Speed up access to data

Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk as a file is opened (to piece it back together). The response time can be significantly longer.
Disk Defragmenter (sometimes shortened to Defrag by users) is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end to end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.
When to run Disk Defragmenter
In addition to running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals (weekly is optimal), there are other times you should run it, too, such as when:

• You add a large number of files.
• Your free disk space totals 15 percent or less.
• You install new programs or a new version of the Windows operating system.

To use Disk Defragmenter:

Windows 7 users

Windows Vista users

Windows XP users

Running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter on a regular basis is a proven way to help keep your computer running quickly and efficiently. If you'd like to learn how to schedule these tools and others to run automatically, please read Speed up your PC: Automate your computer maintenance schedule.

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4. Detect and repair disk errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.
As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.
If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

Run the Error Checking utility:

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5. Learn about ReadyBoost

If you're using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can use ReadyBoost to speed up your system. A new concept in adding memory to a system, it allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without having to add additional memory.

• Learn more about ReadyBoost in Windows 7.
• Learn more about ReadyBoost in Windows Vista.

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6.  Upgrade  to  Windows 7

If you try all the previous remedies and your computer still isn't as fast as you would like it to be, you may want to consider updating to Windows 7.

How To Save Electricity

When it comes to saving money on your power bill, people from Maine to California know the big ones: proper insulation, water conservation and turning down the thermostat can lead to major long term energy savings, but there are a whole slew of little known things you can do around the house that can lead to significant savings, as well. Let's take a look at a few of these secrets that can help you save money on electricity from now on.
Your Washer and Dryer Are Huge Energy Hogs!
We all know that the biggest energy hog in the average home is the washer and dryer. You can significantly reduce the amount of energy you use if you upgrade your machines to newer, EnergyStar certified models, but if that isn't in the budget, try tossing in a pair of dry hand towels into your next wet dryer load. Studies have shown you can reduce each dryer load by as much as 20 minutes with the inclusion of two simple dry wash cloths. If you don't have an energy efficient dryer, this will help you save money on electricity right away.

Don't Use the Heat Dry Option On Your Dishwasher
The dishwasher has become an indispensable part of the home, but if you are using the heat dry setting on your machine, you are wasting a ton of money. By using a product like Jet Dry, you can simply open the door to your dishwasher and allow your dishes to air dry without spots forming on your glasses. Heat drying is completely unnecessary and many newer models don't even have the setting for it any longer. By simply cutting out this one frivolous action, you can begin to save money on electricity almost right away.
Wash Your Clothes In Cold Water
If you are one of those people that always reads the labels on your clothes, you already know that, for the most part, darks prefer to be washed in cold water. According to most clothing manufactures, only white loads that have no black clothes in them at all should be washed on hot. If you really want to save money on electricity, wash all of your clothes on cold, including your whites, and simply run one cycle a month on hot with bleach to keep your whites bright. If the whole world stopped washing with hot water, we could save billions of dollars a year in energy expenditures.
Ask Your Energy Company For A Free Energy Audit
Finally, your local energy company may offer the best free energy saving program of all. Depending on which power company you have, you may qualify for a free appraisal of your home by an energy expert. A representative of your power company can visit your home and walk you through the various places in which you are leaking power. In most cases, the solutions are very simple and you can save money on electricity right away. Contact your power company today to see if this service is available in your neck of the woods.