The Top 5 Most Common Computer Problems

If you have a PC, then you have most likely suffered from computer problems. Most people have accepted that there PC will eventually crash due to a virus or some massive error. However this is a myth. Your PC is built to last more than a decade. However you must keep well tuned for it to make its third birthday. Nevertheless, most people would rather buy a shiny new PC rather than spend an hour trying to fix computer problems on there 2 year lap top or desktop. After another two year after their purchase lack of maintenance will cause their new PC to lose its performance speed. Whats next you guess, $3000 Windows Vista Ready PC. This is known as the consumer vicious cycle.

Why have does your computer have problems?

Well, the biggest problem that your computer has is its owner. More than 80% of computer problems stem from neglecting to perform simple maintenance task such as cleaning your registry, emptying your cache files and updating software regularly. If these task a perform diligently. You would be reading this article from a five year old machine running on Windows 98 operating system. So, lets take a look at the top five computer problems and how to avoid them.

1. Computer has performance has slowed.

This is the number one complaint from most users. There are several reason why this has occurred. However, most can attributed to lack of maintenance. Fragmented data, corrupted registry, spyware, and load of unnecessary programs and services running can all eat away at your PC speed and performance. Manage your programs and cleaning your registry would easily award you a 30% gain in performance speed.

2. Lockup, freezes, and blue screens of death.

This is a another common computer problem. However, this particular issue is a bit more serious; therefore, it needs a few diagnostic steps. In most cases this problems are caused by spyware. To avoid this problem update your anti-spyware program daily. Having the most up to date signatures will help you avoid having a serious spyware problem. However, if you have concluded that your PC is spyware free. You should update your hardware drivers. The computer cannot communicate with various hardware components without an up to date driver. When it cannot find a driver, the CPU locks up. Also, increasing your virtual memory can also help to avoid freezes. Virtual Memory will allow to you get more use out your computer's RAM. Check the resource box for more info on the subject.

3. The computer spontaneously reboots or turn itself off.

This computer problem can be usually attributed to a hardware issue. Usually its the power supply is dying or in most cases a dirty or defective cooling fan. The computer trying to cool itself by automatically switching off. So, if you feel a bit of extra heat coming out the computer. Clean the fan and make sure it running properly. If your fan is functional, check your power supply. Also, you will be surprised how many people fail to make sure the cables are attached tightly. This be the cause of this particular computer problem.

4. Strange noises and vibrations.

This is almost totally a hardware issue. You computer is made up of thousands of parts. Its not unheard of that one of them can become unhinged. Overheating can cause expansion of wires and melt some sensitive. High pitch noises such as squealing or whining sounds can be cause electronic components. Whatever the reason, you conduct a small investigation. Remove the case and run the computer to discover the origin of the computer problem. If its not a simple matter such as a loose wire or fan issue, it may be time to call a computer tech.

5. Your home page, default search engine, or web browser has changed itself.

This is also known as "high-jacking". Spyware has been installed on your computer via social networking or from email link. This action has allowed spyware to install a java script into your web browser. The spyware then sends a message to your browser to change your user settings. For example change your home page to another web page.

As you have discovered from reading the article, the most common computer problems can be handle quite easily by simple maintenance of your PC. Net time you are suffering from computer problems. Take a few minutes to run some diagnostic test before rushing out to computer technical center claiming your PC is broken. When all you need to do was just make sure it was plugged in.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gaelim_Holland

Broadband - Tips, Tricks and Tweaks

As the popularity of broadband has soared, so has the desire for faster download speeds, with consumer expectations ever increasing.

Although the speed of your connection is limited by your chosen broadband package and the distance from your home to your local telephone exchange, there are a number of measures you can take if you feel your broadband is underperforming.

Firstly, if it is simply your connections browsing speed you are unhappy with, then chances are you would see the benefit of using an alternative browser. If for instance, you are using Microsoft's default IE, then consider switching to Mozilla's Firefox.

Along the same lines, nearly all of the major browsers have settings that can be altered, which should help to speed up page loading times.

Background applications can have a dramatic effect on your connections speed. Such applications you may only use once, but from then on in open every time you start up your computer, adding to your bandwidth overhead. Not only do such applications slow down your connection, but they are likely to add to your monthly usage.

As well as keeping out unwanted traffic, firewalls are an excellent way to monitor which applications are using your connection. It's important to note though, that an improperly configured firewall can actually add to your download delays.

Moving away from the software side of things and onto the more physical aspects of your connection and you will find there are a few things you can do here that should make a positive difference.

To begin with simply reducing the distance between your main socket (where the broadband enters your home) and your broadband router can dramatically increase your connection's speed, with increases of up to 3Mbps possible.

Although a more costly option, upgrading your router may prove useful, especially if you are currently using out of date hardware, which may be faulty.

If you connect to the internet through a wireless connection, then the closer you are to the router the better. If there is no way to get closer then purchasing a larger antenna will boost the signal's strength.

If all else fails then it may be worth calling your broadband provider, to see if there is anything they can do to help speed things up. Performing a broadband speed test is an excellent way of discovering your actual connection speed, and if this differs highly from what your ISP states, then it may be time to switch to a different broadband provider.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liam_Gerken

Safely Clean The Windows Registry

From the perspective of a computer repair tech, maintaining the Windows registry is no big deal. Because of my years of experience, I'm perfectly comfortable opening the reg edit utility and making changes to improve the stability and overall performance of a PC. Sometimes I forget though, just how dicey it can be to make sweeping changes to the Windows Registry and as a rule, this type of maintenance should only be performed by an experienced computer professional. That being said, there are always a few adventurous types who like to tinker with their computer, and to those people I say "Atta Boy!" There is really nothing wrong with trying to improve your PC by making changes to the registry as long as you know beforehand that it can be risky and are willing to accept that risk. After all, the benefits gained from optimizing the registry can be significant if done properly (and carefully!)

For those of you who aren't familiar, the Windows registry is a special folder in the operating system that contains pretty much all of the information that Windows needs to run properly. All of this information is stored in a hierarchy of keys and values pertaining to different functions of Windows and all programs and settings on the computer. As a result, changing or deleting a registry key without knowing what you are doing can have very undesirable results up to and including making your computer unbootable. So for the sake of safety, I must give this disclaimer: WARNING! Making changes to the Windows registry can result in corruption of your operating system. NEVER, EVER make changes to the registry without making a registry backup first! Seriously, I really mean it! You can seriously screw up your PC if you make a mistake! Everyone got it?...OK then, let's move on.

One problem with windows is that it does a lousy job of housecleaning. What I mean by that statement is this: when you install a program on a windows system, entries pertaining to that program are entered into the registry. For some odd reason though, when you remove said program from your PC, all of the associated registry entries are not always completely removed. Go figure!.. Anyway, over time these invalid and orphaned registry entries pile up. Most just sit there collecting dust and aren't really a problem. Some though, can cause your computer to behave erratically and/or degrade overall system performance. A second problem is that these registry entries can be very cryptic and are scattered throughout the registry, so unless you happen to be a software engineer and are very familiar with the inner workings of the Windows operating system the rogue registry entries are impossible to track down and eliminate.

For registry cleanup you need a registry cleaning tool. I've never been a fan of these applications for the simple reason that they often can do more harm than good, so the trade-off of benefit to risk just isn't worth it. There is only one program however, that I use myself that I do recommend for this type of operation. It's called Registry First Aid and it's the ONLY registry cleaning software that I endorse. The reason that I recommend this software is that it takes a very cautious approach to cleaning the registry but at the same time it's very thorough. It is configured by default to automatically make a full registry backup before it makes any changes (That's a REALLY GOOD feature). It also groups the identified registry errors by "safety level" so that you can easily make wholesale changes to the "safe" items and take a more cautious approach to the entries that could damage windows if not handled properly. All in all, it's a very safe and effective tool for optimizing your PC as long as it's used as directed. I highly recommend it! If you would like to try it for yourself, you can visit the downloads section of my website and grab a free trial copy.

Anyway, the point that I'm trying to get across is this: You can make significant improvements in your computers performance by maintaining and optimizing the system registry, but you have to be very careful. Just remember these points. (1) Manually editing the Windows registry can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. (2) NEVER make changes to the registry without first making a registry backup. (3) to keep your PC running smoothly, get a (good) registry cleaning utility like Registry First Aid. If you will remember these simple things, you'll keep your computer running like new.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Drinkard

How to build a Home Network

When I first started in computers, one of the most confusing things that I ran across was how to set up a home network. The differences between hubs, routers, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) and cabling were a mystery to me. But after much trial and error and built-up experience I managed to figure a few things out and some of that information I will share with you now.

There are two basic types of networks that I'm going to talk about in this article first being the infamous ICS or Internet Connection Sharing. ICS is usually implemented by connecting multiple computers through the hub to a single computer. Let's say we have three computers, Computer A, Computer B and Computer C. Computer A has enjoyed a high speed Internet connection and after a while, Computer B and C want to get in on the action! In order to implement ICS, we would have to connect all three computers to a hub.

A hub is basically a switch that allows any computer hooked up to it to communicate with any other computer hooked up to the hub. So with all three computers hooked up to it, we would set the network up on the computers to use ICS. Computers B and C would be told that they're going to connect to the Internet through another computer that has a high-speed Internet connection. While Computer A would be configured to enjoy its high-speed connection as it did before.

Configured like this, Computers B and C would enjoy a relatively fast connection to the Internet as would Computer A. The problem here starts when all three computers are accessing the Internet at the same time. Computers B and C would enjoy a relatively fast connection to the Internet while Computer A would suffer some moderate slowdowns because it not only has to handle its own traffic but the traffic of the other two computers as well. The user on Computer A is going to get quite upset if Computers B and C decide to download files at the same time. Because downloading a file is such a data intensive process, demanding large amounts of data be transferred from the Internet as fast as possible, Computers A may suffer some severe speed problems because of the demand being put on it from the other two computers.

Unfortunately because of the fact that the hub does not have built-in firewall or any other such software that can protect the computers behind the hub Computers A must also be running Windows firewall in the background which provides an additional performance hit.

So although the ICS is the cheapest way to go, it is definitely not the speediest way to go. In fact, to be honest, I would only follow this route if the users of Computers B and C had something against the user of Computer A and want to get even!

The second type of setup that I'm going to talk about it is the router based set up. Nice thing about the router is that most routers are very intelligent. They have built-in firewalls, parental controls, can block sites or even allow users to have access to your network from the outside if they know the proper passwords and/or ports to connect through. No additional software is required that might add a performance hit and all three computers get configured the same way.

To hook up or router you simply plug a cable from your Internet connection into the router then plug the three computers into the router as well. When you set up your computers you tell networking software that all three will computers have direct access to the Internet. There is some setup involved with router as is usual with any complicated piece of hardware but usually it is very painless and if you follow the instructions, quite easy!

The nice thing about router set up is that once it is set, up all three computers enjoy the same speed advantages of being on a high-speed Internet. No one computer is impacted by the fact that someone else is downloading a file. In fact, all three can download a file at the same time and still enjoy impressive speed while doing so! Face it guys this is the network that you want to set up if your wife is on Computer A!

Routers tend to be a little more expensive than hubs but the advantages of having them a part your network far outweigh any price difference. So if you must go with ICS, then do so with pride! But personally, I would recommend spending the extra money to go the "router route"!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Willson

How To Speed Up A Computer - 6 Step-by-Step Tips

Have you ever been in the middle working on your computer and suddenly it froze, crashed or came to a slow crawl? And you had to restart, lost your work, lost time and felt so enraged that if you had an axe STOP! DO NOT KILL the computer. Here are 6 tips on how to speed up a computer.

1. INCREASE VIRTUAL MEMORY:

Virtual memory is the space your computer uses when there is not enough RAM (Random Access Memory), which is the memory used when running programs like Microsoft Office.

Resetting the virtual memory usage on your computer, also referred to as pagination, is great way speed up a computer.

To access and reset the Virtual Memory:

On the Start menu,click My Computer. The My Computer window is displayed. Click View System Information. The Systems Properties dialog box is displayed. In the Systems Properties dialog box click the Advanced tab. Under Performance, click Settings. The Performance Options dialog box is displayed. In the Performance Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab. Find the Virtual memory area. Click Change. The Virtual Memory dialog box is displayed. There you can make changes to the custom pagination. You should not exceed the MB limit given by your computer.

2. STORING FILES ON THE MAIN DRIVE:

Do not store lots of data on the main drive, usually the C Drive, which is where you install your windows operating system. Storing software like games, finance programs and other software on another drive of your computer is another way to speed up a computer.

3. RESETTING START UP MENU:

To increase the speed with which your computer boots you can remove unnecessary programs from the start up process, and this is another effective way to speed up a computer.

4. TURN OFF SYSTEM RESTORE:

System Restore is a function which keeps a backup of your computer's scheme by date. Having the system restore option on takes a lot of space from the hard drive. If you turn off the system restore option it will free up a lot of physical memory and can significantly speed up a computer.

To access and turn off System Restore:

Click START, then click ACCESSORIES, then click SYSTEM TOOLS, then click SYSTEM RESTORE. Once there you can edit settings and then turn off the system restore option.

5. CLEANING INTERNET CACHE AND COOKIES:

Temporary Internet files affect browser speed. Regularly cleaning the cache and cookies will make your browser and computer perform at a faster speed.

To Clean Internet Cache and Cookies:

click Tools from your browser toolbar and click on Internet Options to delete and clear cache and cookies. This should be done on a regular basis to ensure ongoing improvement of computer performance and browser speed.

6. DEFRAGMENTING THE DISK:

Regularly defragmenting the drive will speed up a computer.

This tool can be accessed from the Start Menu then Accessories thenSystem Tools.

WHAT ABOUT SOFTWARE THAT CLAIMS TO SPEED UP COMPUTERS?:

There is software out there that claims to optimize computer speed and performance, but this type of software is often costly and does not provide an all-in-one tool necessary to speed up computers to the max. And so you wind up buying several software programs in an attempt to fix multiple computer problems.

Please visit Shop 4 Laptop Computer Sales for the largest selection of laptops and accessories at the cheapest prices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JR_Lang

Windows XP Registry Tweaks

Windows XP Registry Tweaks

***Disclaimer: Take registry backup or create a system restore point before making any making changes to windows registry.

Now that Vista has arrived with more of a thud than thunder, people are asking the question, “What can I do to speed up my slow computer?” A good answer is to customize your existing operating system for speed an performance. So, why not keep XP. It is Microsoft most stable operating system. Vista will not be stable until the first major service pack update is released. Until then, Vista is about as stable as a house of cards in a tornado. Also XP to Vista migration causes slow computer performance. If you are one of these people who rather kick XP up a notch than pay for a system that meets Vista outrageous specs for optimum performance, read on for some expert tips to speed up a slow computer using XP tweaks.

Windows XP’s stability makes it the most “tweakable”. There are more than a few areas that are specifically ripe with opportunities to improve slow computer performance and remedy a slow computer. Let’s start with getting your hard drive running smoothly.

XP Tweaks for Slow Computer Tip #1—Turn Off Windows Indexing Service

If you have ever wondered why your hard drive makes so much noise when idle, this is due to your files being indexed in order to help your CPU find these files easier. However, even the most insignificant files are indexed. This service puts a huge strain on your hard drive which ironically makes things easier for Windows. Because of this conundrum, most techs have deemed this Indexing Service insignificant and the cause of slow computer hard drive access. You can turn off service with the following steps.

1. Double-click My Computer, point to Explorer Bar on the View menu, and click Search.
2. Click Change preferences, and then click Without Indexing Service.
3. Click No, do not enable Indexing Service, and then click OK.

XP Tweaks for Slow Computer Tip #2— Speed Up Your Hard with NTFS.

Windows XP offers NTFS hard drive configuration. This offers better compression, security and encryption. However, this conversion from FAT to NTFS standard requires a bit more space on your hard drive nevertheless you will be reward with a faster drive. You can easily switch to this system by following directions below:
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type cmd press Enter.
4. At the command prompt
Type convert X:/FS:NTFS(X is your hard drive letter)
5. Hit Enter

XP Tweaks for Slow Computer Tip #3—Disable Unnecessary Startups

Now let’s tweak Windows to run faster. A slow computer can be attributed to how well your monitor and manage your programs and processes. Windows XP gives you complete control over what programs and processes are loaded into your configuration. There are only six vital programs needed to run your computer. However, there are probably dozens running as soon as you startup your PC. No wonder you have a slow computer. You can manage your startup configuration by following these instructions.

1. Open your Start menu.
2. Click Run
3. In the command screen type: msconfig.exe
4. In the "system configuration utility", click either "service" or "startup" tab
5. Uncheck all programs that you don't want to use.
6. Click OK

XP Tweak for Slow Computer Tip #4—Increase Virtual Memory

Your computer uses physical memory, RAM, and virtual memory. Virtual memory is used to simulate more RAM when your computer is reaching its maximum CPU and RAM usage. It is very similar to a bucket filling up with water, in this analogy your RAM is the bucket and water being computer processes and programs. However, your bucket size is limited by your amount of RAM. The more programs and processes you use cause the bucket to become full. However, you can use a spare bucket to quickly help meet the demand; Virtual memory is that spare bucket.

You can change your virtual memory by altering amount of resources for reserved for it, in a sense making the spare bucket bigger. Virtual memory uses free space as a resource. So you can change the amount free space reserved for the Virtual memory Check out the "How to clean up a slow computer" for efficient ways to clean up your drive.

Increasing your Virtual Memory is easy. There are some important facts to remember. When you get to the Virtual Memory menu select the Custom Size check box, then choose the initial size and the max size. Depending on how much free space you have you can choose what amount of free space you want reserved for the paging file. Its better to keep the initial and maximum size the same to cut down on your CPU access. This will stop your CPU from constantly changing your Virtual memory paging file size. Also set the size at least 1.5 times higher than your physical memory. If you are still confused this link below for a visual step by step instructions.

1.Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
3.On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.
4.Under Virtual memory, click Change.
5.Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file that you want to change. In most computers its C:
6.Under Paging file size for selected drive, click to Custom size check box. You can enter the amount of memory you would like to reserve for Virtual memory by entering the initial and maximum size.
7.Click Set

In addition to these tweaks. You can take it one step further in you quest to make your slow computer a distant memory. This requires you to perform some registry editing. I suggest you clean your registry before attempt any editing. After your registry is clean, you can perform several tweaks to speed up your slow computer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gaelim_Holland

more on Windows XP Registry Tweaks

How To Defrag A Computer

The operation of 'defragging', or 'defragmenting' an hard drive is a rather useful thing to do to increase, even significantly in some cases, the performance of your PC. But how does it all work?

Hard disks, even with the fastest in commerce (above 7200 RPMs) often constitute the main 'bottleneck' to the speed of a personal computer: the time to access a particular memory cell on a hard drive can be, depending on the particular technology, up to thousands of times slower than access the same amount of memory on a RAM. When the hard disk is empty, the file system is free to write the files on the hard disk to an optimal location, but after a few deletes and rewrites, what will happen is that data related to the same application will be saved into different chunks of hard disk, making data retrieval and update much slower.

The solution to the problem is defragmentation, which is an operation that rearranges all the files in a contiguous and optimal way, so to minimize the access time by the hard disk, thus reducing the 'bottleneck' effect. Fragmentation is a very delicate operation which, depending on the amount of data on the drive, can last up to several hours, so using a good and reliable program for this objective becomes something of vital importance.

In most versions of Windows, including Windows XP and Windows Vista, a disk defrag utility is embedded into the operating system. Just right-click on the hard disk icon and select 'Properties', then click on the last tab: you should be able to see, among other options, the 'defrag' button. Make sure you can leave your PC on for some time, and then start the procedure. It's often advisable not to make intensive use of hard-disk heavy programs while the operation like this is taking place, or you will risk losing data -- not necessarily data that is related to the program you're using.

Depending on your hard disk speed and the amount of data you have stored, the operation could take half an hour to several hours. It is important not to interrupt the process, because the operation is generally unsafe -- moreover, the whole defragmenting process is likely to start from the beginning and not resume from the last time's status.

On the Linux platform, ext2 filesystems can be defragmented with such tools as e2defrag, while ext3 filesystems can be defragmented with the 'shake' command. Interestingly enough, e2defrag also has a convenient option to virtually and temporarily, so to speak, 'downgrade' the ext3 filesystem to ext2 in order to defragment it.

Finally, Apple computers doesn't embed defragmentation utilities, for which you will need to look for a third part program such as iDefrag. On apple.com site, though, they say defragmentation is often unnecessary, and there are stories ( http://forums.mactalk.com.au/20/32660-do-you-need-defrag-your-mac-hd-answer-revealed.html ) of attempted defragmentations that strangely resulted in the opposite effect, with performance getting worse instead of better.

Check out the author's website here: http://wysinnwyg.altervista.org/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dario_Borghino

How To Permanently Delete Files

You may or may not know that when you drag items to the trash on your computer, they aren't permanently deleted. Just watch an episode of your favorite CSI show, and you'll see that its possible to recover files that haven't been deleted properly. And while I'm sure you're not guilty of any CSI type crimes (or are you???), I'm sure you want to figure out how to permanently delete your files and keep your private things private -- after all everyone has to have some secrets!

Why emptying your recycling bin doesn't permanently delete your files

When you tell your computer to empty its recycling bin, your operating system only deletes the records it has of the files you want to delete. Yet the files still remain on the hard drive memory.

Here's an analogy: If you think of your files as books in a library and you decide you no longer have use for a certain book. Emptying the trash is equivalent to removing the entry in the library's card catalog. The book is still there but not easily found by everyday visitors. But if someone really wanted to find it, and had a clue where to look, they quite possibly do so since it is still physically there.

What it means to permanently delete a file

To permanently delete a file, you need to not only delete its record, but also overwrite the physical portion of the hard drive where it lives. A low level format is equivalent to replacing your private file with random bits (1's and 0's). Continuing with the library analogy you need to remove remove the book, shred it, light up in flames and possibly replace it with a different book

A simple way to permanently delete?

According to Microsoft, there is a keyboard shortcut in Windows to, quote, "permanently delete files". You do this by selecting your file and hitting SHIFT+DEL. Convinced? Neither am I. What they're really explaining is a shortcut from having to move the item to the trash and then emptying the trash.

Take it a step further

Here's a poor man's version of permanent deletion. Delete your files, empty your recycle bin, and run Disk Defragmenter located in the Start menu under Accessories/System Tools. What this will do is optimize your hard drive by rearranging (most) of your files, and in doing so will most likely overwrite the files you want permanently deleted. Nice!

Do it right and do it better

While performing a defragmentation will probably do the trick, it's really not a viable solution. Waiting for disk defragmentation is not something I'd do every time I wanted to do a permanent deletion. The defragmentation process is waaaaay too long. The right way to how to permanently and quickly delete files is to use a program specifically designed for that purpose. You're in luck too because most Windows operating systems have a command line tool called CIPHER to do the trick!

Here's how to use CIPHER:

1. After closing all windows, open up a command window.

2. Type the following: cipher /w:driveletter:\foldername where driveletter and foldername correspond to the drive a location of where your deleted file used to live.

3. Sit back and enjoy your freedom and privacy while your file is truly permanently deleted!

Here's an example:

I have a picture I want permanently deleted which stored on my computer at the following location:

C:\images\scandalous_picture.jpg

After deleting this picture and emptying the recycle bin, I would type the following (in a command prompt) to ensure that I can still run for senator (as long as they don't catch me in the airport bathroom):

C:>cipher /w:C:\images

I can then move on to my life of privacy and carefree surfing!

You can do better!
________________________
Although I'm comfortable working with the command prompt, you may not be. No worries, there are plenty of other graphical based software tools that perform true permanent file deletion. This article gives even more compelling reasons to delete personal files and refers a graphical based deletion tool called Evidence Nuke.

John Cao is a full-time software engineer that specializes in high performance computing. While spending most of his waking hours in front of a computer, John helps others enhance their computer experience by recommending the latest software, hacks, and shortcuts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Cao

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

Computers are getting more and more common in this day and age, we have a strong reliance on these "household appliances" that it would be almost improbable to imagine living one day without these luxuries by our sides. However, the ever non-satisfied personality of humans pushes towards greater excellence and not just do we want convenience, but rather, we desire to have convenience in an instant. For example, the traditional way of brewing coffee has now been restricted to 3 in 1 sachets of coffee power or the way to fill our stomachs is either to order take out or drop by any fast food outlet and grab a quick bite.

Nonetheless, we too want our lives to not only be enhanced, but also to be accelerated, to do things fast and quick. It is no wonder that when we face with something trying to slow our hectic lifestyle, we feel uncomfortable and queasy. One of such "things" is especially when our computer begins to slow down in its functions and ability. As mentioned earlier, computers are as good as our daily companion, we do practically most of our work in it and for it to not function at its maximum capacity, it only irritates us as business deals worth millions can be just in that one click away.

In this article we will look into some of the ways by which you can increase the speed of your computer.

1. Upgrade your RAM - The more, the merrier

If you have reason to believe that your computer has been around for too long and its components are not up to date, you may want to consider upgrading your RAM to give your computer more available memory. Upgrading memory now is becoming much cheaper but you should only do this if you already know that a lack of memory is the cause of your PC speed problems.

2. Deal with your computer's registry - Handle with care

The registry section of our computers is not commonly familiar amongst users however it does play an important role that may be the reason for your computer slowing down. This section contains numerous files named registry keys that instruct your computer how it should run. However, if a computer has been used over a long period of time, there is a high chance whereby some of the files have become corrupted or missing resulting in a slowing down of the computer's performance. How you should handle such a problem is to download the cleaner software immediately. Followed by scanning through your computer to find our whether there are errors in our registry and fix your computer's registry if there are.

Another cause for registry problems is the presence of false entries. Your computer constantly makes and deletes entries from your registry and this causes the formation of false entries. Moreover, spyware and viruses also leave behind lots of false entries even after they have been removed successfully. Thus after running through a virus scan and eradicating them off, you also have to run a registry cleaner to ensure your computer is functioning at maximum capacity.

3. Stop having multiple programs

Some people love to multi-task everything they need to complete at the same time. For example, a person at work may be using Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word together with a dozen pages of websites while researching and at the same time is chatting with friends or colleagues through the web messenger. No wonder the computer would be processing so slowly! Each computer has its limits and if you step beyond them, it would cause it to function below its peak potential.

NOTE: This is first article in this series. More to come. Keep Watching this space for more articles about How To Make Your Computer Run Faster .