It’s easy to be impressed by the speed and performance of a new personal computer (PC). Fresh out of the box, it contains no accumulation of old programs, you’re booting to a clean operating system (OS), and you’re running the latest and greatest hardware. What could be better?

It’s easy to miss the gradual slowdown as you install all your productivity and convenience software, throw a couple games on there, and download some ‘necessary’ plug-ins online. But then you start to notice how long you’re waiting for your web browser or email program to open. And it slowly starts to eat at you. Eventually you decide it’s time to reclaim the raw power of your PC. But how?

It depends on how far you are willing to go. There are many factors that contribute to a PC’s performance (or lack thereof) and some are easier or cheaper to address than others. Obviously you could buy a new PC and begin the cycle over again, but it’s less necessary to buy a new computer every couple of years to keep up with OS demands than it used to be.

So let’s break it down.

Step #1: Eliminate Viruses and Mal-Ware

The most basic of basic maintenance is to keep your PC virus and mal-ware free. If you’ve kept your anti-virus up to date and follow safe web-surfing and email practices, you should be OK. But, just in case you’ve noticed an occasional pop-up advertisement, or your anti-virus software reports that it last updated on November 2, 2006, start with a full update of your anti-virus and a complete system scan. You might also check to make sure you have an enabled firewall somewhere on your system as well. If you find that you are infected with mal-ware, your problem isn’t performance. Take care of the  infestation first, then come back here.

Step #2: Clean Up Accumulation

Assuming you’re still with me, now we’ll address actual performance issues. First, let’s deal with accumulation. That includes old programs, temporary files, and, in general, junk that your PC is dealing with instead of serving up your content at a breakneck pace. Microsoft packages a handy disc cleanup utility with Windows. Run that! It’s easy and quick and will clean up a bunch of old junk on your PC. It’s also probably worth perusing your Add/Remove Programs application and uninstalling anything you don’t use or need.

As a last resort, if you don’t feel you can get that clean feeling back, reinstalling the OS and starting from scratch can be a viable step. Just grab your latest backup, which I’m sure isn’t less than a couple days old, and your licensed and legal OS CD that came with your PC and get to formatting. If you don’t have both of those things, you may be out of luck on this option, but you can use that as a reminder to stay on top of backups and licensing when you buy your next PC. Note: With respect to backups it’s never too late to start (until it’s too late). So get on it.

Step #3: Defrag Your Hard Drive

Once you’ve done your housekeeping, defrag your hard drive. This isn’t something you need to do every day, or every week, or even every month. Two to 4 times a year will usually suffice. The built in defrag utility that comes with Windows will work well enough, but if you’re picky I recommend Perfect Disk from Raxco.

Step #4: Boost Performance with RAM

If you’re not starting to get that tingly optimism in your gut, there’s still a little more to do. Possibly I should have mentioned this first, but RAM is cheap and can have a dramatic impact on performance, but only if you’re short to start with. If your system has less than 512KB or RAM installed, buy more! And buy as much as your system will support. 512KB is the minimum I recommend, but it’s so cheap right now that I’d put 1GB or 2GB or more in any PC I could. Crucial is usually a good place to look. But check your PC manufacturer’s site for compatibility and how much your particular PC will support. If you’re going to add RAM, it’s usually a good idea to just replace what’s in there with RAM that’s all of the same type.

Step #5: Investigate Hardware Issues

If you’ve gotten this far and it still seems like something just isn’t right, you could have a legitimate hardware issue. Microsoft has a Memory Diagnostic tool that I like, and I highly recommend SpinRite from GRC.com for hard drive scanning. If you discover a hardware problem, at least you’ll know where you stand and hopefully you do have a current backup available.

If this doesn’t get you where you want to be, your only option may be a new PC (or adjusting your expectations). Either way, good luck and may all your apps load with lightning quickness.

Mobilitechs is an IT consulting firm serving Lancaster, PA and Reading, PA. We can answer any questions related to computer performance upgrades and enhancements as well as other computer repair and upgrade services.