When Microsoft introduced the Windows 7 operating it actually contained a feature that allows you to find out what is slowing down the computer. The Experience Index will give your system rating, or score, this is a measurement of the PCs software and hardware speed. The scores range from a low of one to a high of 7.9. Not only will the utility return the score it will provide you with a detailed listing that rates the RAM , processor, gaming graphics, graphics, and transfer rate of the primary hard drive.

You will find the Experience Index in the Control Panel by clicking on “View basic information about your computer” found under “System and Security”. When you click on it a display of all the information important about your Windows operating system and hardware. You will find the score next to “Rating” under the “System” tab. The index score will be of the slowest component found.

Next is you click on the link “Windows Experience Index” that is found next to the score you will see a report that details all of the scores of the five components. These subscores are for the RAM, processor, gaming graphics, graphics and the transfer rate of the hard disk. The controlling factor is determined by the lowest score of all the components.

With the Windows Experience you can know what components you need to replace, if any, to speed up your computer. Having this measurement is really helpful in letting you know where you will get the best value for your money.

If you maintain your Windows XP computer it will not degrade over time and slow down. Taking your computer into a professional might get you the best results but you are able to do it your own. Getting your computer to run faster is pretty easy. Imagine the money you can save when you maintain your system. You will not have to buy a new system or pay expensive computer professional fees.

Cleaning up the system registry is one of the best places to begin. But before you make any changes you should back it up first. You can use software that is a free download that will scan the registry for errors and provide you with a list of recommendations of modifications you need to make or automatically correct the errors. When information is misplaced or orphaned it can cause problems to occur in the registry. This invalid information will not only cause your computer to slow down it can cause error messages to popup or even crash your computer.

Having a good anti-virus software running on your system is also important. Malware including spyware, adware and viruses all can cause damage to your computer ranging from overall slowness to data loss to complete system failure. Software that prevents infestions is critical to have running but you also need to scan your system for existing issues and be able to remove them as well.

Taking a little time can save you a lot of money in the long run and give you the speed you need out of your computer.

The system registry is the root cause of over ninety percent of issues with computer performance. You can find a lot of good registry cleaners on the market. This software will scan the system registry automatically and check for, find and fix any problems found in the registry.

The registry, however, may not be the only cause of slowness with your computer system. You might have a virus or other type of malware infesting your system. To avoid this you need to install an anti-viral software program. Some good anti-virus programs include AVG Free or Full, Symantec and MacAfee. Having protection is especially important if you download free software programs.

Changing the graphics setting can also improve the performance of your computer. If you have this setting too high you can adjust it to “optimal performance” and it will help to improve your computers performance. You can adjust the graphics setting by right clicking on the computer desktop. You will find the setting in the Advanced section of the Properties tab.

Computers that are used every day need to be maintained in order that you do not become frustrated by it not performing as you want it to. Making these adjustments and running the recommended maintenance utilities will reward you with a faster system. Performing these maintenance utilities cost no money and very little time. You will be rewarded for the effort you spend on your system with an improvement in its speed.

There are some simple things you can to that will keep your computer running smoothly. Microsoft incorporates some maintenance tools and utilities within the operating system.

When you free up disk space as a part of your computer maintenance it will allow data to be accessed faster. Protecting your computer from malware and increasing system memory can also improve its performance.

Computers sometimes are sold with software already installed that you never use. If you remove these items from your computer and free up space it will help its performance. If your computer system has less than fifteen percent of available disk space you need to remove as much as you can.

To automatically find and remove all items that are safe to delete you can use the Disk Cleanup utility. There are temporary internet and system files that will never automatically go away. When you use the Disk Cleanup tool it will remove all these unwanted items from your computers hard drive. Un-installing software programs should be either performed by the utility included with the software or by using the Add/Remove program utility.

Protecting your computer from viruses, adware, spyware and other malware requires that you have an anti-virus program running. Major damage, besides just slowness, can be causes by these types of programs. You can download some good, free utilities from Microsofts web site or you can choose a third-party option.

You will be rewarded with a better performing system if you keep it maintained.

More than ninety percent of all issues related to speed can be pinned on the system registry. Microsoft does not include a registry cleaning tool, just an editor. This requires that you look to third parties for an easy solution to find and fix registry problems. Using software to repair the registry files is easy and will improve the speed of your PC.

With a registry utility you will be able to create backup points that can be used to restore from if needed. The software scans the system registry, list any bugs or errors found and generates a list. Working from the list allows you to remove invalid shortcuts and other items not necessary that are found.

If you have configured your computer correctly and it is still slow then you need to get a registry cleaning software tool. If the registry contains missing links or files and obsolete or invalid entries and possibly viruses may be adding to the problems you are experiencing.

If there registry entries that are corrupt it can create real. All the information necessary for your hardware and software programs to operate is contained in the registry. Freeing the registry free from corrupt entries ensures that you will be happy with your computer systems performance. Registry problems may not just slow down your system it may also cause it to not boot up correctly as well or even to crash. This makes using a registry cleaning tool imperative.

When you buy your computer it probably came with some preloaded software. Adding printers and other hardware may automatically install software. Over time you may also install software that may become outdated or obsolete later on. This is why you should uninstall any software that you do not use. Why clutter up your computers hard drive with unnecessary items that you never use? Some programs include a tool that allows you to uninstall them. However, if they do not you can always use the Add/Remove utility in the Control Panel.

Once you remove the unnecessary items on your computer you should Defragment your computers hard drive. As programs are added to your computer and you create, edit and open files pieces are strewn over the hard drive. Computers actually knows how to handle this quite well but it does take more time for the processor to piece all the items back together. When all the files and programs are contained in a contiguous space on the hard drive it will help your system run faster. Be sure to close out of all windows and programs prior to running the Disk Defragmenter utility.

If you are experiencing extreme slowness issues with your PC then the last resort solution would be to re-format your hard drive which would require you to reinstall the operating system and all your programs. Don’t just jump into this solution as it is very time consuming.

There some simple things you can do to maintain your PC and keep it operating at peak performance. Freeing up space on the disk drive will help speed up access to data, detecting and repairing disk errors and protecting your computer from viral infections from other mailware and using a ReadyBoost feature increasing the amount of RAM by using a MicroSD card.

When you free up disk space it will ensure that the processor has the space necessary to write the temporary items that is required. If the capacity of your computers hard drive is over eighty-five percent full then be sure to run the Disk Cleanup utility. This is a tool scans the hard drive, finding all the things that are safe to delete. After performing this task then go to the add/remove programs and un-install any software programs you do not use.

Lastly you should be sure to run the Disk Defragmenter utility once you have cleaned out the computers hard drive. The Disk Defrag tool will scan the hard drive, reorganizing all the data compacting it to a particular area of the drive. Be sure that all programs and files are closed when you run this the Disk Defrag tool.

System speed can also be compromised by system and disk errors. Using the Error check utility that will help you find and repairs errors found automatically. Bad sectors and missing files and program links will be found and repaired.

If your computers hard drive has errors on it you can experience anything from slowness to complete system failure. Routinely scanning your computers hard drive for errors and fixing them is an important step in your computer maintenance routine. You can use the Error Checking utility Microsoft provides in the OS that will help you perform this process.

After running the Error Check utility you should be sure to run the Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter utilities. To ensure the integrity of the files stored on the hard drive of the computers it is important to run all of these utilities routinely.

As time goes by bad sectors develop on the hard drive of your systems. These bad sectors can slow down your systems processor when they are encountered. The above utilities scan the hard drive for these bad sectors as well as looking for file system errors and misplaced files or folders. Running these utilities weekly is recommended if you use your computer daily.

Be sure that all programs and files are closed before your run these utilities. You will find them when going to your MyComputer icon then right clicking on the drive you wish to have checked. In the Properties section in the Tools Tab you will find the Error check utility. It will run and scan the drive to find bad sectors that can be fixed. You do have the choice to have them automatically fixed or you can have them listed for your review before choosing to fix them.

You can optimize your computer to get it to run faster and not take it in to a computer tech and save a lot of money.

All you really have to do is go through all the settings and verify that the entries are best suited for your needs in order to optimize your computer. It is important to have all updates installed for any software, devices and the operating system as it is critical to a peak operating system. This is not a difficult process and you can set it to be performed automatically.

Just know that if you are performing the updates for the first time it could take a while but this will decrease significantly over time. Be sure to re-start the computer in order for the updates to take effect.

Disabling any auto start in the preferences pages of many software programs will turn off their auto start feature but using the msconfig utility will also accomplish this for you.

Having a good virus scanner and firewall are also important to keeping your computer updated and well maintained. With these items installed you are sure you are protecting your system from malware attacks.

The computer system registry is also an important component of all computers. The registry is where all the critical instructions and information for the hardware and software to run properly. You may wish to rely on an experts help with the system registry as it is such an important component of your computers operating system.

If your computer is running slow there are some things you can do to improve its performance. Keeping your computer system optimized does not take that much time or much if any money. You can spend some money if you choose but most of the methods you can use to improve the speed of your computer are right inside the operating system of your computer.

Things you need to focus on to improve and optimize your computer include speeding up access to data, getting more space on your hard drive, fixing registry and disk errors, and protecting your computer from viruses, spyware, adware or other malware.

But after doing all the above if your want to spend money you should get the biggest bang for the buck. Increasing system RAM is that choice. You can either add RAM or use an alternate virtual version with Ready Boost that uses a flash USB drive as RAM.

Older computer systems need more help that new ones but you can improve their performance as well. Begin by removing all old and unused software. This will free up disk space that your older system may desperately need. You can use the Disk Cleanup utility and MSCONFIG tool to clear out programs and other unnecessary items including temporany Windows and Internet files.

After cleaning up the hard drive of your computer you should run the Disk Defragment utility to re-organize the drive for its best performance.