My computer is running very slow, how to make it faster without adding any hardware?

Question

My computer is running very slow, how to make it faster without adding any hardware?

Answer 1

Reformat it and install new OS. I'm sure it will make your computer faster.

Answer 2

Uninstall junk, run a virus scan, etc.

Answer 3

Once a windows installation is a few years old, depending on usage, the only way to fix its lethargic way is to reformat the hard drive and reinstall windows and all of your software from scratch.  But too often, you just end up with a well running very old & slow pc.  New ones can be quite reasonable.

Answer 4

go to download.com and look for advanced windoe care its free and i removes adware and syware which slows computers down try it trust me it helped mine a lot and its easy to do.

Answer 5

defragment it!

Answer 6

You can try deleting programs with Add/Remove Programs that you dont use anymore, or running a Defragment by going to Start>All Programs>Accesories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter.

Really depends what kind of hardrive and how much RAM your computer has.

Answer 7

download ccleaner, it's free with payments by donation only and it gets rid of your internet history and typed addresses, and temporary files you don't use anymore

Answer 8

Run a scan for adware. Download and install AdAware or Spy Bot Search and Destroy.

Disable programs from starting when Windows starts - all those little icons by the clock in the system tray are programs that are open and using memory. Setting those programs to only open when you want them will help your computer boot faster and help it run faster in general.

Go to Start>Settings>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs and uninstall anything you don't recognize or don't use. Just make sure you reboot frequently.

Defragment your HDD. Especially if you download and delete a lot of files and/or install and remove a lot of programs. Over time your hard drive becomes fragmented which means bits of the various programs are scattered all over your HDD. By defragmenting, you will group program/file data together which will allow your compute to run faster.

Try not to multi task. If you're on the web, don't have iTunes or other programs open. The more programs you have open at any given time, the more system resources you use, and the slower your computer will run.

If your browser supports them, use tabs rather than opening a new instance of your browser.

If you're willing to do something a bit more advanced, go to Start>Run and type "MSCONFIG". Go to the start tab and start disabling programs from starting automatically. But be careful because you could disable things like your anti-virus program. I would recommend Googling each .exe file to see what it does and if it's necessary.