Whether your computer's speed has slowed to a crawl, or you are simply worried that you are not getting the performance that you know you should, you will find that there are definitely things that you can do to remedy the problem. The truth is that while computers do require a little bit of maintenance, this maintenance is definitely something that you can do on your own. If you've ever asked yourself the question “How do I speed up my computer inexpensively,” take a look at some of these basic steps and find out how you can get your computer to its optimal speed, without having to fork out a pretty penny.



1. Defragment your hard drive

When your computer puts data away to store it, it is doing it piece by piece, which means that each piece is not being stored as efficiently as it should be. At the end of the day, you will find that taking the time to defragment your hard drive and to reorganize the data in your computer can go a long way towards getting you the results that you need when it comes to your computer's speed. You will find that if you set your computer to defragment itself right before you go to sleep that you could wake up to a computer that runs much more smoothly.

2. Clear your registry

Your registry is the part of your computer that stores all of the information that your computer needs to execute all of the tasks that it has in front of it. Take some time to think about all the things that you have downloaded over the years. The truth of the matter is that over time, the entries in your registry will become corrupt and cluttered, making the entries that you need difficult to access. When you get a registry cleaner, you will find that your registry will be much more accessible, making the execution of the tasks that you need accomplished taken care of very quick.

3. Run an anti-virus program

When you think of viruses, you may be thinking of the very nasty specimens that will do things like wreck your operating system or eat away at your sensitive information. The truth of the matter is that viruses are often annoying and sometimes can even be difficult to detect. They can stay on your computer and gradually impair your computer's ability to function over time, and the only way to prevent this is to find them and get rid of them. There are plenty of anti-virus programs that you can either pay for or download for free, so take some time to find the one that will take care of your computer's needs. If one doesn't work, try another!

4. More memory

How much memory does your computer have, both to store data that you want to store and to execute the tasks that you need taken care of? Sometimes, all you need to do to speed up your computer is to have additional memory installed. As you add more and more programs to your computer, you should expect more memory to be used up. You will find that you need to think about installing more RAM into your computer so that it can run as quickly as it did before.

So if you've ever asked yourself, “How do I speed up my computer inexpensively” you now know four easy ways you can do so, without burning a hole in your pocket for a new computer.