You don't have to be a computer expert to realize that your computer isn't working as well as it once was. Over time, that brand new computer - laptop or desktop - begins to have troubles. It runs slowly or it freezes up for no apparent reason, ruining your computer experience. But before you run out to the store for a new model, you need to try these five steps. All of them are easy enough for anyone to do - and you will see a vast improvement in just a few minutes.

Get Rid of Extra Files

If you've ever tried to find something in a room that's cluttered, you already know how difficult that can be. The same can be said of your computer. When you have too many files and too many programs, it can lead to troubles with the performance. What you need to do is get rid of the excess bloat that's on your computer. But while this is easy, you do need to be careful along the way. There are some programs on your computer that you do not recognize by name that are vital to your computer's performance - and these should not be deleted.

The good news is that most PCs are careful about letting a user delete something that might be important, so you will be warned if you are heading into dangerous territory.

Right now, you might want to go into your Documents menu to remove any excess files that don't need to be there. If you do need these files, think about storing them on a flash drive instead of on your hard drive. In the documents folder, you will also see that you have pictures and other files that you are storing. If you don't need them or they can be taken off the hard drive - take them off.

Get Rid of Extra Programs

When you get a new computer, not only does it have the latest specifications, but it also tends to have extra programs on it - programs that you may never use. To help your computer's performance, you will want to remove as many of these as possible.

In a PC, go into your control panel folder to 'Add/Remove Programs.' You will find a list of all the games and other programs on your hard drive. Each of these programs is not only taking up space on your drive, but they can also be potentially slowing down the performance. Take some time to look through these files to see what you use and what you can remove. Games tend to be a big filler on a computer's hard drive, so unless you play these regularly, they can be removed. Just follow the prompts on your computer screen in this folder.

Free Up Space on your Hard Disk

To further help your computer's performance, you will want to head back into your control panel to the option to free up space on your hard disk. This is helpful especially to a computer user that doesn't know a lot about what is okay to delete and what isn't. This program gathers the information on the computer (temporary internet files, things in the recycling bin, etc.) that can be easily deleted without any troubles. All you need to do is click on this option, allow the computer to gather the files, and then tell the computer to remove them.

Defragment Your Computer Regularly

Another option in your Control Panel is to defragment your hard drives. This option allows your computer to rearrange the remaining files on your computer so that they run more quickly and efficiently. This process basically assesses your current hard drive and then sees how it can rearrange everything. The process should be done on a regular basis, even weekly if you can. It's best to do this after you have deleted the excess files because you can then just rearrange all of the remaining programs and files in the process.

There may be some files that can not be moved during the defragmentation process, but this does not cause any major problems for most people.

Add More Memory

If all of these steps simply do not help your computer, your best bet is to add more memory to your hard drive. This will help your computer to run better and more efficiently. When all the programs have enough room to run, this will enhance the speed of your programs as well as your ability to run multiple programs at the same time.

These simple steps will help you improve the performance of your computer without necessitating any additional costs, unless you need more memory. And this adds up to savings for you and for your computer. When you can maintain the performance, you will be able to keep your computer for a longer period of time without having to replace it.