EZ Computer Tips - Fixing a Slow and Sluggish Computer


	Got a slow computer? A slow, or sluggish, computer may be caused by many things. Some of these things you can do yourself, some you cannot. These are two ways to make your computer run faster without replacing parts, or getting too technical.
	Clean Up		Defragmentation
	A full hard drive can slow your computer considerably. The less information that a hard drive needs to search through will make it faster to find what it wants. Got it? Good. Now there are many places that files can build up without you knowing. The internet cache and the system temp folder are probably the two biggest places where unnecessary files tend to build up. It would also be a good idea to take a look in some of your folders (i.e. My Documents folder) to see if there are any large files that aren't needed anymore. Delete any unnecessary files that you can find.		Defragmenting your hard drive actually means moving the files around on your hard drive so they can be access quicker. Hard drives are constantly adding and deleting files. Because of this your hard drive can become "fragmented". Basically little pieces of files are scattered around in a big mess, and very large files may have pieces in a hundred different places! Your hard drive will get slower and slower as the files become fragmented. This has been a problem since the beginning of computers, and Microsoft has a built-in tool so the problem can be fixed. Defragging a drive will affect some, more than others. It all depends on how fragmented your drive is.
	Cleaning the Cache
	All internet browsers save files directly on your hard drive in order to make surfing the internet faster. These files can make surfing faster, but they can also take up a lot of space. It is a good idea to clean the cache at least once a month. Internet Explorer Users: The first thing you need to do is open up your Internet Explorer (if you use Mozilla then please read below). Some Internet Explorers will be different than the one shown in our pictures depending on what version you are currently using. Almost all should be similar in style, though. OK, first Go to "Tools" on the file menu; then go down to "Internet Options"; while on the "General" tab click on the box that says "Delete Files"; a box will pop up; make sure you check the box that reads "Delete all offline content"; then click "OK". That's it! Easy as pie, right? The reason that you must check the box to delete the offline content is because those are the files that are actually stored on your computer. Deleting the internet cache may affect some computers more than others depending on the amount of disk space that is set. If you wish to change this setting you just have to click "Settings", which is right next to "Delete Files" on the "General" tab. Once there you can change the setting to reduce or increase the amount of disk space to use for temporary internet files (also called cache). Mozilla Users: Our pictures may be different than what you have, depending on your version. Hopefully they are similar enough in style that you will be able to figure it out. First thing you need to do is open up your Mozilla browser; then go to "Tools" on the top file menu; then go down to "Options"; once there click on the "Privacy" tab, or picture.; go down to the bottom choice in the right side on the window right next to "Cache"; click the "Clear" button next to "Cache". That's it! If you don't have any saved passwords that you use online then you may also click on the "Clear All" button to remove your history, cookies and download history.		Microsoft's Solution
			Defragmenting a hard drive is very easy to do, although it may be very time consuming based on the size and how full your disk. Older computers will take more time because of the processing power, as does larger disks. Everyone will have slightly different configurations and styles on their computers. It is because of this that my pictures may be a little different than what you will see on your own PC. You will have to try and ignore those differences in order to complete this task. All Windows Operating Systems should have similar structure as mine. To access Microsoft's defragmentation program you should have access to "My Computer", which is usually located on the desktop. If you do not then you may open the "Start" menu on the lower left of your screen; then find the "Run" command: a box should open up; then type "dfrg.msc" into the box. If you have access to "My Computer" then all you must do is "right-click" any one of your hard drives ( the "C" drive is your main drive); then scroll down to "properties"; you must then click the "Tools" tab; then click the box that says "Defragment Now". No matter which way you got here everyone should see the main Disk Defragmenter window. A list of your hard drives is shown under the "Volume" heading. It is a good idea to defragment ALL of your drives, unfortunately you can only do one drive at a time. Simply select a drive and click the "Defragment" button. A colorful picture will appear in the window along with a status bar at the bottom telling you what percentage of the operation is complete. When it all done with that drive a box will pop up telling that it is complete. If you have more than one drive be sure that you defrag them all. Some people will see a dramatic improvement in speed, some will not. Either way, it is always a good idea to defrag your drives every month, or so.
			Finally
	"We are what we repeatedly do." ~~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)		Some people may see a very dramatic increase in speed by performing these simple tasks. Some people will not notice an increase at all! If you don't see an increase, and the speed of your computer is becoming a big problem then you may need to take more drastic steps such as increasing RAM, acquiring a faster board and processor or getting a new hard drive. If this is the case then you should think about investing in a new computer altogether, especially if your thinking of replacing the motherboard and/or processor. If you have any questions then you should visit your local computer shop and talk to real people who sell and service computers for a living (i.e. try to stay away from big corporations who are more than willing to take your money and offer horrible service after the sale).