how do I make my computer run faster

Most people today have to work with computers in some way or another. Wether you are trying to send emails, do complicated mathematical formulas or any number of other functions, a computer is absolutely essential these days. This is especially true with our reliance on the internet. We buy and sell online, design businesses, and enact serious transactions. All of this is done with the simple click of a mouse on a computer. Given that these machines are so serious for our well being and our futures, it is obviously important that all of us have decent computers.

A bad machine or a cheep one can suddenly break down or loose precious files. A lost file could mean the end of business, or at least a very serious and embarasing mistake. The problems that can come from a bad computer are endless and very grave. However, another problem we have probably all had to put up with is that our computers can be very slow. With all of the different types of programs available, and with their wide spread availability, many computers have so much going on that they cannot handle it all. With several processes going at once they can only move slowly. When you watch a movie, read email, write a paper, and compose an Excell file you might run into a slow down. This might only seem like an annoyance, but a major slow down could mean that your machine will not be able to fulfill its basic functions and purposes. So how can you make your computer run faster? This can be a difficult question to answer, but there are a few basic steps you can take that should help.

The answer depends largely on what type of machine you are using and what sort of software. Because many people are switching to Windows XP or Vista, here are some tips for these programs.

One major problem you might run into with these software programs is that they require a good deal of memory. Allot of computer problems regarding speed are the result of not having enough memory, or perhaps not having a fast enough processor. The programs we use these days often require such large amounts of memory, and when we try to run other programs at the same time the computer simply cannot deal with it. Windows XP, for example, asks for a minimum RAM of 128 megabytes on your computer. But if there is anything else you plan on doing with the computer you will probably need quite a bit more RAM than this. One way to increase speed is thus to increase the amount of memory in the computer. This can be done quite easily by purchasing memory.

Another possiblity for improving the speed of your machine are the programs themselves. Most computers these days come with large amounts of software allready installed and running. The fact is that you might not want or need most of it, and you might not even know if you have it. A computer with a small amount of RAM that is trying to run several small programs at once will be slow. Try eleminating programs you don't need. Be careful not to get rid of something you want.

A few other possiblities still remain besides these. One is to defrag (defragment) your hard disk or disks. Computers that are set at a high resolution and have a picture on the desktop are using memory to fulfill these funcitons. Think about doing lower resolution without a picture. Finally, you can also delete the Internet Explorer cache, if you have one.