The personal computer over the last twenty five years has evolved from an IBM mainframe capable of occupying significant space within a lab, to a compact, 20lbs tower, featuring dual or quad microprocessors, 1GB video cards, enhanced PCI bus expansion slots, 1 terabyte hard drives, multiple operating system platforms, 400 watt power supplies, etc.

The PC has experienced an impressive technological leap, that is unsurpassed. It’s inevitable, that with the wide variety and versatility of applications and hardware that are available in the market today, conflicts, slowdowns, freeze ups, will on occasion, arise. It’s essential to always properly maintain your PC, by installing antivirus and antimalware applications, having utility software to regularly clean up unwanted files, browser cache, cookies, ad banners, etc, as well as keeping up with the latest software updates, of the above applications to maximize the chances, of protecting your system from getting infected.

It is true of course, that there can be many reasons for a PC being slow. A virus may have infected the kernel or other critical components of the operating system, the registry may have been modified, user profile information or security settings were compromised. However, the problem may also lie with unnecessary files cluttering the hard drive to such a degree, that it’s bogging down the overall efficiency of the CPU, thus making it very difficult for main tasks to be completed in a timely manner.

Additionally, having too many applications loading up at startup, can significantly slow operations down as well as not frequently using utilities like Scandisk or Defrag, especially after several applications have been installed or uninstalled, within a relatively, short period of time.

Therefore, if the PC is slow, the best course of action would be to run utilities like CCleaner, registry clean up or optimization applications, antivirus programs that also protect the computer from incoming attacks, antispyware that specifically targets malware, worms, Trojans, etc, as well as shutting down or disabling unnecessary software that loads up on startup.

Keeping up with the latest firewall upgrades, video or sound driver updates, running apps that free up memory, should also be given serious consideration. To the very least ,the above tips should be implemented on a regular basis, to ensure maximum protection as well as peak efficiency.

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While it is often difficult to determine the precise cause of your sluggish PC, there are several likely culprits. Over time, the files and folders on your hard disk drive(s) may become fragmented. You should periodically ‘defragment’ your hard disk drives(s) by using a utility program for that purpose. For example, if you are using Windows, the Disk Defragmenter can be found in Accessories, System Tools.

 However, there are many other commercial and open-source utilities with additional features that will keep your file system up to speed. The Windows registry can become fragmented, thereby slowing down your computer. Again, a good utility program can be purchased or downloaded (either as freeware or shareware) to take care of this problem.

Did you know that your system’s memory can become fragmented? There are several specialized programs that will ‘defrag’ your RAM. If your computer seems sluggish, you probably have accumulated a great number of temporary files that can be deleted, in the case of Windows, by using the Disk Cleanup utility in Accessories, System Tools.

It’s also important to empty the Windows Recycle Bin periodically. Viruses and other malware, including rootkits, can bring your PC to its knees (or to a screeching halt). It is very important that you protect your system with a good anti-virus program as well as with firewall software.

Ironically, anti-virus and firewall software may slow down your system somewhat, because of their features for updating virus signatures and blocking malicious Internet traffic. Yet these and other tools for optimizing your PC will prove to be invaluable.