Turek's want's to help you understanding your computer. Here are some favorite tips to help... 

Why Do Our Computers Run Slowly Over Time?
No single computer problem is more prevalent among users then a slow running computer. So what is causing it? Unfortunately, many, many things can cause your computer to run slowly. Some of these things are more complicated to fix then others. In general, a noticeably slow running computer is usually caused by a combination of a few things, and an extremely slow running or freezing computer is usually caused by a combination of many things. How many problems the computer may have depends greatly on whether or not someone performs routine maintenance on the machine. That's right, you should actually be performing regular maintenance on your machine just as if it were a car. When I see a client with such a machine, one of the first questions I ask is, "What kind of regular maintenance do you perform on your computer?" If the client responds with something like, "What do you mean?" Immediately a red flag goes up in my mind and I know exactly what I want to check first.

These are: 
• Spyware • Fragmented files • Unnecessary files

Though these are some of the most popular causes of a slow running computer, other problems include:

Startup programs, viruses, crowded recycle bin, registry errors, disk errors, crowded history folder, Too many desktop icons, crowded task-bar, crowded start menu, low RAM, old hardware, conflicting hardware, low virtual memory, overheating CPU, clogged CPU fan from dust, and programs that are just plain too big for the hardware that is running it.

I want to be helpful enough to explain the top three causes of your performance dilemma.

Let's begin.

Rule #1 Understand Your Security Software
These days there are many types of security software. Some of these perform specific functions, such as spyware scanner, or a virus scanner, where as others try to handle all security features for a computer into a single package, which may include things like spyware/virus protection, automatic updates, scheduler, real-time protection and a firewall. Understanding your security software can be a very daunting task. However, by approaching your security with the right perspective, you will have the tools necessary to make informed decisions about your computer security, regardless of the security programs used.

Windows Security Center located in the control panel can quickly give you useful info on your firewall and virus protection.

The first step in this process is to know just what type of features your security program or programs offer. You can do this by googleing the name of the product, looking closely at the box that you purchased, if you bought the program separate from your machine, or by simply opening up the application and looking around for key words. Regardless of what features your security application has, you always want to have three essentials loaded somewhere on your computer at all times. These are:

1. Spyware Scanner
2. Anti-virus Scanner
3. Firewall

So you say that your local computer geek told you that your computer has security protection already installed and that it is no longer an issue. But does it have a spyware scanner? Does it perform a scan regularly? What about regular updates? Are you certain??! Never ever take the word of a tech that tells you that your machine takes care of all the security on it's own without user intervention. Nine times out of ten this is simply not the truth. The reason you are fooled into thinking so is because your machine may have what is called real-time protection or a security shield. Or it may have a scanner that is improperly configured to run on a schedule. Understand that real-time protection could never take the place of a regular scanning, and at best, real-time protection merely offers another small layer of protection - Very small. And when it comes to the scheduler, take the time to check it out for yourself. Is the scanner properly set to run on a set schedule, or did the technician forget? Does your protection even offer this capability? When it comes to your spyware and virus protection your major concerns should be:

1. Update protection
2. Scan

Now this makes perfect sense. Your application has been updated very regularly in order to be aware of the latest threats. And your application has to scan your computer in order to find those threats on your machine. Even if you know that your scanner is properly configured to run on a set schedule, make certain it is updating itself regularly. Without proper updates, your scanner can eventually become useless from being so out of date on the latest threats. Now open up your security application and find a button somewhere on it that says "update". Or, look for a date next to the word "update" that can tell you the last time your security was updated. If the date reads more than a week ago, you can be putting yourself at serious risk. Understand what type of feature you are updating. Are you updating your spyware scanner? Are you updating your anti virus scanner? Are you updating both? Look carefully around the window. Find the key words that will give you these answers.

After you have completed the update, you are now ready to perform a scan. Look through your security application and find a button that says "scan computer" or the like. Again, know what type of scan you are running without assuming anything. These are the same actions that trained professionals use everyday. Perform these actions for both your spyware and virus scanner about once a week (for home users), and never run more than one antivirus program on your machine. Having more than one antivirus scanner loaded onto your machine at a time can create serious conflicts.

I would like to advise against keeping a spyware program loading on your maching at ALL times. Just keep it on a thumb drive and load it when you scan then remove it. 

#2 Disk Defragmenter Explained
Disk Defragmenter is a utility program that comes with all modern versions of windows. Its job is to take fragmented programs and files on your hard drive and reassemble them into contiguous sections of complete programs and files. It also takes small gaps in your hard drive that have been left there from moved, deleted, and uninstalled programs and repositions things so that there is larger more usable space.

So just how do all of the files and programs get broken up into pieces or fragmented? As stated earlier, when you delete a file it leaves a small gap on your hard disk drive. Over time, many of these small gaps accumulate on the drive. Then, when a new program is installed, the installation wizard is not smart enough to know which space on disk is large enough to contain the entire file. It therefore begins installing the program at the first available free space, regardless if that space is large enough to contain the entire file. When that gap has been filled up, installation of the file or program continues on the next available space, and so on. The result is a fragmented program or file. Finally, when this program is executed, it runs from the fragmented state, which causes it to load into RAM very slowly.

To avoid this from happening, run disk defragmenter at least once a month, or after the deleting or uninstalling of many files. When Disk Defragmenter takes a long time to complete, say a few to several hours, this is a clue that running Disk Defragmenter is long overdue. Remember to restart your computer directly after running the program. This way when the computer boots up, it becomes "aware" of the new positioning of files.

To get to Disk Defragmenter from Windows XP - start\all programs\accessories\system tools\ disk defragmenter

#3 Getting Rid of Unnecessary Files
When you browse the internet, your computer collects several types of files that are known as "temporary files". These files are stored on your hard drive and loaded into RAM when your machine boots up. Your computer then uses these files for faster viewing of web pages whenever you need them. The problem is that your machine can very quickly accumulate too many of these temporary files taking up too much of your precious RAM. When this happens it becomes necessary to purge your machine of such files and start collecting them all over again. After your computer has collected so many of such files (around several hundred mega bites) deleting them will noticeably increase your computers performance.

To keep this from happening, run Disk Cleanup about once a week and always remember to run Disk Defragmenter after deleting many files.

To run Disk Cleanup from Windows XP - start\all programs\accessories\system tools\disk cleanup