Having a computer that runs slowly or seems to be slowing down can be irritating. A slow computer does more than cause annoyance, it can reduce your production levels and waste a lot of your time. Bringing a smile back to you face can be done by doing a few straightforward things that can help fix a slow computer.

Defragging

Defragmenting your hard drive is one of the ways to fix a slow computer. As a system ages the file system is less able to layout data on the hard drive in a unbroken sequence. A file will get spread out over the hard drive and require the disk head to move more in order to read the data. The increased movement of the head results in a slower computer.

Windows comes with its own Disk Defragmenter tool. To run the defragment tool begin at the Start Menu, click on Programs (or All Programs), select Accessories and finally System Tools. Locate the Disk Defragmenter tool and select it. The disk defragmentation procedure can be started once the program is up and running.