Do you miss the speed your PC once had?  Struggling to open 17 browser windows, Word, Outlook and AIM? Try our suggestions for making your PC as fast as it used to be without a full reload!

1. Uninstal programs that you don't use. Goto control panel and use Add/Remove programs (TIP) Sort by size to see what is really taking all your diskspace!
2. Check the programs that are running and if you really need them, check on your toolbar next to the clock. Are there a ton of icons there? Quite often you can right click an icon and disable the service. If not look in the program's properties page for Windows startup options.
3. Upgrade your system memory : by doubling the amount of physical memory you can often considerably increase the speed of your PC. Many PC's struggle with less than 256MB of memory, more often 512MB is a requirement!
4. Upgrade your hard drive.  We suggest you have at least 15% of free space on your primary drive. Harddrives start at around $50 and range from 40GB to about 500GB.
5. Upgrade your video drivers or replace your video card : many issues can be caused by bad video drivers and slow video cards. The manufacturer's release updates to software on a regular basis, visit their website and download an update for your specific card. There are many graphics cards available. Our rule of thumb is buy a card with as much memory as you can afford. 128mb - 256mb is a good starting point.

We hope these suggestions help to speed up your PC. As ever if you are not sure and need help just as your local PC tech, he will be glad to optimize your system for the best perfomance.