Irrespective of the make or brand and model, computers tend to become slow and sluggish with the passage of time. Hence it would not be surprising if after a few years of usage your computer becomes weak in processing speedily. This is common when proper maintenance is not undertaken regularly. Like all other mechanical and electrical equipments, computers too have to bear the brunt of wear and tear. Like oiling machines for smooth and trouble free running, a few maintenance tips for the computer can keep it going for a longer time.

With regular usage and passage of time, the hard drive collects lot of clutter and unused files which bogs down the processing speed. A “disk cleanup” of the C drive should help you dispose unused and unwanted files and make your hard drive neat and clean. Possibilities are after this single task, you computer will bounce back to nearly its original speed.

The method used to access the internet also plays a vital role in determining the speed with which the computer will work. Through internet comes a host of problems like viruses and worms. Though all systems are equipped with a firewall, firewalls are able to only keep certain viruses at bay. Adware, worms and viruses find many other ways to sneak into your computer and harm it. This sometimes may even lead to a complete crash of the system. Most of these undesired programs go undetected as they run in the background of the operating system, using up large sections of the computer's RAM. It is the RAM which directly influences the speed with which the computer works. Hence when the RAM is devoured by the viruses or adware or worms, the overall performance of the computer is affected severely. But there are easy ways out of this mess. Install reputed and effective defense software on your system and conduct regular scans to keep the system trouble free. This is a continuous process and the defense software too should be updated regularly to be able to combat latest kind of viruses.

The next vital thing in a computer is the “registry”. An important sector, your computer could never do without it. It is almost comparable to the importance of brain in a human body. Hence to safeguard the computer, the information stored in the registry is easily accessible, that is it cannot be deleted or modified easily. Due to this, new information received in the registry is stacked one over the other. Over a period of time, even just a few months, the files can become corrupt and redundant causing the computer to process information slowly. The computer has to search through tons of junk files even to perform a simple task like opening a Microsoft word document. The easiest solution from this problem is to clear the registry using a registry cleaner. Inexpensive software, if used regularly the registry cleaner could well turn out to be your computer's best friend. Cleaning up the “brain” will keep the computer in superior condition and also play the role of performance booster.