Computers and Technology

A slow computer can be so frustrating, slowing down to a snail's crawl whenever you need to get some work done. Is your HP computer having problems? I will go over a few great and free ways to get your computer running quickly again.

Clean Up Disk Errors

Whenever a program on your computer crashes or your computer is abruptly shut down, errors are created on your hard drive. Eventually, these errors will slow down your computer. Your HP computer comes with a free utility to clean any errors on your hard drive.

Click on Start -> My Computer -> Right click on your hard drive (usually the C-drive) -> Properties -> Click on the Tools tab -> Click Check Now in -> Check all boxes and click Start -> Click Yes

Next time you restart your computer, a disk check will be automatically run. This can take more than an hour depending on hard drive size and number of errors. I would recommend running this process once per month.

Remove Temporary Files

Whenever you're on the internet or working on programs such as Word, temporary files are stored on your hard drive, which take up hard drive space and slow down your HP computer. Your HP computer comes with a free tool to delete these unneeded temporary files.

Click on Start->My Computer -> Right click on your drive (probably the C-drive) -> Properties -> Disk Cleanup -> Click OK

I would suggest repeating this process once per week.

Defragment Your Computer

Just like a room, a computer can get unorganized with much usage and little maintenance. Your hard drive often writes the same single file to many different sectors of your hard drive, filling in wherever it finds space. This is called a fragmented file, and they result in slower computer speed, as your computer has to search through your entire hard drive each time it needs to access one of these fragmented files. Your HP computer comes with a free utility to defragment your computer.

Click on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter

This brings up the Disk Defragmenter. Before running this program, I would suggest closing down other programs and waiting to begin the process until you are not going to need to use your computer. Once you begin, the process can take many hours depending on the size and fragmentation of your hard drive, and it should run uninterrupted. Once you are ready, click on Analyze, and then on Defragment once it is done with analysis. After completing these steps, you should definitely notice at least a small performance increase. Good job, and good luck with resolving your HP computer problems.