Posted on: Tuesday, March 8, 2005

HELP DESK
If computer plods along, perk it up

By Kim Komando

Think you need a new Windows computer because the clunker is too slow? You may not. Instead, try these simple solutions before deciding whether to dump:

1. Straighten up the hard drive.

Start by scanning your hard drive for problems. Use Scan Disk in Windows 98 and ME; in Windows XP, the tool is Check Disk. These utilities find stray data — called lost allocation units — that weren't properly handled, generally in a system crash. They also rope off bad spots on the hard drive.

To find Scan Disk, click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scan Disk. In Windows XP, click Start, My Computer. Right-click your hard drive's icon (probably C:) and click Properties. Select the Tools tab. Click Check Now. Regardless of the system, select options to do as thorough a check as possible.

Next, defragment your drive.

To defragment, click Start, Programs (or All Programs), Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.

2. Dump the spies.

Spyware tracks your Web surfing and feeds that information to advertising companies on the Internet. In turn, you receive customized ads.

A number of programs can be downloaded to clean up spyware. These include Ad-aware, (www.lavasoftusa.com), Spybot-Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org), Microsoft AntiSpyware (www.microsoft.com/downloads), and Spy Sweeper (www.webroot.com). All but Ad-aware also can be used to block further infections. And they're free, except for Spy Sweeper, which is $30.

3. Turbocharge your surfing.

Are you still using dial-up access? It's glacial compared with broadband.

Broadband simply means that much more data can be downloaded at once. That translates to a much faster experience.

4. Replace hardware.

Undeniably, you can jack up your machine this way. But this also can cost serious money.

Boosting memory is a relatively cheap way to speed things up. If you have 128 megabytes of memory, you'll notice a huge bump in speed by increasing to 512MB. And memory isn't too expensive. Expect to pay about $50 for each 256MB chip.

Beyond that, you could pour money into a new motherboard and video card. You could upgrade your hard drive. But this will add hundreds of dollars. Why bother?

A new low-end machine can be had, with monitor, for less than $500.

So, try cleaning up your old machine. If that doesn't work, think hard about a new computer.