Defragmenting your hard disk is a great way to boost the performance of your computer. Though the term "defragment" sounds a little abrasive, it is actually a simple and helpful process. After all, a defragmented hard disk is a happy hard disk.

Adding and deleting files from your hard disk is a common task. Unfortunately, this process is not always done very efficiently. For example, when you delete a bunch of little files and add a new large file, the file may get broken up into mulitple sections on the hard disk. The computer will still read the newly added file as a single valid file, but the drive will have to scan multiple parts of the disk to read it. Because hard disk seek time is one of the most significant bottlenecks in a computer's performance, this can drag down your computer's speed quite a bit. If you have a ton of "fragmented" files on your hard disk, you might hear extra grinding, sputtering, and other weird noises coming from your computer.

How to defrag a hard drive.
Go to search bar and type Disk Defragmenter, once it opens click Defragment now or Defragment, then click the hard drive box (normally the C drive) and any other drive you want defragmented, now it will defrag your hard drive - this may take some time it really depends on how slow your computer is and how cluttered your hard drive is.

It should look a bit like this.

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This one is pretty self explanatory, and may even seem like a non-issue. Maybe it is, but there are plenty of people that keep their recycle bins full, all the time. If something is in the recycle bin, you might as well empty it.

How to empty recycling bin.
Ok this is pretty much straight forward, on your desktop click the recycle bin icon if their isnt one go to search bar and type recycle bin, once opened highlight everything and click delete, if their isn't anything in the recycle bin then this step is not needed.

Temporary files are mostly files left after installing a program of some kind. They usually end in .tmp or .temp, they aren't good for anything and can be safely removed from your system. Its even possible to create a batch file that will do it automatically.

How to remove temp files from your computer

Click start and type "temp" without the quotes, onced opened highlight everything and right click delete once they are all gone go to recycle bin and empty it.

The folder should look something like this.

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Both spyware and adware are real computer killers these days. You have probably been bombarded by offers to buy programs that will get rid of all the junk on your computer The simple answer is you dont need to get these programs. You can find freeware ones all over that will work great.

Here are some great programs that i have used in the past.
Ad-Aware
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SpyBot
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Do you save every document on the desktop?

Its the quickest way to slow down your laptop. The desktop is an arm of the local hard disk. If you partitioned your hard disk, you should have the Local D and C. Use the Local D to save every file and document you create.

Dont save them on the desktop because it goes straight to the Local C. A well partitioned and structured system enhances performance and speed. Notwithstanding the simplicity of saving on the desktop, do yourself a big favor and transfer it on the Local D.

The Taskbar is on the bottom edge of the screen (unless relocated by the user). In the right side of the TaskBar appears a group of small icons, collectively named as the "system tray". Each of these icons represent a program that has been at least partially started or is running "in the background". Regardless of state, each causes a reduction of available memory and processing power, or resources. Closing, exiting or canceling any unused icon returns those resources to the system, and becomes available for use by the application(s) started specifically by the user. Go to your task manager and click on the Process tab. End all process that you can.
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When applications and games are installed to a Windows PC, some files are written in the Windows directory structure and dozens (or more) changes are made to the Windows Registry file. Most of these changes are not readily apparent to the user, so proper removal requires uninstalling the application through the Control Panel's "Add or Remove Program" or "Programs and Features" icon.
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Right-click a drive icon in "My Computer" and select "Properties" followed by "Tools". Choose "Error Checking" to let the utility scan the drive for damaged files that can contribute to slow drive access speeds. This process may take several minutes or more to complete.
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Anti-virus (AV) software is an absolute must. There are many from which to choose at the software store, but there are free AV solutions that do a very good job, too. Three popular free AV solutions are Avast, AVG and Avira AntiVir. All include regular "virus definition" file updates that allow the AV program to detect and protect from the latest virii being released. Note that while installing antivirus software actually slows down your computer, it does not slow it down as much as malware does.

Avast
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Avg
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Avira AntiVir
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This is especially true in Laptops and Netbooks where the processor speed is altered in accordance to energy settings (and if you are running on battery power)
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