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Why Is Your Computer Running Slow?

How much free disk space is on drive C:?

Low drive space can be a reason why your computer runs slow. To determine the amount of free disk space available on your hard drive, specifically, the C: drive (this is typically where Windows is installed), do the following:

1. Click the START button located on the toolbar at the bottom left of your window

2. Right click on "My Computer" or "Computer" and choose "Open"

3. This will open up the list of available drives on your machine.

4. Depending on your operating system do one of the following:

4. Determine the drive Windows is installed -- usually your Local Disk(C:). Locate the total size and free space columns to the right.

Recommendation:  If the amount of free space on your local disk is less than about 1 to 2 gigabytes (GB), you should:

• consider uninstalling applications you no longer need, to free up additional space. 
• purchase an external USB drive and plug it into your USB port; then uninstall applications from your local disk and reinstall them on your external USB drive instead. 
• contact your computer retailer and have them install an additional drive or suggest options to expand your C: local disk. 

If you're looking for a USB drive, the folks at Edge Tech Corp can help. They have a number of models and store capacities to choose from. They're easy to order and come with full install instructions. Click here to visit Edge Tech Corp's site.

What types of applications are installed on your computer?

Now comes the more time consuming step. It's always a good idea to review your PC and determine what applications are installed on the box.

This can take a while because we have to go through an inventory everything on the machine and determine what software you want or don't want. Use caution here if you are not the only person using the machine, and consider discussing what should be on the machine with others who may use the PC.

You can pull up a list of applications that are installed on your box as follows:

1. Click the START button located on the toolbar at the bottom left of your window
2. Right click the Control Panel item and choose Open.

3. Windows Vista users should select “Programs and Features”

4. Windows XP users should select “Add/Remove Programs”

5. next go through the list of programs that are displayed and determine which programs you no longer need.

6. Windows Vista users should select the item of interest and click uninstall/change from the menu at the top and follow the instructions for the program to remove it.

7. Windows XP users should select the item of interest and click Change/Remove or Remove on the right and follow the instructions for the program to remove it.

Recommendation:  If there are more users than just yourself who use the PC, chances are they may have installed applications such as web toolbars, instant messenger applications, torrent downloaders, etc. You may want to spend a bit of time reading up on the applications to get a clear understanding of what they are by searching the internet for more information about them. Another suggestion would be to use a tool such as Perfect Uninstaller, which can help you automate the process of removing unwanted files and installation remenants.

What's the Next Step?

So now that we've eliminated a lot of the road blocks, it's time to get down to the real heart of the problem in most cases: WINDOWS.

Next --> Introduction: Why is my computer so slow?