For out of the box stuff I SWEAR by Dell.

You have a high degree of customizationability.

I bought my Mother a new computer a few months ago, and got it from Dell. With all the discounts (keep an eye on places like slickdeals.net) and the fact that I bought her a bottom line system (that was still head and shoulders over what she had had), no monitor (she had one) it was just a shade over $300.

There are some things you can do to improve the speed of your computer. Everyone should do these to keep everything functioning properly. I have a friend who is a software engineer and this is what he has recommended that I do in the past. If anyone needs additional help, let me know and I'll help you out. Also, sorry for the length of this - there may be a few tricks you may be able to use.

1) Scan your computer system for viruses, spyware, and other malware - Spyware and viruses can cause many problems with your computer including slowing down your system, corrupting or erasing data, causing system crashes, or stealing data. These are horrible and can cause irreparable damage to your computer, data, and on-line safety.

If you ever access the internet, keeping up to date on your anti-virus software is one of the most important things you can do to extend your computers life, safeguard your information, and prevent identity theft. You can use commercial software such as Norton AntiVirus or McAfee VirusScan, or free software such as Spybot - Search and Destroy. It is recommended to set up an automatic scan to occur at least once a week.

2) Move all unnecessary files to an external hard drive, CD, or DVD - The fewer items you have on your hard drive, the quicker it will be for your computer to locate the files you need on a regular basis. Move pictures, mP3Âs, large databases, and other large files to an external hard drive or CD to free up space and to make it easier and faster for your computer to perform functions.

3) Remove unused programs - Unnecessary programs use up valuable disk space and consume resources, especially if the program automatically runs on startup. Remove these to free up hard drive space and resources - and speed up your computer.

How to remove unused programs:

Click Start Â> Control Panel Â> Add or Remove Programs
Select the program to remove
You may have to restart your computer after removing a program. I usually do this after I have removed every program I intend to remove, instead of doing them one at a time.

4) Remove autostart programs - Many programs are designed to automatically start when the computer boots up. This sucks up your computerÂs processing power and slows it down tremendously. Many times you donÂt even want/need the program to constantly run in the background. Removing the program from your start up will improve your computerÂs performance.

A good utility to see what is running at start up (and at other times) is AutoRuns, which is a free Microsoft product. It does not need to be installed - just download, then run it (execute it). It will display everything that starts automatically, the order it starts, where the file is located and more.

How to remove autostart programs:

Click Start Â> Run Â> type msconfig Â> Click OK
Select Startup Tab Â> this displays a list of programs that run on startup
Uncheck those you donÂt want to run on startup (do a Google search to identify those you arenÂt familiar with, or check out sysinfo.org).
The programs you unchecked will not load the next startup and your computer will start faster next time. You can still run the programs by starting them as normal.

5) Turn off programs you arenÂt using - If all you are doing is checking your e-mail you probably donÂt need 5-10 applications running. Turn off programs that constantly run in the background, and close other programs when you have finished with them. This will free up processing power for other applications and your computer will perform faster.

6) Clean up Disk Space with the Disk Cleanup Tool - Freeing space on your hard drive will improve your computerÂs performance. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you do that by identifying files that you can safely delete, then enabling you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files. This is a great way to remove your temporary internet files and other data that just takes up space.

How to clean up disk space:

Click Start Â> All Programs Â> Accessories Â> System Tools Â> Disk Cleanup.
or Open My Computer Â> right-click Local Disk Â> and then click Properties.
Select which files you want to delete. You may have to do this for each drive if you have more than one hard drive.
The system will spend a few minutes analyzing how much space will be saved. Click run. The process will take a few minutes.

7) Run Scandisk or Check Disk to check your hard drive for errors - Scandisk is a Windows utility which you can use to scan your hard disk for errors caused by improper shut-downs, viruses, and other problems. It can also clean your hard drive of the miscellaneous errors caused by software conflicts. Using Scandisk will help you check the integrity of a computer hard drive drive to help prevent issues with your computer data. It can also help isolate and correct errors that slow down your computer.

How to run Scandisk:

Close all applications and programs and turn off your screensaver
Click Start Â> Run Â> type in: scandisk
You will have an option of choosing a "standard" or a "thorough" scandisk.
If you have never done a scandisk before, choose the "thorough" option.
Be prepared to wait this may take awhile!

Check Disk: Accoring to Wikipedia, ScanDisk is similar to Check Disk.

How to run Check Disk:

Click Start Â> Run Â> type in: chkdsk
To automatically fix any errors that are found, Type "chkdsk /F" (note space).
You must restart your computer for it to run
Again, this may take awhile!

8) Defrag your hard drive - Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. Data on your hard drive gets fragmented the more often you install new programs, delete data, and move data to new folders and locations. This causes data to be broken up (fragmented) and stored in different locations. When this happens, your computerÂs performance slows down because it has to search in more places to retrieve the data.

Run a system defrag to arrange your files better so your PC can access them faster, which will increase your computerÂs speed and performance. If it has been awhile since you have done this, you may need to perform a system defrag several times to gain full benefit. I like to run a system defrag about once a month on my home computer. I run it more often at work because I deal with large databases.

How to run a system defrag:

Click Start Â> All Programs Â> Accessories Â> System Tools Â> Disk Defragmenter.
In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click the Analyze button.
After the disk is analyzed, a dialog box appears, letting you know whether you should defragment the analyzed drives.

Keep in mind, this process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. If it takes a few hours that means your disk is highly fragmented and you will probably want to run a system defrag several times until a defrag completes in just a few minutes.

9) Install additional RAM (Memory)- The amount of RAM in your computer has a direct impact on your computerÂs processing speed. The larger your computerÂs RAM, the quicker it is able to perform certain functions. If you donÂt have enough RAM, your computer will use temporary disk space instead (virtual memory), which will substantially slow down performance.

How much RAM do you need? Computers running Windows XP need a minimum of 256MB and 512MB is recommended. If you use a photo editing program like PhotoShop, play graphic intensive computer games, or if you often have several programs open simultaneously you will need more. I have 512MB one a laptop, and 2GB on a new computer.

How to check the size of your computerÂs RAM: go to Start  > Control Panel Â> System. It will be shown on the bottom of the page.

How to upgrade your RAM (memory): Each computer has a different method for upgrading your memory, so I recommend reading your user manual, look at the memory upgrade instructions by Microsoft, or doing a Google search for a user forum where you can find instructions for your model computer. In most cases, it only involves accessing the area where the RAM is located and clicking it into place.

I added RAM to my laptop, and the process involved removing 4 screws, inserting the new stick of RAM, and starting the computer. It was extremely simple, and something anyone can do (keep in mind, however, it may be more difficult depending on your computer setup). After adding additional RAM, my laptop seemed almost new again.

How much does RAM cost? The RAM for my computer was only $30 (including shipping), and it was well worth the expense. Depending on where you purchase the RAM, you should expect to spend anywhere from $20-100, depending on the type of RAM you buy. I found a great deal on a memory stick on eBay and saved over 50%. Another great place to find inexpensive computer components is TigerDirect.com.

Using these tips, I was able to extend the life of one of my computers. The biggest difference maker was upgrading the RAM. The other actions - performing anti-virus scans, system defrags, and removing unnecessary files, are good things to do on a regular basis and will help your computer maintain its performance. They will make your computer run smoother and faster, and possibly last longer.

Wow, that's very impressive, Sephia!

Wowzer, Yowzer, that is some really fantastic information. I am not very computer savvy and so I am definitely printing that all out. And I will go though those steps to see if that will work. I do have my AVG virus updated every day and it does a scan every night at 10 o'clock to check for problems. And I do have spybot that I need to update and run a scan with that. The other stuff I will have to go through step by step. I have alot of stuff that I have saved such as photos and stuff for making Christmas cards and birthday and general greeting cards.

Thank you so much for you help with this. I cannot begin to express my appreciation.

Helen

DGS just installed AVG free on my computer.Found a lot of spyware stuff.No major viruses,thank goodness.The only thing it doesn't do is identity theft protection but for a fee you can get that.I set it to scan my computer once a week.
Sephia-Thanks for that information.I am going to do all of that as soon as I have time.

Sephia -- thank you for all the info. I've been lazy about defragging, etc. b/c I haven't had any slowdown problems, but preventative maintenance is way better than waiting for a problem!

Helen, I've had this Toshiba laptop (L355D-S) from Fry's (after returning an Acer and an HP -- both, which would go to black screen on me, for no reason -- Fry's takes return, no questions asked, no restocking fee) for 2 years and I LOVE it. 17" screen. NO problems, EVER! It cost $499 back then. It replaced a 4 y/o Dell desktop that had the hard drive fail. I still HATE Vista, 2 yrs. into it! I went wireless 3 days ago and wonder why I didn't do it sooner!

You're all very most welcome. I live in Seattle and work for the Boeing company, and sit behind a computer all day. Our IT department has provided us with information on how to improve the functionality of our computers - for our benefit plus the company's. If any of you need help, give me a shout.

Helen- Since 1996 when my eldest started college we've bought 8 or 9 Dell computers. We currently have 3 laptops and one PC. My daughter is going to buy a new laptop in a month or two and this will be our first non-Dell. Everyone here has become less impressed and more annoyed with Dell and the problems of dealing with their service techs. My daughter is buying a Toshiba in August.

There are a number of people who dislike Vista. I haven't had any problems with it except for trying to get the peripherals to operate with full compatibility. That's been a real annoyance. I don't know what operating system you're running but if you purchase a computer after July something (I'm not sure of the exact date) then you'd be eligible for a free upgrade to the next Windows that's due out in October. That's why my daughter is waiting- she hates Vista.

This is awesome information. Thank you so much.
Trin

Great info for sure. I am running Microsoft XL , (is that the operating system? ) Told you I am computer illiterate !! LOL I do have a checklist of little things that I have done. Defrag, update spyware and scan, weekly, and daily update of AVG and scan.

I am going to sit and figure out how to use the CD burner and put what photos I do have on it. I borrowed my friends camera and took some pictures while on vacation. (I really need to get a camera, but that's another question) I have saved tons of recipes too. I think I am a cook-a-holic !! Maybe I need to organize them all first though. I have so much fun stuff to do and so little time. And to think I was under the absolutely most mistaken impression that I was going to have oodles of time on my hands when we retired. What a crock that story line is !! LOL

Thank you all. You folks make me feel like I am very fortunate to have googled my way to the Garden Web.

Helen

It depends on what you do with one, but for me, I want a shelf unit not custom. I like all the bells and whistles that comes with them. When I buy a new one I delete all of the software that I don't use. I can use the restore CD's and make it like it came from the store and incidentally that speeds them up. Most problems with computers are software or user inexperience so restoring them fixes them. I have only had one computer that had a problem out of 4 PCs that the restore didn't fix.