The 9 worst PC performance inhibitors

* Update vs New installation

Whenever you update software you automatically carry over all the original pieces of software from the original install, even if they are no longer needed.
So the best approach is to delete the original and do a new clean install.

You will need to ensure that you have the right software to do a new install rather than simply an update.

* Too little disk space

If your disk drive is too small Windows will not work optimally. You need to ensure that there is sufficient disk space available for Windows to perform to its best - this is true for any operating system (UNIX, Mac OS, etc.) not just Windows!

I would recommend no less than 40GB drives for normal home use in a small family with 1 - 3 users.

If your computational needs increase you will need larger and larger drives. It makes a lot of sense to think seriously about what you might do with your computer into the future (photo albams, downloading movies, developing movies for friends and family, etc.) and talk to an expert about what might be best to buy up front.

Don't worry too much about cost as drive are very cheap these days with 500GB drive selling for as little as US$300 (try e-bay)

* Too many utilities

Delete any programs you no longer need. This will free up disk space and reduce memory requirements speeding upo you computer.

If you think you may need then sometime in the future then a good idea is to burn the installer onto a CD or DVD for later re-install - assuming you don't have the original media.

* Redundant data

Delete temp files. These can build up very quickly and end up hogging your drive.

Also empty your trash regularly. I do it just before shutting down every day.

Be aware that dragging and dropping stuff into the trash does not delete it from your machine! The trash can is a temporary holding area from which you can drag and drop stuff back onto your computer if you wish (just double click your trash can to open it like any other folder). You need to right click on the trash can and select 'empty recycle bin' to actually get rid of whatever may be in it.

* Data bottlenecks

Learn how to optimise your computers memory cache to optimise performance.

* Inefficient registry

Optimise and clean out the registry on a regular basis to optimise performance.

* Poor monitor display

A poorly set up monitor/graphics card combination can have a significant impact on performance.

Any graphics card should come with a CD or DVD with software to tune the card with your monitor/s (it's possible to have more than one if you need the 'screen real estate.')

Ensure you read the instructions carefully and tune the card and monitor.

* Obsolete hardware/software

Having an array of old and obsolete drivers, DLLs, registry entries and hardware (eg an un-used modem because you are now on broadband) will slow down your machine.

A good clean out of un-used software and hardware will help.

* Unnecessary Autostart programs

These can be very frustrating. They hog memory and slow start-up.

Many software products offer you the ability to install them into the system tray when first installed. Unless you are going to use this software regularly or it needs to be installed at start-up, deselect this option.

Also if you find that there are already items in the system tray you rarely use it's a good idea to remove them (the system tray is that the little set of pictures on the bottom right of your screen).

* Fragmented disk drive

Over time your hard drive will end up with a large number of files all over the place and many of them will be split into many fragments written on many disparate locations on your hard drive. This is called disk fragmentation.

This slows your machine down because when you need a file the computer needs to look all over your drive to pick up the whoile file - this takes time and if fragmentation is significant can slow you down a lot.

I know that's ten inhibitors but I never said I could count!

But there are simple solutions for most of these issues. You need a piece of software that can fix these problems without you needing to understand the detailed intricacies of your machine. One that's free and certainly does most of the hard work in a product develop by Microsoft.

Download Tweak UI here. Look down the right hand side of the page until you find the link for Tweak UI!