Upgrading your hard drive can have a significant impact on your computer's speed.
A computer's running speed depends on several factors, including the existing hardware, how many programs there are and the size and complexity of those programs and software with which you're working. In many cases, a speed of a computer can be improved by tasks that should be a part of a regular maintenance schedule, such as clearing off old files or finding and removing viruses and spyware from your computer. Hardware upgrades can also significantly improve your computer's speed. In other cases, look at the computer's age and purchase a new system if the current one is more than seven years old.
Instructions
1. Clean up discs and defragment the hard drive to free up space. Fragmentation of hard disk space and files can slow down your computer. For Windows computers, open the "Start" menu and go to "Accessories" in the "All Programs" list. Click on the "System Tools" section and open the Disk Cleanup program to run it. Click "OK" to allow the program to permanently delete the files. Open Disk Defragmenter from "System Tools" and click "Analyze Disk" on the primary "C:" drive. Click "Defragment Disk."
2. Back up your data and commit old files to storage. Review and organize files, programs, applications and folders. Uninstall or delete unused applications to free up space. Archive unused files to ".zip" files on your computer so that they take up less room. Or, purchase a separate flash drive and transfer files you don't use on a regular basis.
3. Upgrade to a solid state drive. Solid state drives, as opposed to traditional hard drives, increase both the perceived and actual speed of your computer since SSDs use less power, don't require a mechanical arm and have no moving parts as hard drives do. Check your computer manufacturer's website for upgrade possibilities or use tools such as Crucial's storage adviser to determine the best fit for your system (see Resources).
4. Add random access memory (RAM) to your computer. Computers use RAM to perform necessary tasks while the system is running, such as opening, closing and running applications. When RAM is maxed out, computers turn to the hard drive. Right-click "My Computer" or "Computer" and select "Properties" if you are running a Windows computer to determine how much RAM you have. Or, go to the "About this Mac" section from the Apple menu if running a Mac operating system. Order and install additional RAM upgrades from your computer manufacturer or third-party retailers.
Configure ReadyBoost on a flash drive or memory card if you are using Windows 7 or Vista. ReadyBoost uses your flash memory to speed up your computer.
5. Tweak the computer's start up process. During each system log-on when the operating system loads, some programs and processes are set to automatically load as well. This can make the start up process sluggish. Open the "System Configuration" utility in Windows and click the "Startup" tab. Uncheck startup items that are unnecessary, such as games, browser toolbars and weather applications. Click "Apply" and go to the "Services" tab. Check the "Hide all Microsoft services" box and then the "Disable all" button. Click "Apply" and then "OK" to close the System Configuration window.
In a Mac operating system, click on "System Preferences" from the Apple menu. Go to the "Accounts" and then "Login items" section. Select each login item you want to disable and click the "minus" button at the bottom of the list to prevent the programs from automatically loading at startup.
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