Unused Programs - Could They Be To Blame For Your Computer Slowing Down?

by Kevin Owens

Isn't it funny how one day your computer can be running
smoothly and then in a few months it can slow down to the
point where you just want to throw it out the window? The
real question is - exactly why did it slow down? Well the
answer isn't clear cut and easy to digest but most of it has
to deal with how the operating system of your computer
works. Most Windows based operating systems are designed to
work as efficiently as possible, but that unfortunately
isn't the case in real life. What happens is that after time
your computer starts to build up junk in many different
areas and this is what slows it down (for the most part).
All you need to do to make it faster is to remove the junk.
The only problem is finding all of the areas that the junk
builds up and also removing it.

So where are all of the areas that junk builds up on your
computer? Well that is beyond the scope of this article, but
what I can do is I can show you were to start. Most people
after using their computers for about a year or more have
downloaded multiple programs onto their computer that they
no longer need, but they have never actually bothered to
take the time to delete them. If some of these programs are
still installed, they are taking up hard drive space and
they could actually be running in the background when you
are using your computer. This means that they are using your
computers resources but you are not benefiting from them. By
removing these programs that you don't need anymore, you
will free your computer of some of its valuable resources
that you can then use.

Just to be on the safe side here, don't remove a program if
you don't know what it is or what it does - your computer
might actually be using it. Only remove a program if you
know what it is and if you know for sure that your computer
doesn't need it. Here's how you do it:

If you are a Windows XP user just start by clicking Start,
going to the Control Panel, clicking on the Add/Remove
Programs and then waiting a little while for the list to be
populated (if you have a lot of programs on your computer it
will take a while for all of them to appear).  Now, just
remove the programs that you know you don't need by clicking
on the program and then selecting "Change/Remove".  After
that you just have to go through with the process to remove
it.

For you Windows Vista user, start off by clicking the Start
button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, click
on Control Panel and make sure that at the top left hand
corner of the window that you have "Classic View" selected.
Now just double click on the "Programs and Features" button
(give it some time to populate your list of currently
installed programs) and then just select the programs that
you don't need and at the top of the window select Uninstall
to remove them. Remember to to only remove programs if you
for 100% sure what they are and make sure that you don't
need them.