Once you’ve finished speeding up your PC by following the Speed Up That PC series ^[1] you need to do a few things to keep your computer running fast. Think of this like changing the oil in your car. It’s something that has to be done to keep your car running smooth.

The most important thing is to make sure your antivirus and antispyware software is always running, up to date, and scanning your computer on a regular basis. I see computers all the time that have antivirus and antispyware software installed but not running. They always tell me “I don’t know how I got those viruses. I have antivirus software on my computer.”. Many people don’t realize how important it is to keep them updated and running all the time.

Run the msconfig tool ^[2] about once a month to make sure no unwanted programs are running. Many times a few of them slip by when you update software.

Run a disk cleanup and defragment your hard drive once a month to keep it clean and in order. This makes it easy for your computer to find files which lets it run faster.

That’s about it guys. Hope I was able to help.

Listed above are the most common problems I see with computers that have slowed down over time. Check out the rest of my Speed Up That PC ^[1] series to find out how to fix this problem.