Why is my computer running so slow? And how can I speed it up? If you’ve been asking yourself these questions, take heart. You can do quite a few things to fix the problem.

Start by checking your hard disk: Open “My Computer,” located on your desktop and then right click your hard disk and click “Properties.” In the properties folder, you can look to if your hard drive is really starting to fill up. This is one of the most common causes of a slow computer and can be fixed if you delete some of the unused files.

Click on “Disk Cleanup.” When you do this, you can help delete the temporary files and a number of other unused programs or files that you are not using. These fill up your hard disk and take up unnecessary space on your hard drive.

Select the “Tools” tab and then run a disk error check. If it can detect errors and fixes them, that saves space on your drive.

On the same tab, run the Defragmenter (only after an error check, for safety’s sake). Think of your computer as a filing cabinet. If you’ve put some files in the drawer sideways, and some papers have spilled loose into the bottom, and a few of the folder labels have peeled off, it will take you much longer to find the document you’re looking for. Defragging essentially organizes those file folders, puts them together and leaves empty space in the back of the drawer for more by moving program data around on the disk. Just as you can retrieve something from a neat, organized file cabinet more quickly, your computer can find what it needs more quickly, too.

Empty your Recycle Bin to help free up space.

Download registry repair software to your computer, this can help repair any problems with the registry. The computer’s registry is like its brain and if it gets too full, it can cause your computer to not work properly.