Windows Virtual Memory
...your easy, authoritative guide to a well-oiled PC!

The solution is to periodically run a Disk Defragmenter, such as Disk Defragmenter. One such program comes bundled with Windows. If you need more than what Windows has by way of its own Disk Defragmenter - and you should ask for more too, click here to read about Disk Managers.

Windows' free bundled Disk Defragmenter is accessible from the following Menu: Start/ Accessories/ System Tools/ Disk Defragmenter. Although it is not as effective or thorough as Raxco's PerfectDisk, it will restore some of your Computer's lost speed.

The second cause of Computer slowdowns is Registry errors or a non-optimal Registry. The more programs you install and uninstall, the more Registry corruptions occur. While these would normally not cause your Computer to come to a grinding halt, they will certainly serve to severely degrade performance. This is why you need to periodically run a Registry Defragmenter such as Elcor Software's PremiumBooster (visit http://www.premiumbooster.com for a free scan of your Computer's Registry) or UniBlue's RegistryBooster. (Click below for a free Registry Check of your Computer)

There are freeware Registry Scanners such as CleanMyRegistry as well - Click here to download CleanMyRegistry. If your Registry is corrupt and needs fixing, you might prefer downloading the freeware FixMy Registry. Download FixMy Registry by clicking the link, http://smartpctools.com/fix_registry/index1.html.

For the WellOiledPC shootout of 10 leading Registry Defragmenters, our comments on each solution and our ranking of them, Click Here!

• Do be advised that where your Windows Registry is concerned, a single false move will result in a crashed Computer! DO NOT use the first Registry Repairing solution that you come across!

• It is wiser to use commercial products, where your Computer's working is concerned. We at WellOiledPC STRONGLY recommend that you go in for standard commercialware for the following categories of programs:

  • Operating System

  • AntiSpyware

  • AntiVirus

  • Registry Defregmenters

  • Disk Managers

  For most other categories of Programs, freeware is fine!

If the above two steps do not - by-and-large - restore your Computer's lost speed, the next step is to check for Viruses and/ or Spyware.

Read all about how to protect your Computer/ recover from a Virus attack - including a comparison of AntiViruses and purchase links to top-of-the-line AntiVirus programs, in the following pages: Virus and Antivirus

Read all about how to protect your Computer/ recover from a Spyware attack - including a comparison of Antipyware and purchase links to top-of-the-line AntiSpyware programs, in the following pages: Spyware and Antispyware

While the above two happen naturally and automatically - there isn't much you can do to stop or slow it down - there are two more reasons for a Computer slow-down over time. We will discuss the procedure for fine-tuning your Computer's Virtual Memory Settings, in this section. The other, pruning the number of Startup programs on your Computer, is discussed in the page, Startup Programs (click the Underlined, Bold, Blue text here, to read about how to fine-tune your Virtual memory settings).

Do be advised that usually, the Virtual Memory settings DO NOT require fine-tuning - the default settings work fine, out-of-the-box...

Here are the steps to optimize your Computer's Virtual Memory settings, if you're ready to get your hands dirty...