Working on a slow computer does not only cause stress to you as a user but can waste your precious time. This is avoidable and you do not need be a computer wizard to make your computer run faster.

The following tips can help improve your computer's performance.

Clean up disk errors

Whether you are using Windows Operating system or open source, it's crucial to once in a while clean up your disk.

According to Chris Tull, a technology specialist and freelance writer, whenever a programme crashes or you experience a power outage, your computer may create errors on its hard disk (sometimes referred to as a hard drive).

"Over time, the errors can result in a slow PC. Fortunately, the Windows operating system includes several PC tools, including a Check Disk programme, to identify and clean any errors on your computer and to help keep it running smoothly," advices Tull.

Remove temporary files

When you are browsing or working on documents, your computer can pick up and store temporary files. Over time, these files will slow your computer's performance.

It is advisable that you, once in a week, use cleaning softwares like the Windows Disk Cleanup tool to rid your computer of these unneeded files. There are other free cleaning programmes available on the Internet. It is, however, prudent to be choosy when downloading programmes from the Internet as you can end up infecting your PC with deadly viruses.

Optimise your data

As you retrieve files from your computer, a complicated process runs in the central processing unit (CPU).

Technically speaking, as you add programmes and files to your computer, it often breaks files side by side to increase the speed of access and retrieval.

However, as files are updated, your computer saves these updates on the largest space available on the hard drive, often found far away from the other adjacent sectors of the file.

The result is a fragmented file which cause slower performance because your computer must now search for all of the file's parts.

Windows includes a Disk Defragmenter programme to piece all your files back together and to make them available to open more quickly. According to a Microsoft manual for instance, Windows 7 and Windows Vista are preconfigured to run Disk Defragmenter on a weekly basis.

Protect your computer from viruses

If your computer runs on windows, install a working and up-to-date anti-virus.

As Tull argues, while you're busy surfing the web, spyware and other types of malicious software are collecting personal information about you, often without your knowledge.

The result is that your personal information could be compromised. At the same time, spyware and malware can slow down your computer.

You can download Microsoft Security Essentials for free to help guard your system in the future from viruses, spyware, adware, and other malware. Microsoft Security Essentials acts as a spyware removal tool and includes automatic updates to help keep your system running. efficiently and to help protect it from emerging threats.

Make your browser run faster

Most web browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome store visited webpages to your computer, organising them within a page history by day.

This makes browsing easier since the browser intelligently recognises your browsing preferences and keeps the most accessed web pages easily accessible.

According to Tull, although it's useful to keep a couple days of web history within your computer, there's no need to store more than a week's worth.

Any more than that and the collected webpages can slow down your computer's performance.

You should therefore delete your browsing history once in awhile to avoid cramming your computers memory with unnecessary data. This also applies to those users who access the Internet via mobile phones.

Don't save encrypted webpages

Encrypted webpages ask for user names and passwords. These pages scramble information to prevent the reading of sensitive information. You can configure Internet Explorer to not save these types of pages.

This will free up space by saving fewer files to your computer, in addition to keeping secure information off of your computer.

Automate Windows Update

If you are using Microsoft's Windows, you need to update your system frequently to avoid the detrimental effects of viruses and other malware. Microsoft works constantly to release updates to Windows and other Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office.

With Windows Update, you can install all these updates--not just the critical ones. You can make life easier by automating Windows Update so that your computer downloads and installs all the updates without you having to worry about them.