The computer is slow

Restart your computer.
Verify that there is at least 200-500 MB of free hard drive space. To do so, select Start and click on My Computer or Computer. Then highlight the local C drive by clicking on it once. Select the Properties button at the top left-hand corner of the window; this will display a window showing how much free and used space you have. If you need to recapture space:

 Empty your recycle bin by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin icon (usually on the desktop), then selecting Empty Recycle Bin.

Check your mail files. Remove any large attachments and delete unused mail.

 Images and videos take up a lot of space, so consider moving those to an external drive.

- Remove temporary files from the Internet. To do so:

o Click Start button | My Computer or Computer.
o Click Open Control Panel at the top of the window.
o Click Network | Internet |Internet Options.
o Select the General tab and click Delete under Browsing History.

Perform a disk cleanup. To do so:

o Click Start button | My Computer or Computer.
o Highlight the local C drive by clicking on it once.
o Select the properties button at the top left of the window.
o Go to the General tab and select Disk Cleanup.
o Once the Disk Cleanup finishes running, click on Clean up System Files; this will delete any unnecessary system-related files from your local disk.

 Information in computer files changes often, resulting in gaps or spaces within the file. This takes up more space on the computer and can cause the computer to slow down. To reclaim these gaps in space, run disk defrag. To do so:

o Click start | My Computer or Computer.
o Highlight the local C drive by clicking on it once.
o Select the properties button at the top left of the window.
o Go to the Tools tab and select Run Defragmentation.
Old or unused programs that aren’t being used may still have components running behind the scenes when you start your computer, which can slow down the system. You can prevent these programs from running when you start your computer by removing unused shortcuts and turning off unused program services.

Remove unused shortcuts from Windows startup

o Click Start button | Select All Programs | Click Startup
o Right-click the shortcuts that you do not use and click delete

Disable unused program services

o Click Start button | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services
o For each program/service that you are certain that you do not need, click on the Service to highlight it, click the Stop link to stop the service from running, then double-click the service, choose Startup Type of Disabled, and click OK.
Run a virus scan to remove potential viruses that can slow down your computer.