- 1). Run an antivirus scan. Viruses and malware can slow your computer down and cause problems with your operating system. Carry out a full scan of your hard drive and remove or quarantine any rogue files causing you problems.
- 2). Visit Window Update.com. If your computer does not receive automatic updates from Microsoft, visit the company's website and run a scan to see if your operating system requires any additional patches released since you brought your computer. Make sure that you set updates to download automatically in the future. You need to be running Internet Explorer 5 or higher for this check.
- 3). Defragment your hard drive. Go to "Accessories" through the "Start" menu and select "System Tools." Click on "Disk Defragmenter" and analyze your hard drive by clicking on the "Analyze" button in the bottom right-hand corner of the new window. If prompted to do so, defragment the drive. Over time, data displaces on your hard drive, causing the processor to work harder to find it. Defragmenting your drive will improve its performance.
- 4). Clean up your hard disk. Follow the same path as above to "System Tools" and select "Disk Cleanup." The program will calculate how much space you can save on your disc by compressing or deleting old files, allowing it to work more efficiently.
- 5). Remove unused programs. Go to "Control Panel" from the "Start" menu and select "Add or Remove Programs." Wait for the list to populate and then review. Remove any programs that you don't use that might have come preloaded with your machine or downloaded automatically as part of a bundle. These can slow your operating system down.
- 6). Restore your operating system to an earlier point. If the problems you have been experiencing with XP have occurred recently, you can reset your system to a time before the problems started. Again, follow the above path to "System Tools" and select "System Restore." Mark "Return my computer to an earlier time," press "Next" and then choose a date when your computer was working properly. Click on "Next" and then "Next" again to go ahead with the restore. The computer will restart once it has reset itself, and your operating system will be returned to its state at the time you've chosen.
- 7). Tune your registry. Download a program to scan and repair any errors in your operating system's registry. Errors here can seriously impact the efficiency of your machine.
- 8). Run a repair of XP by inserting the boot CD that came with your computer and restart. Press enter on the "Set up" screen, "F8" to accept the license agreement and then "R" to repair your current installation. The repair install will replace system files that may have been damaged but will leave your software and personal data intact. If you cannot locate the recovery disc that came with your computer, you can order one from its manufacturer.
- 9). Reinstall your operating system. If all else fails, go for a clean reinstall of XP. Run the boot CD as above and follow the instructions to return your operating system to the its factory default settings by using the "Recovery Console." You will lose all data and software you have saved to the machine's hard drive, so back up anything you want to keep.
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