and virtual memory which is much slower. Physical memory or RAM (random access memory) is attached to your motherboard. Virtual memory or page file is the amount of hard drive space that is put a side and used when your system runs out of RAM.

Windows XP requires a great deal of RAM to run efficiently. Most Windows XP systems

Remember when your system was brand new and you were amazed on how fast it ran. Then over time it gradually slowed down to slow crawl. There are several reasons for this lack of performance which include: viruses, spyware, adware, system memory management.

Protecting your computer from viruses is fairly straight forward. If your system connects to the Internet, network, or has access to removable media, you absolutely need anti-virus software running at all times. This program must have up-to-date virus definition; which is basically a list of the most current viruses that gives the anti-virus program a means to identify the threat. Finally, to insure a virus free system a scheduled weekly full system scan that looks at the entire file system for threats is required.

To avoid spyware and adware refrain from downloading shareware and freeware program. Also be careful about downloading music. Many music downloads contain spyware. It’s good to have a program that checks for spyware and adware, but it’s better to have an anti-virus program that also checks for these types of threats. That way you are only running one program that does it all.

Last but not least to maintain a high level of performance system memory must be managed. Your computer uses two types of system memory, physical memory which is fast and virtual memory which is much slower. Physical memory or RAM (random access memory) is attached to your motherboard. Virtual memory or page file is the amount of hard drive space that is put a side and used when your system runs out of RAM.

Windows XP requires a great deal of RAM to run efficiently. Most Windows XP systems a

r system connects to the Internet, network, or has access to removable media, you absolutely need anti-virus software running at all times. This program must have up-to-date virus definition; which is basically a list of the most current viruses that gives the anti-virus program a means to identify the threat. Finally, to insure a virus free system a scheduled weekly full system scan that looks at the entire file system for threats is required.

To avoid spyware and adware refrain from downloading shareware and freeware program. Also be careful about downloading music. Many music downloads contain spyware. It’s good to have a program that checks for spyware and adware, but it’s better to have an anti-virus program that also checks for these types of threats. That way you are only running one program that does it all.

Last but not least to maintain a high level of performance system memory must be managed. Your computer uses two types of system memory, physical memory which is fast and virtual memory which is much slower. Physical memory or RAM (random access memory) is attached to your motherboard. Virtual memory or page file is the amount of hard drive space that is put a side and used when your system runs out of RAM.

Windows XP requires a great deal of RAM to run efficiently. Most Windows XP systems

rus free system a scheduled weekly full system scan that looks at the entire file system for threats is required.

To avoid spyware and adware refrain from downloading shareware and freeware program. Also be careful about downloading music. Many music downloads contain spyware. It’s good to have a program that checks for spyware and adware, but it’s better to have an anti-virus program that also checks for these types of threats. That way you are only running one program that does it all.

Last but not least to maintain a high level of performance system memory must be managed. Your computer uses two types of system memory, physical memory which is fast and virtual memory which is much slower. Physical memory or RAM (random access memory) is attached to your motherboard. Virtual memory or page file is the amount of hard drive space that is put a side and used when your system runs out of RAM.

Windows XP requires a great deal of RAM to run efficiently. Most Windows XP systems

and adware, but it’s better to have an anti-virus program that also checks for these types of threats. That way you are only running one program that does it all.

Last but not least to maintain a high level of performance system memory must be managed. Your computer uses two types of system memory, physical memory which is fast and virtual memory which is much slower. Physical memory or RAM (random access memory) is attached to your motherboard. Virtual memory or page file is the amount of hard drive space that is put a side and used when your system runs out of RAM.

Windows XP requires a great deal of RAM to run efficiently. Most Windows XP systems

and virtual memory which is much slower. Physical memory or RAM (random access memory) is attached to your motherboard. Virtual memory or page file is the amount of hard drive space that is put a side and used when your system runs out of RAM.

Windows XP requires a great deal of RAM to run efficiently. Most Windows XP systems are sold with 256MB or even 128MB to keep the cost down. But to run XP with more than one application open you should have 512MB of RAM. To check and see how much RAM your system has, go to Control Panel and click on the System icon. On the General Tab the amount of RAM will be listed. To check and see if your system requires more RAM use Windows Task Manager. To open this utility, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and then click on the Performance Tab. If the size of the PF usage (virtual memory) is higher than the available memory (RAM), your system will run slow and you need to increase the amount of RAM on your system to increase performance.

After determining the amount of RAM is sufficient there are a couple of utilities with Windows XP that should be run on a regular basis to maintain peek performance. These utility programs can be found by going to Start, All Programs, Accessories, and System Tools. First, use Disk Cleanup and remove unnecessary files to increase disk space. Then run Disk Defragmenter to enable data to be accessed faster from the hard drive. Finally, use a registry cleaner like Registry Mechanic. Registry Mechanic is an advanced registry cleaner for Windows that can safely clean, repair and optimize your registry in a few simple mouse clicks. Registry Mechanic can be downloaded from www.pctools.com.