The computer can become slow for a variety of reasons, but the most common reason is a lack of maintenance. Yes, that's right. The computer may be a very good piece of machinery which incorporates the latest technology in electronics but it still needs some looking after for it to give uninterrupted and optimal performance. So if you have a slow computer fix it by taking some very simple steps. The first thing that you need to do is to get rid of unwanted junk, in the form of files, folders and other kinds of data that is no longer needed or in use. There can also be data like associated files or support files with programs and other larger files e.g. there are often support files in .txt or .dat format with movie or video files like .mpg or .mpeg. And there are also support files in other formats which can get scattered over the drives over a long period of time. But the accumulation of such files can cause the hard disk to become very clogged and messy. And this in turn causes the processor speed to become slow, because it then takes more time to read and access from so many address locations. The files can be deleted manually or by using some tool or application. There is an-built tool or utility, Windows' very own that comes with every Windows XP-installed computer. This is called Disk cleanup and can be accessed by typing cleanmgr.exe in the Run box from the start menu. It can also be found under the System Tools menu from the Accessories section of Programs under the Start menu. In that same location, under system tools, one can find Disk Defragmenter, another great hard disk space increasing and processor speed increasing tool. It accomplishes this task by bringing the different parts of a file together in one place or by defragmenting the fragments. 

This article is written by Alden Shaw, who also writes for slow-computer-solutions.org, a site emphasizing slow computer fix, slow computer help, and fix slow computer.