I think the way to make your computer run faster is not to add programs to it, but to have fewer programs running.

Over time, your computer will build up more and more junk in it. From old programs that you have uninstalled, to files left over from software crashes, to temp files, etc etc. It is inevitable that these little things will build up. The best way I have found to speed up a computer without adding memory or a new hard drive or anything is to back up your computer, erase the drive completely, and reinstall your system software. This will get rid of all that built up junk, and will give you a clean slate.

Before you do this, write down all the programs you use, and reinstall them cleanly. This should speed things up quite a lot. You will probably use less memory and have some hard drive space freed up as well.

In addition, look for alternative versions of software that you use. For example, lots of people use Weatherbug on their computer. But Weatherbug is a memory hog. It uses a lot of memory, it makes the computer think more often (thus slowing things down) and bogs your system down. Instead of that, try Weatherpulse (or something like that). It's a cleaner, stripped down version of weather software that still has everything you need. Real Alternative instead of RealPlayer is another one. And FoxIt PDF software instead of Adobe Acrobat. All three of those programs are memory and CPU hogs, and the three alternatives are smaller, cleaner, and faster.

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