Ten ways to speed up a slow PC

Summary: If your PC or laptop is running slow, it may be time to try one of these 10 tips: from clearing out the dust to upgrading your memory or even reinstalling Windows

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Make more space

5. Make more space
Hard drives cope better with a bit of free space (as a general rule, 10-percent free should keep things happy). There are two easy ways you can help get rid of things if you've been a bit of a digital hoarder.

CCleaner will help clear away temporary files created by web browsers, install programs and more — and if you haven't done this for a long time (or ever), it can actually make a huge difference. If you're on a Mac, try OnyX.

Space Sniffer, meanwhile, will help you to weed out downloads and files you forgot existed, by showing you a spatial view of what's taking up the most room on your hard drive, allowing you to drill down to the file level, and still access Explorer's right-click menu to delete files. Don't forget you can double click on a folder to zoom in on its contents.

If you're a Mac user, check out Disk Inventory X or GrandPerspective.

Image credit: Craig Simms/CBSi

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Topic: Hardware

Craig Simms

About Craig Simms

Focusing on PC hardware, accessories and business products, Craig Simms is responsible for identifying new opportunities for the reviews channels on CNET Australia and ZDNet Australia, to better serve the readers. He has written about a vast range of technology since 2001, covering the gamut from print to online, hardware to software, consumer to enthusiast, the gaming world to workstations.

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