My computer is running slow, how do I improve its performance?

Viruses can severely slow down your computer. Run anti virus software and get rid of any viruses that are on your computer.

Installing more ram into your computer can allow you to open new windows and load pages faster.

Delete files to make more room in the memory of your computer. Freeing up memory on your computer will improve the performance.

Try blowing out any dust inside of it to help it stay cool. Take it outside on a sunny day and do this so that the dust doesn't end up inside. Also, there is a thin layer of what is called "thermal compound" between the CPU and the heat sink. This is supposed to fill in the gaps between the metal surfaces so that heat flows more freely, but over time it dries out and doesn't work as effectively. You can carefully clean off the surfaces of the CPU and the heat sink and then apply a thin layer of fresh thermal compound to help it cool more effectively. Modern CPUs will throttle themselves when they get hot to prevent damaging the hardware, so keeping them cool can help performance.

First scan your computer for malware. I use malwarebytes. Next see what is loading on startup. For Windows type in the run section MSCONFIG and go to the startup tab and uncheck any program that you do not need to run at startup. Don't worry if you mess up you can always turn it back on the same way. Just keep up with what you turn on and off. Next delete everything in the TEMP folder. Go to run again and type in %temp% hit enter,select all and delete. If everything is done the next thing is either system ram or video ram. Time to upgrade system memory or a good video card.