Scan for Viruses and Spyware

• When your computer is crashing, freezing or just acting sluggish, the first thing you should do is scan for viruses and spyware. Both malicious programs and spyware can slow your system to a crawl--and put your valuable data at risk. If you don't have an antivirus and anti-spyware program loaded on your machine, download one immediately. Some of the biggest names in virus protection include McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro.
  
  Simply visit the vendor websites, check out what is available and make a purchase. For additional spyware protection, Spybot Search & Destroy is a good choice--and it is free. Go to http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html and download the program. After the antivirus programs are in place, be sure to keep them updated. Each program will have an option allowing users to set the update frequency--for maximum protection, daily updates should be selected. Whether they have virus protection in place or not, computer owners can also head over to http://housecall.trendmicro.com to run a free scan. If you do not have virus protection in place, running this checkup will help you find problems until you can get protection. If you already have protection in place, this online check can provide additional peace of mind.
  
  

Use Task Manager to Find Unresponsive Programs

• When computers freeze and appear to stop responding, the problem is often caused by an unresponsive program. Often that one unresponsive program is eating up all of the system resources and not allowing any other programs to run. If you can close that one unresponsive program, you may be able to continue using your system normally.
  
  In order to determine which program is responsible for the slow performance, simply right-click on an empty part of the task bar and choose "Task Manager" from the list. Task Manager will open and show which programs are active on your computer. If your PC appears to be frozen, chances are you will see a status of "Not Responding." If that is the case, highlight the unresponsive program and click the "End Task" button. When you receive a confirmation warning message, click "Yes," and the program will close. After the unresponsive program has been closed you should be able to use your other programs. You can also reopen the closed program and continue working. If the same program is often unresponsive it may need to be reinstalled. Corrupt files can cause these kinds of problems, and running a reinstall will replace those corrupt files with good ones.
  
  

Use System Restore to Revive Your Computer

• If your computer was working fine yesterday but now refuses to start or run properly, you may be able to use System Restore to bring it back to life. System Restore is built into Windows, and it provides an easy way to take your computer back in time. When it comes to computer problems it is always important to ask yourself "what changed?" Was a new piece of hardware or software installed recently? If so, removing that hardware or software may resolve the issue. If you are unsure what changes are responsible for the poor performance or start-up problems, System Restore may be able to help. To start System Restore, hold the F8 key down as your computer is starting up. When the start-up menu appears, choose Safe Mode and allow it to boot. When the computer comes up in Safe Mode you will have the option to run System Restore. Simply choose a date that falls before the problems first appeared, run the restore process and continue.