The most common reasons for slow computer speeds are…

• Lack of Memory (RAM): RAM is like your computer’s “short-term memory”. It’s fast but doesn’t store things for a long time. When you actually “load a program” what you are doing is reading it from the hard drive and putting it into the “RAM” for use. A lack of RAM makes your computer work much harder at getting things done, slowing everything down.
• Start-Up Programs: These little devils over time load into your system startup – often needlessly. Programs that are behaving, sitting nicely in your computer, NOT in the system startup actually have very little impact on the speed of the computer. It’s those gremlins like Adobe Reader that load in the system startup that slow things down. If you only read PDF files (adobe reader files) once in a while, then why the hell does it need to load every-single-time I boot my system? The answer: it doesn’t! But people like Adobe want to make you feel like adobe reader is a super-fast program – when you need it, it’s there instantly! But you pay for this in the over-all system performance, because when you don’t need it… it’s still there! In fact it’s in the way of other things you actually do need! Apple is another great offender of this.
• Perception: yep – I said it. It’s all in your head. Ok, not all of it, but some of it. It’s similar to the road-hypnosis phenomenon. When you first get on the highway and gun it to 148MPH in your 2002 GT Mustang out in the desert you feel like you’re flyin’. But after 30 minutes, it doesn’t seem so fast anymore. The same thing happens with computers. When people get a brand-spankin’ new computer they compare it to the old junker on the way out the door and it seems like lightening. But after a year or two, we no longer remember that old junker… we now compare it to our faster machine and it’s no longer so fast… just like 148MPH isn’t that impressive anymore.

Registry cleaners definitely cannot address reason a lack of RAM or the perception of speed. And the only slightly tinker with the startup… because there is no way they can know what you actually need and what isn’t important to you anymore.

What they can do is possibly mess up the registry by changing settings and deleting old entries – which typically have a very small impact on speed.
So unless you want to risk harming the registry or even killing your computer – “just say no”. I will only use registry programs in my computer-repair business as an absolute last resort. If I'm going to have to format the system anyways, I don't have too much to lose... but this is strictly a last-resort tactic.

Save the money on the junk-ware and put it to some RAM… and actually get a speed boost for your dough.

We will discuss how you can optimize your computer and get a nice boost in speed for free in another article.