Windows is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, operating system in the world. This is because Microsoft cornered the market early, and has since influenced every other operating system in the world. All computer operating systems, no matter who made them, one way or another owe something to Microsoft Windows. But, one problem some computer users do run into with Microsoft Windows is that it can, at time, run slower than it should. We all know how annoying a slow computer can be, especially when using streaming music and video services available on the internet. But, there are things that can be done in order to speed up the Windows operating system. Windows uses many applications and programs, and not all of them are used by most computer users, so by disabling those can and will likely speed up the Microsoft Windows operating system quite dramatically. The following is a list of some of the easiest things a user can do in order to speed up their Microsoft Windows operating system on their computer, no matter which version of Windows it is:

Step 1 to Speed up Windows: Know the Bare Essentials

Despite all the things that Windows utilizes, there are only a few bare essentials that Windows needs in order to operate properly and efficiently. So, the first step is to know the bare essentials, and to determine whether or not you will need or use those other programs outside of the bare essentials list. Here are the bare essentials for Microsoft to run:

  1. 1 Ghz processor (32-bit or 64-bit)
  2. 1 GB of main memory
  3. 16 GB of available disk space
  4. Support for DX9 graphics with 128MB of memory
  5. a DVD- R/W Drive (although this is not needed for newer version of Microsoft Windows- post Windows 7)

These are the basic things you computer needs to run a Windows operating system, and with these bare essentials you should have all the pieces in place for a fast running operating system. If your version of Windows is running slow, then you may need to look into whether or not these essentials of your computer are running properly and efficiently.

Step 2 to Speed up Windows: Disabling Search Features

There are some automatic programs that Windows will start up automatically every time you use the computer. The search features program is one of those programs that runs automatically. So, by disabling it (as it is rarely ever used by most computer users) you can speed up the Windows operating system. 

Step 3 to Speed up Windows: Disabling Visual Effects

The visual effects tend to take up a lot of memory and usage space and are often the main culprit when it comes to finding out why Windows is running slower than it usually would. Do, by disabling the effects, you will likely speed up the operating system.

Author Bio: Bob is a freelance writer for many publications. Click here for an xbmc download.