Banging on your keyboard in hopes that it will somehow result in your screen displaying your search results in a faster manner has yet to be proven as an effective method of improving slow computer performance.

While it may seem quit funny to witness a friend or co-worker implement the caveman method for speeding up their slow computer it no longer becomes a laughing matter when it’s you making deals with the computer gods to improve your computer’s speed.

The truth is most people believe that prayer and superstitious practices are the only method of fixing their slow computer performance when, in actuality, a completely logical approach often solves the problem.

In the same way we take our cars in for tune-ups or schedule dentist appointments for a cleaning, our computers require the same treatment. When we neglect to treat our computer like we would our car the end result becomes an angry slam on a keyboard or, even worse, a full scale monitor toss out the window.

If you’re experiencing slow computer performance don’t be surprised if it’s because many of your files have become fragmented. That is to say, over time your data has been sliced and diced and spread all over your computer. This is because when a file is originally created it fits into a block where everything remains conveniently together and easy to retrieve. When you add new files or extend existing files it becomes harder to store all the information in that same block so your computer looks for free space elsewhere. The result can often lead to pieces of that file being fit into various blocks.

Now you have fragmented data and when you make that simple request for a file it can take your computer what feels like an eternity to locate all those pieces that have been scattered.

This is where that prayer and superstition usually kicks in because just about everybody fears what’s going on under that thin sheet of metal that protects the inner workings of the computer. Rather than reciting a few Our Father’s or piecing together that necklace of garlic you should look into a practical solution like defragmentation software. Defrag, as it is commonly referred, can often times clean up the mess that causes slow computer performance.

Defrag software essentially reorganizes your hard disk and places the pieces of a fragmented file closer together in order to create faster retrieval time. Another aspect of defrag software is the creation of larger areas of free space to store entire files, thus eliminating fragmentation.