It has been suggested that to speed up our slow computer, we need to reinstall Windows as well as download various programs. The person would charge £90 for this. Is this the right way to go about it and if so is the price reasonable? Paul Gabriel
This is like asking if you need to paint your shed: since I can't see it, I don't know. It's certainly true that DOS-based versions of Windows (95/98/SE/Me) used to become clogged up over time, and benefited from a fresh installation every 18 months or so. If you are in this position, then £90 seems a very reasonable charge for backing up all your data, reinstalling Windows and restoring your data correctly. This would normally take two to four hours. However, New Technology versions of Windows (NT, 2000, XP, Vista) generally do not seem to benefit much. Unless your system has become infested with viruses, Trojans or other malware, running CCleaner should be enough. Either way, try visiting PC Pitstop, which downloads an ActiveX control to test your PC's performance. This will analyse your hardware, give your PC a score that you can compare with similar systems, and suggest ways you might improve it.
In general, the single best thing you can do to improve the performance of a Windows (or Mac OS X) machine is to install more memory, and Crucial's Memory Advisor tool makes this simple. Windows XP with 2GB of memory really flies, and you can get more than 1GB for £90. However, if you are also running out of hard drive space, have a slow graphics card etc, it may be more cost effective to buy a new machine.
