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Here in 2011 running a business tougher customers cash become more scarce, so here are some ways to reduce your computing costs. In this article we look at how to get the best out of your existing computer kit.

Keep your house in order!

Most companies buy new computers because their existing ones are running too slow. Most of the companies that I visit have perfectly fine computer, but the computers are choked up with programs and data that should have been removed years ago.

Remove old programs

The first place to start is to remove any unneeded programs. Have a think about what you need this computer to do. If the computer has been running for two or more years, there will be old programs that have been replaced by updated programs on the computer.

On Windows systems some application providers like to have automatically load their programs on power-up. most of these programs place an icon at the bottom of the screen. Have a look through these icons and remove the programs that you don't need, for example do you need a Google search box loaded all day?

'But I might need that program again!' is a plea that I hear again and again. Well the choice is yours, you will need to balance the speed increase against the ease of re-installing the programs again if you really need it.

In windows this can be done by going to the control panel and selecting 'Add/Remove Programs'.

Delete unneeded data and emails

When you have removed as many programs as possible, the next step is to remove any unwanted data. Backup anything that you think might be useful in the future, but be as ruthless as you can. Thousands of excess emails can cause PCs to slowdown and crash.

Beware the virus!

The Extreme Option

The extreme option to cleaning up you computers is to backup the PC, format it, and install everything from scratch. This will certainly give you the cleanest, fastest PC.

Be aware that Windows only allows you to re-install the same licence a limited number of time, about five times, so don't do this every month, but if you need to do it every few years you should be OK.