Is your PC running at top speed? Is your operating system updated? How fast is your internet connection speed?

You can improve the performance of your computer by making sure your operating system is up-to-date and that your PC is running at top speed. Below are several excellent web sites that can help you determine if your system is running in the best possible way.

PC Pitstop:

The first site is PC Pitstop. PC Pitstop will run you through a battery of tests that will check your PC's health, configuration and performance. The tests take 1 to 5 minutes to complete (depending on your system and connection speeds) and will give you a report at the end. The report allows you to click to get more information on areas that need your attention and, in some cases, allows you to direct PC Pitstop to fix the problem for you while you are online.

You can set up your own private and secure PC Pitstop personal account where you can view your test results from previous visits and ask for online tech support on your results. If you are worried about giving out personal information over the internet, you can run the test anonymously.

PC Pitstop's tests only evaluate your system. They do not change any settings (unless you authorize it) and they do not access any private data from your hard drives.

PC Pitstop's tests exercise various components of your PC including video, processor, memory and disk drives. You'll hear your hard drive clicking and other noises coming from your computer case and your monitor will flash various colors and designs. This is a normal part of the evaluation process. No settings are being changed.

Once you get into the site, click on the box with the key that says "Ready for a free PC tune-up? Click Here." Then scroll down to click on the "New Members" key to get started. The first time you run PC Pitstop, you will have to load the utility. This only takes a minute, so click on the "Load the PC Pitstop utility." After you have loaded the utility, a security warning will come up. Click yes. Then click either the "Create an Account" or "Test Anonymously" buttons. If you choose to set up an account, enter your information and follow the steps until you get to the page that says "Let's Go." You will be taken here right away if you choose to test anonymously. Click "Let's Go," then "OK" and the testing will start.

During the testing you cannot use your mouse or keyboard or you will interrupt the testing process. At the end there are a few quick questions and then you get a summary of your PC for different categories. The summary shows yellow flags for minor problems, red flags for serious problems that need to be fixed, and checkered flags for things that pass their test.

This is a great, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand utility.

Click here to go to PC Pitstop's site and evaluate your PC.

Windows Updates

Next, you can check to see if your operating system is properly updated. Recent versions of Windows offer automatic updates that will prompt you to update your system when you are connected to the Internet. These updates should be installed regularly to make sure that your operating system is running at it's best and to fix any problems with your particular Windows version. You should also go to Microsoft's web site on occasion and run a check on your system and make sure you are correctly updated.

Once you get into Microsoft's web site, click on "Windows Update" under Resources on the site's left navigation bar and click "yes" to any security warning boxes that come up. This shouldn't take more than couple of minutes. If it gets hung up, try clicking your browser's refresh key. Click on Scan for Updates to get the latest updates available for your computer's operating system, software and hardware. Be patient, it may take a couple minutes to scan through all the updates. When the scanning is done, the left navigation box will list the updates that need to be installed for your computer in three different categories: critical updates, windows, and driver updates. Click on each category to view the updates available or click on review and install updates at the bottom of the list. You will need to select the updates and then click to install. This will take you to another page that asks you to click again to install. Be aware that these updates can take quite a while to install, especially if you have a lot to install. But your operating system will be up-to-date and this should help your performance. Set your computer to automatically install updates or check back at this site frequently to check for new updates.

Click here to go to Microsoft's site and check for updates.

Internet Connection Speed

Finally, you can test your internet connection speed. You may think you are connecting at a certain speed, but you may not be. Run this quick test to check your bandwidth and see how fast you are really connected at and to see what other options are available to speed up your internet connection.

Click here to go to check your bandwidth.