General day-to-day use of your computer inevitably slows it down. This is caused by a wide range of factors and is quite normal. If you're fed up with waiting around for Windows to start up, there are a number of things you can do to ensure that your PC gets up and running quickly every time.

This feature will look at the reasons why your PC may become sluggish on start up and explain how to go about speeding things up.

One of the main causes of computer lethargy is that the more you use your PC, the fuller the hard disk becomes as you create documents and folders, download music tracks from the internet and transfer digital images from your digital camera, for example.

Aside from this, the software installed on your PC will eventually slow the operating system down too. Multimedia player programs such as Windows Media Player and Quicktime, antivirus software and other bits and pieces you install will improve your computing experience but may slow your computer's start-up speed to a crawl.

This is due to the fact that software developers are constantly trying to improve the integration between their software and Windows, so more and more applications are being designed to launch automatically when Windows starts up, even if these programs are not essential. This consumes precious system resources, and will also slow down the start-up procedure.

Defrag your disk
If you find that your PC is taking ages to get going when you start it up, your first port of call should be Windows' own defragmenting tool. Your computer's operating system won't always save data to the hard disk sequentially. To optimise hard disk space a file may be broken down and its fragments saved to different areas of the disk.

This fragmentation is often the cause of general system slowdown, as your computer has to access several different locations on the hard disk to obtain all the information it needs. It is therefore very important to defragment your PC's hard disk regularly, particularly after you install any new program that is likely to take up a considerable amount of hard disk space.

Defragmenting once a week will improve the efficiency of your PC and give quick access to stored data. The defragmentation utility is accessible through the Start menu. Click on My Computer and then right-click on the icon of the disk you wish to defragment and select Properties.

The defragmentation utility is located under the Tools tab and is activated by clicking on the Defragment now button. While you're at it, you may as well run the Disk Cleanup tool too, which can be found under the General tab. This helps to free up hard disk space by deleting non-essential files such as files that are stored temporarily on the PC when you visit websites.

Startup shortcuts
Even if your hard disk is perfectly healthy and tidy, you may still find that your PC takes a while to start up. If the start-up process is still slow after running the defragmenter utility, the root of the problem could lie in the selection of other programs that are launched together with the operating system.

When it starts up, Windows launches a number of programs that most people will only use occasionally, placing additional, and often unnecessary, strain on the hard disk and the system's resources.

Many of the new programs you install on your PC will add a shortcut to the Windows Startup folder as part of the installation process. Shortcuts to programs contained in this folder launch automatically when a Windows system starts up.

While it may be handy to have certain frequently used programs launch automatically when you start up your PC, the sheer number of shortcuts in this folder can soon slow things down.

The good news is that preventing certain programs from launching at start-up is easy. All you have to do is delete the shortcut from the Startup folder. In Windows 98, this folder is accessible by selecting Program Files from the Start menu and double-clicking on Start Up.

Rather than deleting the program shortcuts you want to stop your PC from launching at start-up, drag-and-drop them onto your PC's Desktop. Then restart your PC to make sure that everything else is still launching as it should. If it is, you can then safely delete these shortcut icons.

If your computer is running Windows XP, you can quickly access the contents of the Startup folder through the Start menu by clicking on the Startup option. You can then either drag-and-drop any program shortcuts onto the Desktop or right-click on them and select Delete from the menu that appears.

If you'd rather work in a permanent window, though, the Startup folder should also be accessible by selecting My Computer from the Start menu and then double-clicking on the Local Disk (C:) icon. Double-click on the Documents and Settings icon, and then on All Users, Start Menu, Programs and finally Startup.

Alternatively, use the Search tool in the Start menu to locate the Startup folder by clicking on All Files and Folders in the options menu on the left-hand side of the window, then enter 'start up' in the text box at the top of the next screen, select Local Disk (C:) from the Look in: drop-down menu and click on Search.

Other culprits
Bear in mind, however, that some programs will launch at start-up even if they don't have a shortcut icon in the Startup folder. Instant messaging applications are a prime example, as the program will automatically launch with Windows to check if you are online.

Usually you can stop any program that doesn't show up in the Startup folder from launching when you start your PC by changing the settings in the program's Preferences menu. Try right-clicking on the program's icon in the System Tray for fast access to these settings.

To be on the safe side, it's an idea to create a System Restore Point before you start tinkering with the programs that launch when Windows starts up, so you can revert to these previous settings with ease if you change your mind afterwards. Select All Programs from the Start menu in Windows XP, then Accessories, System Tools and System Restore.

It is also possible to stop certain programs from launching when Windows starts up through the Registry, but only advanced users should attempt this as you can do serious damage to your PC if you don't know what you're doing. We'll be running a feature on the Windows Registry soon, so look out for this if you're feeling brave.

For an easy way to get your hands on a definitive list of all the software that is configured to launch automatically with Windows, you may want to think about using an alternative start-up management program.

There's a range of freeware and shareware available to download that will simplify the process of selecting which programs launch at start-up and put a range of advanced settings options at your disposal.

One of the most popular programs is NitroBoot, which is available from RoadSide Software and is free to try out for 30 days. After the trial period has elapsed you'll have to pay €10 (£7) to continue using it. Startup Control Panel does much the same thing and can be used free of charge.

Expanding software
During your computer's lifetime it's likely that you'll update a lot of the software that you use. Software upgrades usually add enhanced and additional features which, while undoubtedly very convenient, place an extra strain on system resources.

Take for example the Office suite. Each version offers a more comprehensive range of tools than the last but is also more demanding in terms of the operating power and system memory required to run it. In other words, a PC that was capable of handling any application with ease a couple of years ago, might struggle today with newer versions of the most common software.

That is why it can be a good idea to add some extra memory to an older system if you feel that things are slowing down. One of the benefits of adding memory to a PC is that you can considerably improve computer performance for a relatively low cost. You can pick up a 512Mb memory module for as little as £40 if you shop around online.

There are also programs you can use to improve your PC's use of system memory. A good example is Cache Speed, which can be downloaded from RoadSide Software and is free of charge (although you have to put up with viewing some ads during its use) or at the price of about £7 without ads.

Once you've run a program such as Cache Speed on your PC, you should notice an improvement in the time it takes your PC to start up.

Quick shutdown
While the information in this feature should help speed things up at start-up, your computer may occasionally also need a hand when it comes to shutting down. When your computer shuts down it will occasionally freeze for a few seconds as it tries to close down unresponsive programs.

To speed things up you can use a utility like Quick Shutdown, which immediately shuts down any unresponsive programs, speeding up the whole process. This application should be used with caution, though, as sometimes the shutdown process is slowed down by programs that aren't responding because they are saving data. In these cases, using Quick Shutdown would mean you'd lose your work. If you think this utility would be handy, you can download it free of charge here.

Get up to speed
No-one likes having to wait around, and twiddling your fingers while your computer starts up can quickly become tedious. There's no reason why you should have to put up with sluggish start up times, though, and armed with the information in this feature, you should be able to ensure that Windows gets off to a flying start every time you power up your PC.