You may have a bunch of software packages on your hard drive that are no longer needed, or they were gratuitously installed when you downloaded some other package. Toolbars, file-sharing programs, free email enhancers, online shopping “companions” and download managers are notorious for this practice. These uninvited guests can put a big drag on your startup time, cause web pages to load slowly, and generally bog down your computer.

If you’re unsure about some programs, do a web search to learn about the ones that you need to keep.

Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of memory and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don’t search your computer often, this system service is completely unnecessary. To disable do the following:

Click Start button Select the Control Panel Double-click Add/Remove Programs Click the Add/Remove Window Components icon on the left side of the window This may take a few seconds to load. Be patient. Look for the “Indexing Services” component in the list Uncheck the Indexing Services Click Next Click Finish