Speed Tools for Windows

Microsoft Windows is the operating system of choice for almost 90 percent of computer users in 2010, according to web developer website W3Schools. The market is filled with tools designed to speed up the Windows operating system to achieve like-new performance. Some speed tools are free, while others offer a free trial before requiring payment for continued use.

CCleaner

One of the leading causes of a slow computer is program build-up, according to Laser Chips, a team of computer and information technology consultants. Some programs are set as startup applications, which means that they will load automatically when Windows is started. This is regarded as a speed-up technique for the application, but it leads to a loss of overall system speed due to the time it takes to load and run the application in the background.

CCleaner is a free application developed by Piriform. The program offers both optimization and cleaning in a lightweight package. It allows the user to easily disable startup programs that cause computer slowness. CCleaner also offers a cleaning suite that removes temporary files such as Internet history, cookies and other menial data. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows 98 and later.

Microsoft Windows its own hard disk management software. The most commonly used application under this heading is the Disk Defragmenter. This application arranges fragmented files into contiguous files. The process lowers the hard disk's seek time, which results in faster load times and more responsive performance. Microsoft’s Disk Defragmenter comes free in Windows.

RAM Saver Professional addresses issues plaguing the user's memory, which improves the speed of loading applications. The program works by first defragmenting active processes loaded into the memory, then removes non-system processes it perceives as being memory leaks. It works on Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000. In 2010, RAM Saver Professional was advertised for $29.99.