How to Make a Program Run Faster

By Andrew Meer

Operating systems such as Windows 7 and Windows Vista require more memory and higher-end hardware to run programs efficiently. These Windows systems are optimized to run software faster than earlier computers. However, you can make a program run even faster by either defragmenting the hard drive of increasing the amount of virtual memory. Defragmenting a hard drive will rearrange fragmented files and folders, boosting the speed of the hard drive; increasing the amount of virtual memory provides more memory to programs and background applications, which allows your computer to operate more efficiently.

Defragment Hard Drive

Click "Start" and select "Computer" to open Windows Explorer.

Right-click the icon of any partition on your hard disk and select the "Properties" option.

Click on the "Defragment Now" button under the "Tools" tab.

Select the hard disk partition where the program that you want to run faster is installed by clicking the appropriate drive letter.

Click "Defragment Disk" to defragment the files and folders on the selected partition.

Increase Virtual Memory

Click "Start," type "Advanced System Settings" (without quotes) and press "Enter."

Click on the "Settings" button under the "Performance" section.

Click on the "Change" button under the "Advanced" tab to open the "Virtual Memory" dialog box.

Click on the radio button next to "Custom Size." Enter a value that is greater than the currently allocated amount into the "Initial Size" and "Maximum Size" fields. You can find the currently allocated amount of virtual memory at the bottom of the "Virtual Memory" dialog box.

Click "Set" and then click "OK" to increase the amount of virtual memory on your computer.

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