Put your PC maintenance routine on autopilot. Most people do one of the following when their computer begins to slow down (besides get angry): Put your PC maintenance routine on autopilot. 1. Improve their computer by buying more memory. 2. Decide to tweak their computer's settings. 3. Figure that their computer is old, there's nothing else they can do, and that it's probably time to buy a new computer. All these solutions will boost a computer's performance. However, what's to keep your newly blazing PC from slowing down again after a couple months or years? A badly fragmented hard drive will bring even a top-of-the-line new computer to a grinding halt.