Both FireDog and the Geek Squad provide what they call a Tune Up or Computer Optimization. What they do not tell you is that this can be accomplished very easily and for free by you. I will show you how. (None of these are a fix all. They will speed up your computer slightly but if you are infected with spyware and viruses, this will NOT help)

Defrag - The files on your hard drive get scattered around like a checker board from normal use by copying files and deleting files. This makes the hard drive have to work harder to get to files. Defrag will defragment your hard drive and speed things up. To defrag your hard drive double click on my computer. Click the right mouse button on your C: drive. Click on properties on the menu that pops up. Click on the tools tab. Select Defragmentation and follow the on screen instructions.

Remove unwanted software - New computers come loaded with all kinds of programs installed and running that you will never use and slow your computer down. Download a program called DECRAPIFIER from here for free. It will walk you through removing any unwanted software.

Remove temp files - Most programs you use leave little files laying all around your hard drive. This can slow your computer down while performing some tasks. To resolve this issue click on Start then All Programs. Click on Accessories then System Tools. You will find a program called disk clean up. Click on it and let it run. When it stops go ahead and put a check box in all the boxes except compress old files. (compressing old files really does nothing besides take up time.) A better program is CCleaner. It will not only remove temporary files. It will also clean up your registry. You can get it for FREE here.

There you have it. Save yourself $40-$50 and some time running to the store.