Atlanta 11/23/2010 12:40:50 AM
News / Internet

Prepare Your Computer for Online Shopping During the Holidays with Defragmentation Software

The Christmas season is just around the corner with Black Friday hitting at the end of the week and cyber Monday following, leaving shoppers little time to prepare for the mad rush that is sure to unfold. Every year these shoppers try to fuel their body with a large Thanksgiving meal, hoping it will be enough to carry them through the next four to five days while they look for the perfect present for family and friends. That search has often involved the painful process of searching for a parking spot at the mall, fighting their way through the crowds and standing in long lines for the right to make a purchase.

Of course there is an alternative to the insanity that lays ahead, at least as far as shopping is concerned. More and more people are turning to their computer for assistance during the shopping season, enjoying the convenience of browsing sites at a leisurely pace rather than getting involved in the frustrating process of travelling from store to store to complete their Christmas list.

Unfortunately, for some who have turned to their computer for help the process of shopping online can be just as problematic as going from store to store. These problems are almost always tied to slow computer performance issues, something that is probably more annoying than the actual process of driving around town.

While you may expect delays when you head out your door, these expectations are not part of the online shopping experience so when they crop up its even more troubling. We want pages to appear on our screen instantly, files and applications to be available at the push of a button, easily accessible email and communication tools, etc. and when these are slowed even slightly the pain can be almost unbearable.

Because of the frustrations tied to slow computer performance many people just abandon their online plans and resign themselves to the time-consuming and mentally draining task of store-to-store shopping. What’s funny about this decision is that it’s more often than not done unnecessarily. The simple fact is your computer must be healthy for it to perform at its best and it’s all too common for people to overlook or just ignore this truth.

Just as we feel more productive the healthier we are, the same is true for our computers. We wouldn’t expect to be at our best if we are suffering from the flu so why should we expect out computer to perform at its best when its health is not properly maintained?

This is why it is critical to keep your computer’s health at the top of your priority list, especially during the holiday shopping season. If you want the convenience of shopping online then you better make sure you have a computer capable of delivering.

So what should you look for as a sign that your computer isn’t operating at its peak? It’s really simple, the speed at which it performs as well as its reliability. If these two areas are lacking then there is a good chance it is suffering from the computer disease known as fragmentation. This disease can quickly turn a fast and dependable system into a model of inefficiency as it attacks the files that have been stored on the hard drive.

You may not think fragmentation has anything to do with your holiday shopping but the reality is it has everything to do with it. If you are having a hard time booting up your system, browsing the Internet, accessing files and applications or sending and receiving email then chances are your computer is facing fragmentation issues and the longer they go ignored the worse the situation will become. Eventually this problem will become great enough to cause a complete computer crash, wiping out everything that you have stored on your hard drive.

Fragmentation is a naturally occurring disease that is born directly on your hard drive and with every action taken on an unprotected hard drive the disease gets worse. This is due to the fact that fragmentation attacks files and every hard drive is consistently creating either permanent or temporary files that feed the disease. As those files continue to be attacked the speed at which your computer is capable of operating gets slower and its reliability falters.

Fortunately fragmentation can be solved with one simple step, the installation of defragmentation software. Products like Diskeeper 2010 can instantly reverse the damaging effects of fragmentation and once those files have been repaired the defrag software will ensure that the disease does not return. With healthy files comes as faster and more reliable computer, something that will come in handy while you’re doing your holiday shopping.

As you breeze through your list this year, thanks in large part to your defragmentation software; don’t keep your success to yourself. Defragmentation software makes a perfect gift for anybody who owns a computer and when they install the defrag software on their computer and see the effects they certainly won’t forget you.