We’ve all dealt with slow computers at one point or another – It’s frustrating. In this blog, we will explore quick, simple steps that will (hopefully) make your PC run faster without having to install any dodgy programs. Lets get into it.
Firstly, Before you try any of the steps below, try rebooting your computer. As silly as this sounds, turning your device off and back on again may actually fix your problem. and if that doesn’t work, then lets try the first step.
Programs Running in the Background
Programs running in the background is one of the main reasons why a computer might be running slow. To see which programs are running and using up the most CPU press CTRL + ALT + DELETE then click on Task Manager. From here, you can see which applications are open, what processes are currently running and your computers overall performance.
Some programs automatically run when your computer starts up. To check which programs run automatically on start up, Click on the Start button and type msconfig. Hit Enter and click on the Startup tab. Here, you can see all the programs that run when your computer starts up. Go ahead and disable them by clicking on Disable all at the bottom right. Or, uncheck the boxes of the programs that you don’t want to run when your device starts. Click Apply and your PC should run faster on start up.
Antivirus tools (such as McAfee and AVG), as useful as they are, decrease your computers performance by a lot when they start scanning. make sure they aren’t scanning or wait until they finish before you use your device. It’s a good idea to schedule scans when the PC isn’t being used.
Free up space on your computer
Make sure your hard drive has plenty of space. To see how much disk space you have available, click on Start then My Computer. You should see all your Hard Disk Drives, their size and how much space they have free. Delete files that are no longer being used or back them up to an external drive. Having space on your device is very important for its performance. If there is no more space and you cannot delete any files, you may have to buy more HDD’s. You may also consider upgrading your RAM.
Corrupted or fragmented hard drive
Sometimes, things can go wrong with your computers hard drive that really slows down your PC. If you would like to check if your hard drive is running OK, Click on Start, My Computer then right click on the HDD you want to check. click on Properties and go to the Tools tab and click on Check now… . The computer will need to restart a few times while it checks the hard drive for any problems.
Defragmenting a fragmented hard drive will increase a computers performance. To do this, you need to run the disk defragmenter tool. To do this, simply click Start and search Disk defragmenter. Hit Enter, choose the hard drive you want to defrag and click Defragment disk. This might take a while but it should help speed up your computer.
Viruses, Spyware and Malware
Viruses, spyware and malware cause many computer problems. Not only do they seriously slow down your computer and decrease its performance, but they are also a huge security risk. Scan your computer regularly with virus and malware scanners (We recommend AVG and keep your computer safe and clean.
After following these steps, make sure you have the latest version of windows installed on your computer and that all your drivers are up to date. Then reboot your device again and hopefully your PC should be running faster.
Sadly, computers do get slower with age and none of these steps could fix that. Sometimes you just need to upgrade your hardware such as the processor or get a new computer. However if any of these steps have helped you, let us know by dropping a comment!
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