This article discusses issues related to slow operation due to the operating system and does not apply to computers that take a very long time to load or have a very slow Internet.
The following are ways to resolve this issue for the Microsoft Windows operating system that should help speed up your computer or determine the cause of the slow computer.
Reboot
If your computer has been running for a very long time without restarting, you must restart before proceeding with the following steps, and then if this action did not help proceed with the next steps.
Background programs
One of the most common reasons for slow computer performance is background programs. It is necessary to remove or disable unnecessary programs that automatically start every time the computer boots.
Tip: To see a list of background programs, how much memory and processor they are using, you need to open Task Manager or Resmon. The latter is available in the Windows 7 version which provides a more detailed description of the resources used.
If your computer has antivirus software or other security software installed, disable the ability to scan your computer in the background. During computer scanning, a significant decrease in PC performance occurs.
Free hard disk space
For normal operation of the computer, you need 1000 MB of free hard disk space, or at least 500 MB. This space is used by the paging file, which is constantly growing in size, as well as for storing temporary files.
- How to determine how much disk space is occupied.
The hard disk is badly fragmented or damaged
- To get information about the status of the hard drive, you need to run ScanDisk, CHKDSK or any other program to check the HDD.
- To fragment (orderly file) a hard drive, you must run Defrag.
- You can use other software to check the hard drive for any errors.
Antivirus PC scan
Viruses are a terrible thing and no one knows what it can lead to. For example, spyware viruses can get absolutely all passwords from a computer, and even worse, passwords from accounts on the Internet. There are viruses that disable the hardware of a computer or laptop, so it is possible that the slow operation of your computer may be due to viruses. Even if antivirus protection is installed on your computer, this does not guarantee 100% security. Check your system with another antivirus program (you can use the free versions of Malwarebyte or Avast to scan your PC).
- Best Antivirus for Windows 7 and Windows 8 in 2014
Driver problems
- It is necessary to check for conflicts between drivers and computer hardware. To do this, open the “Device Manager” and look for conflicts. If there are any, it is necessary to resolve this issue urgently.
Updates and plugins in Windows
- It is necessary to check the Windows updates that were installed on the computer (if you have a non-licensed operating system installed, you can never update it).
- If the computer starts to freeze or slow down when working on the Internet, you need to check the update of the plugins or disable them all altogether.
Reinstalling or updating drivers
You need to check for new driver versions, if any and they are compatible with your hardware, you need to install them. Check for updates to the drivers for your graphics card, processor, and motherboard.
- How to correctly install or update drivers on your computer
Adding random access memory (RAM)
If your computer is more than 2 years old and the requirements have changed a lot recently, you may no longer have enough RAM. Currently, computers have a minimum of 4 GB of random access memory (RAM). Why do you need so much RAM? Everything is very simple. All running programs, including the loaded operating system, are stored in the RAM, if there is not enough RAM, the paging file enters the work, but the speed of data exchange between the motherboard and RAM is much higher than between the motherboard and HDD, because of this, lags arise. It is very easy to determine whether you have enough RAM or not using the hard drive activity indicator. If the light is constantly on, then the fastest transfer of information from the RAM to the paging file.
Slow hard drive
Another reason for slow computer performance is the hard drive. Almost all HDDs have the same operating speed. To increase the speed of the hard disk, it is necessary to replace the HDD with SDD. This will increase the speed of the transmitted information by almost 10 times.
Run the registry cleaner
If your operating system has not changed for a long time, many different programs and games were installed and removed, or there were viruses on your computer, then you need to clean the registry. We usually do not recommend cleaning the registry, but if none of the above points suit you, then you need to clean the registry.
The computer is overheating
It is necessary to check the temperature of the processor, video card. Sometimes overheating of one of the listed devices causes the computer to freeze. For example, if your processor is overheated, it automatically resets the operating frequency by 50%. Poor cooling can also cause your computer to overheat. It is necessary to check the cooling system and radiator grids.
- How to check the temperature of the video card and processor
- Methods to reduce the temperature of a computer or laptop
Reinstalling the operating system
If nothing has helped you before this step, then you need to save the necessary information and reinstall Windows .
And finally….
If your computer is more than 4 years old, it probably needs to increase the amount of RAM or sell and buy a new one. For 4 years, technical progress changes so that your computer may simply not cope with the task set before it. New software, various sites – in 4 years everything has changed a lot and starts to require more resources. Or just determine those actions that lead to freezing or slowing down of the computer and stop performing them, and it is best to buy a new computer and do not torture the old one.
