One of the most dreaded questions a PC technician hears is, “How do I fix my slow PC?” You start to explain various solutions, but then the customer shakes his head and says, “No…I’m not going to do all that…what software do I buy?”
If you’ve spent any time on the Internet, you’ve seen the ads and websites that claim they have this “software” or “registry fix” that will “automagically” fix your slow PC. Well, the truth is, most of those programs are just old-fashioned “snake oil” cures and not worth your time.
In my experience, below are the top five causes of computer slowdowns and the best way to fix them…
Cause 1: Spyware and adware
If this is your problem, you have already seen an increasing number of nasty little pop-ups. Or his home page has been hijacked and replaced with a weird website, and now you see a weird little “icon” sitting on his desktop that tells you his “virus protection” isn’t on. Yes, she has received a heavy dose of spyware/adware.
The Solution – Download and scan your computer with a good spyware/adware remover like “Spybot” or “Ad-Ware”.
Cause 2 – Not enough RAM
Your machine did the best it could with the RAM (computer memory chips) it came with, but lately it’s been overwhelmed. He has been faithfully updating your operating system and has added several new programs that allow you to run your new scanner/printer. And all of that is too much for the original memory.
The solution: Check your owner’s manual or search your computer online to find out what type, size, and speed of RAM you need.
Cause 3 – Viruses
Your PC crashes and reboots itself every few minutes or just crashes and stops working. The programs you used to use every day are not working properly or have stopped working together. You can no longer print and now you get lots of weird error messages and warnings. You are officially infected.
The solution: Download a good antivirus program like Norton, McAfee or AVG and scan all your files.
Cause 4: Program overload
You just have too much junk. Like a messy closet, you have downloaded too many apps without cleaning the old ones. Use the “Add/Remove Programs” feature to get rid of old programs you no longer need.
Cause 5 – Dying hard drive
If you keep hearing strange “tapping” or “clicking” sounds coming from your hard drive repeatedly, you may want to quickly back up because you may soon be gone from this mortal world. Unlike the elephant graveyard, a dying hard drive won’t lead you to hidden treasure. More like a very unpleasant surprise in lost files and high repair costs.
The solution: Do a full backup as soon as possible and buy a new drive that comes with “drive image” software so you can “mirror” your old drive to the new one.