Why is my computer so slow

One of the most common mistakes people make today when it comes to computers is what to do if their computer is slow. Most people are “lured in” by promises of a super fast processor and think this will solve all of their computer problems when it comes to speed. Unfortunately this is not the case and although a good processor makes your computing experience much easier you will need to make sure the rest of your computer is up to scratch too. Follow these simple hints and tips to increase the speed of your computer and keep it running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

  • Defragment your Disk
    When a computer saves files it does not always put them in the same place. Some files can end up being “fragmented” throughout your hard drive meaning your computer has to work a lot harder just to read a single word document because it needs to search through the whole disk finding all the different pieces that make up that one file. If you are using Windows for your operating system you will already have a disk defragmenting program installed. Simply navigate to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Make sure you run this program regularly (at least once a week) to improve the performance of your computer.
  • Tidy up your C drive
    This is a bit of manual work you will need to undertake once a week to keep your computer running fast and smoothly. Make sure you go through your computer thoroughly and delete excess files you no longer need that are taking up valuable space on your computer. When your computer has more free memory to play with it runs much more efficiently.
  • Upgrade your RAM
    If you are not PC literate you may need to get a professional or tech savvy friend to help you with this task. Most of the time people will mistakenly buy a new processor when it is in fact the RAM they really need. That is because RAM provides more disk space for your computer to play with. Your computer needs a lot of free memory for temporary files currently in use for example so the more RAM you have the faster your computer will be. Your computer will have a certain amount of RAM already installed but will also likely have a few free spaces for extra RAM as well as the possibility of upgrading your existing RAM.
  • Look Behind the Scenes
    Most people will forget that programs such as internet browsers store most of the information they come across. This means cookies, internet web pages, browsing history, data fields and more which can take up lots of space on your computer slowing down your internet browsing experience. Make sure you regularly wipe this data clean every week. Other behind the scenes tricks include optimizing the registry which can be a much more complicated process however, if you look online there are various different help files available about this process.