Question Asked: My Computer Running Windows is Slow, What Do I Do?
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Jul 17th, 2008 |
Well, let me preface this by saying that in today’s day and age, there’s no reason why a computer should ever run slow. Unless of course you’re running a really old computer, but that’s a different story.
The first suggestion I’d have is to run a full system virus scan. Often times viruses and spyware get onto your computer, and can cause things to slow down to a crawl. If you don’t have an anti-virus and anti-spyware program on your computer, there’s your first mistake. Run out to Best Buy and get one. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Great, you’re back. Okay, install your application, and let it run. If you’ve got a large hard drive, it’ll take a while to complete, so go make some popcorn and grab a DVD.
Second suggestion would be to defragment your hard drive (when the virus scan is done, of course). In Windows XP simply go to the Start button -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter
This, also, will take a while to run. So let it go.
Third; if you purchased a computer from Dell, or HP, or any other PC manufacturer, chances are, it came with a whole bunch of “software” that you don’t need, and is slowing down your machine. Go through your “Add or Remove Programs” section, and delete anything you don’t want or need. Do you really need Microsoft Maps, when Google Maps rules the world? Do you need Microsoft Money when you’ve got Quicken? Things like that slow you down.
Fourth: Consolodate your IM clients; do you really need AIM, Yahoo and MSN all running at once? Get Pidgin (www.pidgin.im), and only run one application.
Fifth: See if your PC can support more RAM. Often times a computer manufacturer will sell computers with only enough memory to power the operating system, and not subsequent applications. (ie; Dell.) If you go to Crucial’s website (a company that makes computer memory), they have an application that will scan your system, tell you if you can support more, and tell you specifically what to buy. Very easy. And when the RAM comes in the mail, you can pop open your PC case, and install it. Very easy. And very effective. Website here: http://crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx
Running through these five steps should help improve the speed at which your computer seems to run. However, the alternative to wasting all your time doing this stuff, if you’re running an older computer, is to simply go buy a new one. There’s a million companies that sell PCs, and ten million different deals every week. As long as you go in knowing what you need the computer to do, you should be fine. Maybe tomorrow’s question will be “how to buy a new computer.”
Other answers you may find useful:
- How Do I Transfer Content From One Xbox Hard Drive To Another?
- What Are The Five Best And Worst Things About Vista?
- How Do I Run Windows on my Mac?
- Will More RAM Make My Computer Faster?
- How Do I Know How Much Room Is Left On My Tivo?
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One Response to “My Computer Running Windows is Slow, What Do I Do?”
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July 17th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran