Laptop running slow

Posts Tagged ‘slow your computer’

Put your PC maintenance routine on autopilot

Most people do one of the following when their computer begins to slow down (besides get angry):

1. Improve their computer by buying more memory.

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There are two issues that could cause your computer to run slowly that are related to security issues. The two issues are spyware/adware or a computer virus.

Slow running computer and Spyware or Adware

You may not realize it but your computer could have adware or spyware running in the background. This would cause your machine to operate slowly. What could be happening is that at some point a program was installed when you downloaded some software. You should watch out whenever you download software from the internet and look out for any free music download programs.

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We all know that nothing lasts in this world, and computers are no exception this rule. When your PC has been used for a little while, it begins to slow down. Just like any thing else, computers also degrade in performance. The computer begins to start very slow and loading up a single program takes longer time than usual. Even restarting your computer can take a long time and leave you with a computer running very slow.

Even when you do restart your PC the problem is still there. But, before you decide on buying a new computer or upgrade your current one, there is still hope for your computer. There is a solution and it will only take a few minutes of your time to do so and this can be solved.

Here are a few reminders on how to fix your slow computer.

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People expect modern computers to work quickly. That’s why so many people purchase new models every few years. Sometimes, though, PCs don’t want to cooperate. A slow PC is a baffling, frustrating experience for the person using it. Luckily there are some tricks to resolve a slow PC. This primer will provide you with the basic information that you need to resolve common problems.

Slow PC Solution 1: Reboot Your Computer

Some times your computer just needs to reboot its system. Save your data, close all of the programs, and restart your computer. This simple trick can have a significant impact on a slow PC’s performance. Since rebooting is pretty much the easiest thing that you can do, you should start with this option. If that doesn’t help, then look for other problems that could slow down your computer.

Slow PC Solution 2: Use Antivirus Software

Viruses and spyware are two of the most common reasons for a slow PC. They eat up bandwidth and CPU usage, which makes it impossible for your computer to focus on the tasks that you ask it to perform.

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Performance optimization – a How to for XP Diy-Computer-Repair can help! Performance optimization, what is it? Should I do it? How would I do it?

Good questions and very few answers on the internet. There is a lot of advice out there on how to optimize your computer’s Operating System (OS) from uninstalling unused programs to running anti-virus software.

So my advice? Glad you asked!

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slow computer syndrome

by David Levine, Tech Specialist

Computers can seem to run slow for many reasons. There are no magic tricks to speed up a slow computer. One must try to determine the nature of the slowness and what factors are causing it. Is it always slow, or just sometimes? If sometimes, then when is the slowness noticed? Does it take forever for the computer to start up? Are there any error messages or other warnings?

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Computer Freezes and Crashes Why Does My Computer Crash, Freeze or Hang All The Time?

Do you see a lot of messages like, “This program performed an illegal operation and will be shut down” ? Or do you find that your mouse often freezes and you have to reset your computer to regain control?

This is a very common complaint for many computer users. Why this happens can be due to a number of things. The most common causes of these troublesome problems will be covered here. They fall into the following general categories:

• Hardware: Defective or mismatched components in your computer.
• Aluminum Migration & ESD: Premature ageing and “Electro Static Discharge” can make a computer very intermittent.
• Operating System: Some versions of Windows have bugs that can cause these problems.
• Drivers: Buggy or down-level drivers can cause many problems.
• Software: Some programs have bugs in them that can cause these problems.
• Memory Fragmentation: Do you often see the message, “System is dangerously low in resources” If so you are probably suffering Memory Fragmentation.
• CMOS Settings: Improper CMOS settings can cause many problems. Changing CMOS settings can also be used to help diagnose some hardware problems.
• Loading Order: The order in which the software components of your computer are loaded into memory, at startup each day, can cause a multitude of odd problems.
• A Combination of the above: Defects in any of the above may only show up under specific circumstances.

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Is your computer slow? Does it almost crawl at slug speed? Thinking of replacing that old pile of rust? Or picking up your base ball bat to give it a good final beating? STOP! It might just be too soon to dump your PC. I will show you some tricks to make it a bit faster. Or in some cases a lot faster. Most of them are intended to reduce the workload of your computer. None of them will cost you money, just a little time and effort. They might even save you money.

Minimize the workload Some people make a habit of starting up all applications they might ever need during a session. Or never to shut down unused programs. All that software uses memory and processor time. Systems with little memory will make a swap file, using the harddisk as the extra (very slow!) memory needed. Every extra program may also cause memory conflicts and crash your computer. So only start up the programs you really need. Shut them off when you don’t use them anymore.

Software loading at system startup Some software will be automatically loaded every time you start windows. Some software manufacturers seem to find it necessary to have their software running all the time. Mostly virus scanners, system utilities, organizers. Microsoft Office will also do this. Windows installs System Agent, an unstable system task automation utility, that can also cause a lot of trouble. Want to know what is running on your system right now? Just press Control-Alternate-Delete (all these keys at the same time) ONCE. Twice will reboot your computer! Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del will present you with a list of all running software. After starting up Windows this should only be Systray and Explorer (win9x only). Everything else is probably obsolete. Press the Escape key to get rid of this screen again. If you think some program may be running unnecessarily, you’ll have to find out where it is started. There is a wonderful little utility called StartupCPL, made by Mike Lin. This shows all startup locations, and lets you switch things off and on again, you may also delete offending entries. Be carefull when adding commands here. The wrong entries will halt your system during startup. Not being able to edit the registry anymore, your computer will be absolutely useless until you replace your registry files (system.dat and user.dat, hidden files in your windows directory). Doing that can also be quite hazardous to the health of your system. And your own, I might add. You might end up reinstalling ALL of your software.

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If your computer is running extremely slow you are probably just about fed up with it and are looking to know exactly what the causes are. To get started with a solution you first need to understand that there are a number of different reasons your computer is slow.

The main reason is because with using your computer there are a lot of different complications that people forget to tend to which inevitably leads to having a slow computer. These complications are all much the same in that they are all malfunctioning or unnecessary different files, folders and processes. The first common cause of a slow computer is that you have infections.

Infections include:

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In the current financial climate we all want to save some money where we can. We don’t want to be spending our hard earned cash during this recession%u2026 just in case.

But – you need a new computer? Lets get your current one running properly again and save some hard earned cash.

So how to fix a slow computer? Here are a few quick fixes.

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