Why is My PC Running So Slow?
Is your PC running slower than your old Vic 20? Getting strange error messages? Is Windows, including individual programs, taking forever to load or even crashing? There are several reasons why your computer is running so slow. Fortunately there are steps that you can make to determine why your PC is running so slow, while at the same time increasing your computer’s speed, performance, and reliability.
- Spyware: This malicious software can certainly slow down your PC as spyware is not designed to run efficiently. Spyware is computer software that is installed without a users informed consent to take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer. While anti-virus software detects most spyware, it does not detect all of this malware. You need to have anti-spyware software installed to detect and remove spyware. Some internet security experts actually suggest you have Spybot Search & Destroy as well as two other anti-spyware programs installed to detect and remove all the spyware on your PC. Window’s Vista actually includes Windows Defender, a free anti-spyware program. It is also good to know that Spybot Search & Destroy and other anti-spyware software can be downloaded for free online.
- Computer Viruses: This malware certainly can have a negative effect on the speed of your PC. A computer virus is a malicious computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner. If you are connected to the Internet, it is crucial that you have anti-virus software installed on your PC. There is actually free anti-virus software available for download online to detect and remove computer viruses and other malicious software. There are also free free online virus scans available. Don’t forget to ensure you keep your anti-virus software up-to-date, as new computer viruses and other malware are created everyday. Anti-virus software is indeed only as good as the last update.
- Hard Drive Full Of Clutter: If you’ve surfed that great frontier called the World Wide Web for any length of time, you very well have a hard drive full of browser cache, temporary files, duplicate files, etc. Windows actually keeps a copy stored on your hard drive of every web site visited, picture downloaded, etc. This clutter can very much decrease your PC’s performance and speed over time as well as well as being a real threat to your Internet security. A few years ago, I discovered software that permanently and securely deletes files on your hard drive. This software, called Cyberscrub Privacy Suite, offers a free 15-day, fully functional trial. I have this software installed on my PC. In fact, the first time that I used Cyberscrub Privacy Suite, I deleted over 4 gb of browser cache, temporary files, etc. off my hard drive. This dramatically increased my PC’s speed and performance.
- Registry Needs Cleaning: Windows errors can certainly slow down your PC. I highly recommend Registry Mechanic for cleaning your registry of errors, duplicate files, and files leftover from uninstalling software on your PC. Recently, my father was telling me that his computer was running slow lately. I installed and ran Registry Mechanic. It immediately increased his computers speed and performance.
- Your Hard Drive Needs Defragmenting: Finally, defragging your hard drive can certainly contribute to a computer running slow. Fragmentation occurs when an operating system breaks a file into pieces because there is not enough space on the storage device where the file was originally saved. To defragment your hard drive use the Defrag utility on Windows 98, M, XP, and Vista. Be forewarned that this is a time consuming venture, sometimes taking several hours.
As you can see, there are several factors that can contribute to a computer running slow. It should be reassuring to know that there are several steps you can take to speed up a slow computer, while also enhancing your PC’s performance and reliability.
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