Why is my computer slow?
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Introduction
There are a number of tweaks you can do to improve certain areas of performance on both Windows XP and Windows Vista, but I will cover that at another time; since that is a different subject altogether. Today I would like to highlight a few common problems why your computer tends to run slower as time passes by.
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Very useful information if you have a computer that is slower than usual and some other blogs of mine.
Table Of Contents
- First things to try
- Some relevant links
- How to clean my Hard drive?
- Great Stuff on Amazon
- How do I clean up my hard drive?
- New Amazon MP3's
- Why should I cleanup my desktop?
- So I've done all this, but no joy. What is next?
- Great Stuff on eBay
- Disk Defragmenter
- Windows XP: Disk defragmenter
- Windows Vista: Disk defragmenter
- The Registry
- Cleaning the registry
- Registry Cleaners
- Computer Infections
- Definitions and FAQ
- How does my registry get broken links?
- What is RAM and what does it do?
- What is Spyware?
- What is Addware?
- What is Jokeware?
- What is Hijackware?
- What is a trojan?
- What is a worm?
- The Big Picture
First things to try
First and foremost. Get rid of all your unused programs and clean up your desktop for a change. (I am bad in cleaning up my desktop, but non the less..) The next step would be to clean up all your temporary files, like: Cookies, the temp folder and your temporary internet files.
Some relevant links
- Slow computer?
- Tools and fixes for a slow computer
- Digg - Why is my computer slower than usual?
- Over time, you find that your computer has decreased in performance to the point where it is just unbearable. Why? Read about a few common causes of a slow computer in Windows XP and Vista, tools you can use and how to prevent having a slow computer.
How to clean my Hard drive?
Removing unwanted programs
For Windows XP: Click on the "start" button and then on "control pannel".
Step 2
Click on "Add Or Remove Programs"
Step 3
Scroll down the list of installed programs and highlight the unwanted program.
Click on the "Remove" button.
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How do I clean up my hard drive?
Removing temporary files
There are more advanced methods of doing this, but for now, I will stick to Windows' utilities.
Click "start" button, hover mouse over "All Programs", Hover mouse over "Accesories", hover mouse over "System Tools" and select "Disk Cleanup"
How do I cleanup my hard drive?
Removing temporary files - Step 2
Select the volume you'd like to clean up with the drop down box.
How do I clean up my hard drive?
Removing temporary files - Part 3
Tick the selected boxes of files you would like to remove and hit "ok" You will notice a "More Options" tab at the top as well. You can go through there, but I would keep the System restore points in tact. This might save your precious data and operating system one day.
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Why should I cleanup my desktop?
Deleting your Cookies is not that important, but for the most part it stores information, like passwords for your accounts. But some corrupted cookies can prevent you from accessing some websites. But let me answer the question why you should clean up your desktop. Simply put, it affects your start up time for your computer, because it needs to load your desktop on start up and everything stored on the desktop runs in the background.
So I've done all this, but no joy. What is next?
Recap
From this point forward, I assume that you have cleaned up your hard drive. You are also pretty confident that it has got nothing to do with your hardware per say. How do I know? Know what the minimum system requirements is for the programs you run. Compare that to your system specifications. Your system should have the recommended specifications rather than the minimum. Bare in mind that updates to programs comes out all the time, as well as driver updates, and they tend to use more resources. Next we will look at defragmenting your hard drive, remove unnecessary start-up programs, maleware infections and the registry.
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Disk Defragmenter
Keeping things together :-)
Your hard drive can become fragmented over time, having data scattered all over. (I will go over the technical jargon further down the lens) When this happens, your search time (for data needed) increases. So in order to keep your hard drive working at optimum speed, you need to de fragment it. Windows includes a utility called "Disk Defragmenter" for this job. There are different methods of launching this utility: You can select it from the "System Tools" menu or we can do it this way:
Windows XP: Disk defragmenter
Step 1
Open "My Computer", right click on the volume you wish to de fragment and click on "properties".
Windows XP: Disk Defragmenter
Step 2
Click on the "Tools" tab and then on "Defragment now"
Windows XP: Disk Defragmenter
Step 3
The volume you would like to de fragment, should be highlighted. Click on the button "Analyze" to determine if it is necessary to de fragment your chosen volume. If indeed you need to de fragment your volume, hit the "Defragment" button. This can be a lengthy process, so you should do this when you are not going to use your computer for a while.
Windows Vista: Disk defragmenter
Step 1
Click on the "Start" button (round circle with Windows logo in bottom left corner)and type in the search bar "defrag". Click on "disk deframenter"
Windows Vista: Disk Defragmenter
Step 2
and select your volumes.
Windows Vista: Disk Defragmenter
Step 3
and defrag if neccessary.
The Registry
The following two subjects we are going to touch on, are two major culprits when it comes to decreased performance. Let us start with the registry. Like your hard drive gets fragmented, so your registry gets "bloated". (It grows in size over time.)When launching a program, the registry gets searched as well. Worse still, it can contain invalid- and orphaned links. This can cause an unstable and sluggish system. The easy way of fixing this is to use a reliable registry cleaner. Warning: Always back up your registry before removing any keys from it. You can clean your registry manually, if you know what you're doing, but if the wrong key gets removed, your system won't start up again. For this reason, I will not recommend using free cleaners, as that exact problem happened to some of my customers before.
Cleaning the registry
Step 1
Registry Fix, has served me well in the past.This is what it looks like the first time you start it up. Here you can select everything you need to include in the scan.(All the tick boxes under the big 'SCAN NOW' button) Clicking on the 'Help' button in lower right corner will bring you to their website with all the help files. Clicking on the 'Support' button will open up your default mail client with their e-mail address already filled in. However, the first thing I recommend you to do is to backup your registry. How do you do this? Click on the 'Advanced options' button at the top. You will be presented with the following:
Cleaning the registry
Step 2
Right at the bottom you'll see: 'Full Registry Backup Utility'. Click on that and click on the radio button: 'Create a new backup'
Cleaning the registry
Step 3
Cleaning the registry
step 5
After the backup is done, all that is left to do, is to click on the big "Scan Now" button and fix all the errors it has found.
Registry Cleaners
- Registry Fix
- Cleans your registry, repairing broken and invalid keys. You can choose to remove programs, plug-ins and startu p programs too.
- More Registry Cleaners
- Choose from four reviewed registry cleaners
Computer Infections
There are loads more of computer infections,than the popular virus, that floats through Cyberspace.These include: Spyware, Jokeware, Addware, Hijackware, Worms and Root kits. Collectively, they are called malware. 'Mal' is from the word malicious and 'ware' from the word, software. These infection can really slow down your system. So it is imperative that you keep your system clean from infections. How? By having a proper, active and up to date anti-virus software package. Some of them incorporate active scanning for spyware as well. An online scanner won't keep your system clean. So be wise and invest in proper security software.
Definitions and FAQ
What is my registry and what does it do?
Basically, your registry contains a whole bunch of information on what is installed on your system. That includes product keys, install paths of programs as well as the uninstaller path, preferences, and so forth. Call it an index of Windows and what it contains. Through the registry, every program you open, gets validated.I suppose, in a way, it also further protects copyrighted programs, for without the proper registry key entry, you will not be able to open a program.
How does my registry get broken links?
Let me give you two typical scenarios: Firstly If you do not use a program's proper uninstaller and just deletes the program folder. In this case you might also get the problem where the program sits in your list of installed programs and you are unable to remove it. You see, the registry key is broken (points to the program/uninstaller that is now deleted) but there is still some aspects of the program installed elsewhere. Secondly: Say you were infected with maleware and your security software removed it from your system, it could happen that some registry keys are left in tact. In this case you could get something to the effect of this on Windows startup: "Unable to load xxxx.dll. Can not find programx."
What is RAM and what does it do?
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Basically, RAM, stores data temporarily for the CPU (Central Processing Unit) to retrieve in order to minimize waiting states. Look at it this way: Your hard drive isn't nearly as fast as your CPU and therefore data is read into your RAM and "forwarded" to the CPU. As the CPU takes from the RAM, the RAM fills up with new data the CPU possibly will use next. So if you've got a 2GB program (for simplicity sake) and you've got 2GB of RAM, the whole program can be stored in RAM, making your CPU perform at its optimum without having to wait for the next chunk of information.
What is Spyware?
Spyware is software that monitors your every movement on the Web.
What is Addware?
Adware, opens advertisement pop ups on your computer, some even when you are not connected to the Internet.
What is Jokeware?
Jokeware, is software that uses scare tactics to force you into buying their product.
What is Hijackware?
Hijackware, is software that takes over your browser and redirect you to their pages.
What is a trojan?
A Trojan, simply explained, is a software program that disguises itself as something it is not and takes you by surprise. (Sounds a bit funny. But that's the general idea.) Its name is derived from the story of The Trojan Horse.
What is a worm?
A worm, is a software program that replicates itself and does not need to attach itself to a file to spread infection. Some have the ability to mail itself to all the users in the network without user intervention. Worms generally causes harm to your network.
The Big Picture
Have decent security software in place and keep it up to date. Defragment every now and again to keep your hard drive healthy. Do not remove System Restore to save space. Do not switch of your Windows Fire wall - it does make your pc a little bit more secure. Clean your desktop and hard drive.(do this first before de fragmenting). Scan for malware when things start going slow and funny. (actually, you should scan a bit more frequent than that or have an active malware scanner.) Make sure your registry is in good health and please uninstall a program properly.
by jdzeeman
I am an IT technician/desktop support guy since 1995. I had my own business for 8 years and studied for 2 years in communication electronics. Also a b... more »
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