PC slow? Check out these “Top 10 Tips”

Published on: March 15th, 2016

When your PC is running slow it can be extremely frustrating. We’re always on hand to help and resolve issues for you but here are some steps you can take before calling in the experts.

A couple of things before we start …..

• If your computer is getting on in life (5 years +) then this is most likely the issue. New software you download isn’t always compatible with older machines ~ due to the continually changing advances in technology.
• Check to see you have at least 10% of free hard drive space. You may just need a memory upgrade. We recommend that computers have a minimum of 4GB of memory (RAM) for 32-bit system and 8GB for a 64-bit system.

1. Reboot first before doing anything else. Most people let their PC’s go into sleep mode and rarely reboot.
2. Uninstall any unnecessary programmes, in particular any start-up programmes that automatically start when you reboot your PC. Tip: If you have Windows 7 or above, open Task Manager and run Resource Monitor, which will allow you to see what programmes are running in the background and the memory and CPU they are using.
3. Run a clean-up tool, such as ‘ccleaner’, including registry clean-up. In ccleaner go into tools and start-up; disable any programmes you don’t need running (see above).
4. Make sure anti-virus definitions are up-to-date and make sure it is not scanning your computer in the background. When scans are in progress they can decrease the speed of your PC.   Then run a full anti-virus scan.
5. Run anti-malware scans and programmes, such as Malwarebytes anti-malware, Spybot search & destroy, super anti-spyware.>
6. Run check-disk (or equivalent) to verify there is nothing physically wrong with the computer’s hard drive.
7. Check for updates for Windows, Adobe, Java and any other third party programmes. You can also make sure all browser plugins are up-to-date, or try disabling browser plug-ins to see if one of them is causing the speed issue.
8. Defragment hard drive ~ this will ensure that the data is arranged in the most efficient order.
9. Make sure your computer and processor are not overheating. Excessive heat can cause a significant decrease in computer performance because most processors automatically reduce the speed of the processor to help compensate for heat-related issues.Tip : Dust, dirt, and hair can also constrict proper airflow inside your computer, which can cause a computer to overheat. Make sure your computer case is clean and fans are not obstructed.
10. Check that you have the latest drivers for your computer hardware. In particular the latest video drivers. Out-of-date drivers can cause various issues, including speed. Note: only relevant for PC’s / Laptops running slow.

And finally;  If you have completed the above steps but your computer is still running slow then try rebooting the computer again. If still no improvement give us a ring … . 0161 798 4336.

Some Further Points ~

• Hard drive upgrade.  It is also possible that your PC has hardware related issues, such as failing components. Examples of this could be hard drive, CPU, RAM, motherboard etc.
• Hardware issues.  A big bottleneck of a computer is the hard disk drive. If your PC is running slow, or you are just looking for the best component to upgrade, then you may want to consider a Solid State Drive (SSD), which can significantly improve the performance.