Today's computers have faster microprocessors, more memory and bigger hard drives. When you think about the differences between a Pentium 4 and 386, you have to conclude the improvement is astounding! So, why are so many of these modern day miracles running way below their potential?
In this article we will discuss four very common but often overlooked reasons why that rabbit in your PC has turned into a snail and we'll tell you what can be done to get it back up to speed.
You need more memory.
Don't overlook the obvious. Up until recently not having enough memory wasn't a problem. With the price of RAM becoming very affordable, most people were filling their computers with more than enough memory to do the job. Enter Windows Vista! Many computers built to an older spec were loaded with Vista and put on the market.
When the new owner got the computer home and took it for its first joyride it just didn't live up to expectations. The reason for this is, Vista is a resource hog. Many computers now come out of the box with Vista and 512MB of memory. With Vista you need at least 1GB of Ram. If your computer is slow and it has Vista with 512 MB of Ram you need to add more memory.
Spyware and viruses
Speaking of resource hogs. Spyware and viruses steal a lot of your computer's resources. Though it is not their main function to just make your computer run slowly, these programs can bring your computer to a screeching halt.
Of course, you do have a good Spyware/Virus remover. Don't you? Also, you do realize for them to be effective, you have to keep up to date. By up to date, it means up to the minute.
You should have your remover program set to update and run automatically overnight or at some other time you don't regularly use your computer. If you don't, spyware and viruses will eat your computer alive! Slowing down is nothing compared to what could happen to your computer's resources if you don't have a good remover program you update and run daily.
Background programs
When you install new software on your computer, often times you install it to run in the background every time you start up. Most times you do this without knowing it. Look at the bottom right hand side of your screen.
If you see several icons there, you have extra programs running and stealing resources. Right click on these and see if you have the option of closing them. Many times, you can open the program and choose an option to keep these programs from starting automatically. Many times I've seen this move get a PC back to its old fleet footed self.
Corrupted registry
Here's one problem that is mostly overlooked. Any changes you make to your computer effects and actually, corrupts your registry. So, it stands to reason, even when you do something positive; like remove spyware, you end up with a corrupted registry.
After months of corrupting your registry, albeit unintentionally, it will become good and out of whack. This will, in its early stages, cause your computer to slow down. In its advanced stages, it will freeze and crash and do more mysterious and troublesome things.
Many times, I hear people say they have scanned for spyware and viruses and found none, but still the computer runs very slowly. Most times, it isn't until the registry is cleaned out and repaired by a top-notch registry cleaner that the computer's speed is restored. Make sure to run a good registry cleaner every week or so to keep your registry in excellent working order. After all, the registry is what your operating system is made of.
So there you have it. To recap:
- 512MB is usually enough for Windows XP but not Vista.
- Keep your computer free of spyware and viruses.
- Don't let too many programs start automatically, and
- Run a good registry cleaner often.
