My Computer is Running Slow

My Computer is Running Slow!!! It may be time for a little cleanup to help improve your computers performance.  Below are some common reasons your computer is running slow and measures you can take to improve it’s speed.

1. Your Hard drive is 95% Full – When your hard drive gets to 95 percent, computers can slow down, a lot! Programs, updates, downloads, and temporary files are some of the many things that take space on your drive. Sometimes emptying your recycle bin may be the fastest and easiest solution to recover space. Deep clean your computer of unnecessary files and programs and consider moving files to a cloud storage service.
2. Running Too Many Programs At Once – Is it possible to do many things at once on my computer? Yes, but at some point your computer’s memory and processing speed will not allow for the seamless switching from one open program to another.  You’ll start to notice a serious difference in your computer’s speed performance. Quit or shut down any programs you are not actively using.  If possible stick with just one browser window.  This will make a big difference in your computers performance.
3. Computer Has A Virus – Viruses, spyware, and malware can slow down your computer significantly. If your computer does not have an antivirus installed, we recommend you install one and run a malware scan.  One we recommend is Symantec Norton Security Premium. If your budget doesn’t permit then go for a free AV like avast. We don’t recommend this for business PC’s however. Here’s the difference between free and paid anti-virus.
4. Memory Upgrade – This really isn’t a clean up but it is a common way of speeding up your computer. If you are using a computer that is more than 2 years old and less than 4GB of memory, a memory upgrade will definitely be recommended to improve the computer’s speed. Here’s a guide on how to identify the type of RAM on your computer.
5. Physical clean up – If the computer has not been physically cleaned it may be full of dust, this causes overheating which can greatly affect your computers efficiency. Usually you just need to buy a compressed air can and blow out some of the dust while your computer is powered off.

If your computer is insufferably slow, you could be facing a more complicated issue like a bad hard drive. When the drive starts to go bad you might notice it can take upwards of 5 minutes to open a simple program that should take only a few seconds.

These are just some of the most common reasons why your computer might be running slow.  Slow computers are more normal than you think, most of the time it is due to normal usage so do not panic. If you have tried all the measures above and nothing seems to work, contact Green Shield Technology.