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A dirty ol' laptop, in need of some attention. Mister Softy via Flickr/Creative Commons
clogged up
Has your computer slowed down over time? Here's why, and how to fix it
All computers will slow down over time, due to more programs being installed or the system simply becoming clogged up. However, there are ways to make it and nice speedy again.
THE HONEYMOON PERIOD after buying a new computer, where all programs run fast and everything seems to work perfectly, can sometimes only last a few months.
For some it could last years because we all use our computers for different tasks and activities, which means there isn’t one single reason that pinpoints why this slowdown happens.
The thing is, when you first get a new computer and boot it up it works lightning fast. That’s because it doesn’t have anything on it. Regardless of whether you have a PC or Mac, over time as you download files, install software, and go online, your computer gets bloated with files that hog system resources. In addition, there are many other things that contribute to a slowdown. We explored some of the major causes.
Software and hard drive corruption.
We started by speaking with Rachel, a tech expert with Tekserve. She told us that software and hard drive corruption are two reasons why your computer may slow down over time.
Corruption can be caused by a host of things but it’s mostly bugs in the operating system, corrupted RAM data, static electricity (from carpet or other fabrics), power surges, failing hardware, and for Windows users, normal operating system decomposition with age.
Two other huge culprits are not having enough RAM (memory to run programs) and simply running out of hard disk space.
Constantly seek more RAM
Not having enough RAM causes your hard drive to try to compensate for a lack of memory. The computer will constantly seek more RAM taking away resources from other tasks.
Another thing users fall victim to is installing unnecessary software. This will fill up your hard drive, causing you to run out of space at the price of speed.
There are useful free programs that help you easily identify what is taking up space on your hard drive:
For Mac users try: OmniDiskSweeper, a free program that breaks down exactly which files take up the most space.
For PC users try WinDirStat, a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool.
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But what if you don’t have a lot of apps or programs on your computer and it’s still going slow?
If you’re updating your software regularly, that can contribute to a slowdown because the updates themselves take up more space and require more system resources. Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker points out that, “in theory, if you did a clean install and never updated any of your software, everything would run as fast in year four as it did on day one. But that’s not exactly a feasible—or secure—way to use your computer.”
If you have a spinning hard drive, once they get older they simply start to slow down as they reach the end of life. It’s important to note that all spinning hard drives will die eventually, it could be tomorrow but it could also happen 10 years from now. It’s just the nature of their design.
A spinning hard drive, or HDD. Pretty, isn’t it? (Image Credit: Numinosity/Flickr)
A simple solution to prevent slowdowns caused by the hard drive is to install a solid state hard drive (SSD) in your current computer or buy a new computer with one. Solid state hard drives take advantage of flash memory, which is found primarily in tablets and smartphones. Without going too deep, a SSD’s flash memory doesn’t have an arm like the above hard drive to write data, instead it relies on a processor making it much more reliable. You can read more about the difference between a SSD and HDD here.
We also can’t ignore that fact that for PC users malware and viruses can also contribute to a computer slowing down. A huge misconception with PC users is that you need to load up on antivirus software to keep your computer fast. This is simply a myth, dismissed by Whitson Gordon too.
Gordon recommends that before you run out and buy pricey antivirus software you should first:
Start by learning a bit more about viruses and what they do … Your first line of defense should be safe browsing. If you’re downloading shady files, clicking on internet pop-ups, or opening links from unknown email, you’ll greatly increase your chances of getting one. But if you’re even mildly responsible, it’s unlikely you’ll ever get an infection.
You should still download antivirus software though, and there are many free options available.
Besides checking what is taking up space on your hard drive and practicing safe browsing you should also:
Regularly clear your cache, internet browsing history, and temporary Internet files.
Empty the trash can.
Check which programs are running at start up and also see what background services you are having load after a set amount of time.
We have to face the fact that as time goes on, our computers will get slow. It’s a natural progression. The Internet and software capabilities evolve by the minute. These new innovations require more power and space to keep up with the pace. Sometimes it might not even be your fault that your once zippy computer is now crawling but its just a sign of the times.
Do you have any tips to keep your computer in good shape? Tell us in the comments below.
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I always open task manager when I get a new laptop every 4 years or so and do a screenshot of what’s running on it on the very first day, helps see what shite has been added over time
I got a call telling me my Pc was not working well and I found their advice very helpful.
The website they told me to go to to download their extra special software has made my browser extra exciting with all sorts of lovely flashing toolbars.
I no longer have to type any urls to visit porn sites as it reads my mind and opens lots of windows for me to choose from.
I also found their payment plan extra helpful as again I did not even need to set up the funds transfer to their bank account in Nigeria – they took care of for me with their software (although I have found it a bit pricey).
Best of all, it takes care of keeping me in contact with all of my friends in my contact list by automatically sending them lots of emails. Although I do not understand why some have replied to me in such an abusive way. One retorted he was angry as to why I would suggest he needed viagra and another said he did not want a Thai bride?
A bit confusing but I am happy that my pc boots up now before bedtime on Fridays since I only hit ctrl-alt-del on Monday morning.
I got a call like that too about a problem with my Windows. They told me to open my Browser, so I picked up a magazine and had a flick through it. Then they said to open a new window, go to a website, and enter an address. I thought this was a bit odd, but I opened the kitchen window like they asked, then climbed out in search of spiders in the back garden, to find some webs. Brought one of my wife’s dresses with me, as they seemed to think I needed it. Got back on the phone, and they asked me what I could see. Told them I could see my wife’s dress hanging on a bush in the garden.
They seemed rather confused with that, and started shouting about windows on a computer. I told them I didn’t have a computer. They got really upset and hung up the phone. Not really sure why.
On the upside, never had any problems with my double glazing after that…
Yeah it’s not great for serious multimedia work, but that said, most people would find the programs available absolutely grand for straight-forward editing.
The only thing you need to go back to Windows for is Internet Explorer, but you can download Virtual Machines from http://modern.ie
Most popular applications are available on Linux (i.e. Adobe Reader, Firefox), alternatively there is nearly always a comparable open-source alternative, Lightroom > Darktable, Photoshop > GIMP, MS Office > LibreOffice.
@Johnjoe Nugent,try GIMP for photos it’s quirky but just as good as photoshop and its free like almost all Linux software. Dual boot is certainly a good option as folks can get a feel for linux before giving up on windoze. In fairness I hear that Mac’s are the bees knees for professional photo work but that comes at a price. Linux is great for bringing back to life PC’s and laptops which have been knackered by malware and I have a whole bunch which were dumped because of careless browsing .
There are a plethora of multimedia tools on Linux that are as good as or better than proprietary solutions on Win/Mac. The problem is that they are not used in colleges so grads can only use the expensive commercial software.
Use Linux for my desktop OS, and have been doing so since Mandrake 7.2 (Still have the original disks!). Linux has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years. I remember I had to get someone to code a driver for my winmodem back in the day, just so I could get it online. There were driver issues with everything – audio, networking, graphics cards and so on. Nowadays it’s pretty much plug and play.
I still use windows, but it’s mostly for gaming and multimedia stuff (Photoshop, Adobe Premier, etc..). I know there are alternatives out there for Linux like GIMP, but some they still aren’t good enough. (Although great for free software).
Linux runs like a dream, and if it doesn’t – you can customise it so it will, irrespective of how much ram you have, or how fast your processor is. It’s also inherently more secure than Windows, although Microsoft have improved a lot since Windows 7.
These are insidious.
If you are using firefox, get the add on ‘better privacy’, install it, and clear and keep clearing these yokes. YOu will not believe how many of these things are stored in the flash folders on your computer.
Other browsers have similar privacy aids. Do a bit of research.
Also get ‘no script’ as an add on. Each web page you visit has loads of scripts running, the journal for example has the following…
googleusercontent
googletagservices
googleanalytics
facebook.com
jrnl.ie
googlesyndication
doubleclick.net
taboolasyndication.com
mouseflow.com
scorecardresearch
googleapis.com
thejournal.ie
Allow thejournal.ie and jrnl.ie. The rest are like hungry cats hovering over your internet bowl of hot milk.
I hope this helps along with the other good tips here.
A monthly (or more often) defragmentation is also needed for PC users, CCleaner has a good version of it. Think it’s called defraggler if I’m not mistaken.
But an SSD is the way to go and their dirt cheap on Overclockers.co.uk every week or so.
Yeah, but don’t use a defrag tool if you have an SSD, doesn’t do any good but will age the drive prematurely.
However with newer technologies that too is changing,
Whoever said you don’t need anti-virus is seriously full of crap. You only need to visit a compromised website or a website with third party scrips embedded from a compromised provider. If you have a vulnerable browser, java, flash, installed then you get infected without even realising it. At least if you have AV with memory protection and on-access scanning you are not at such risk.
As a security professional I find it incredible that a site such as this would advise people against taking a basic security measure. It doesn’t even have to cost you money – there are free solutions such as AVG, Avira, etc.
And also, hard drive spinning speed does not slow down over time. What you are experiencing is likely fragmentation which is a filesystem issue – not a hardware issue.
I just read that lifehacker article by Whitson Gordon that you bastardised. He did NOT say you don’t need AV. He actually said the opposite – that it’s essential! And to ensure that’s effective. I know the standard of articles on the journal has nosedived recently but this is absolutely ridiculous!
Hi Barry. Thanks for adding to the advice. Just to say though, the article doesn’t say not to get antivirus software. It actually just addresses the misconception some people think you absolutely need it for a fast computer.
This is actually a very good article for the ordinary person reading the journal, you could tie everything up in knots if you were a chap in the business and trying to make a sale but for most people the item is valuable.Too much information will only pi** folks off and defeat the object of providing a bit of sensible help.
I’ve never experienced a single malware problem that ‘system restore’ couldn’t fix. Backing up any new files and rolling your system back a day or 2 is even 10 times quicker than a full antivirus scan. And free.
Vinnie, how do you know if you have malware if you don’t have something to detect it? A lot of malware is hidden, whether a keylogger, botnet, etc. and you shouldn’t need to to lengthy on-demand scans as most AV these days have on-access scanning.
I used to make good money repairing computers, stop giving away these hints for free! But seriously run msconfig, go to startup and disable everything EXCEPT your anti virus. Most people are amazed at how many unnecessary programs run at startup and many continue running in background.
Good advice. Shutting down everything unnecessary in msconfig is like taking the roof box off your car, emptying the boot, and telling all your passengers to get out. You’ll be amazed at the performance!!! Also Ccleaner is brilliant. Uninstall all the programs you don’t use, then run Ccleaner, including registry cleanup (note the warning messages!). Also make sure you have at least 40% free space on your HDD. Also turn off all the auto updates for software and manually check for updates periodically. I’ve had PCs that took 10 minutes to boot up. Using these steps, got the boot times down to under 2 minutes.
Make sure to create a Restore Point before doing any of this, just in case.
If you’re running windows xp, stick with it. If you’re running Vista, it’s junk – upgrade to windows 7.
For windows PC, Also look out for huge log files. Older versions of IE used to create them – use a pc daily for a couple of years and you could get a 10GB log file. If you find any, just delete them.
Turn off Swap Files (where your pc uses space on your disc as RAM) then run Defrag. Once complete, turn swap files back on, let windows suggest the size, then select to set the file size manually, using the suggested size. This will create a permanent swap file in a single block on your disc, which makes programs run faster than using scattered blocks of varying size.
Clean up the register on PC’s using CCleaner
for XP users, clean up your desktop… Put the files into my documents instead.
Disable search indexing if you hoard mails.
Don’t get a nexus 7, you will find that you use it alot and waste alot of time on it. You will enjoy using it so muxh that you will feel guilty. I hope that helps.
Similar story but worse – HP Pavillion DV10 i5 processor – cost a great deal 2 years ago has just gone bust – will not boot up – tries to power up but to no avail – left it to a (reputable) computer repair shop who tell me the mother board is gone – #devestated – minded this like a newborn all the time and can’t understand how this would happen – not sure whether to
a. get 2nd opinion
b. just get replacement -
If option b is there any techies out there with advice as to a good replacement
It’s user interface and the way it works looks more like what you would see on a Mac. But that said, I am sure you get the hang of it in a day. It’s way faster than Windows and more intuitive. If it weren’t for the fact that I am dependent on Adobe Creative software I would be using it on all my computers.
For basic usage like web browsing etc they are similar, however the architecture is quite different Linux can be lightweight and work great on older computers unlike new windows versions.
However Linux does still rely on a number of command line apps like apt get which can be off putting for new users but is actually really easy and powerful to use.
You can download “live CDs” of Linux to try out without getting rid of windows first, try Ubuntu live as its the biggest mainstream Linux distro atm for end users
If you want it to be. The single greatest thing about Linux is that there are so many different options. For example, if you want very similar to Windows you could check out Zorin OS. Linux Mint is also quite nice alternative but a bit less like Windows. Once you get into it there’s so many options. Personally I use Debian on servers and Arch Linux on desktop. My mother uses Mint, my wife Suse, my son Edubuntu.
Edward, check out PlayOnLinux. Not perfect but runs quite a lot of Windows games. And things are getting better – Steam and Desura clients for example.
Edward: there is graphical GUI for apt-get “synaptic”. For most command line stuff there is GUI now in Linux. It doesn’t however change the fact this system is so useless for anything else than server box. Unless you’re masochist.
Indeed Linux is making great steps regards to games, actually installed steam just the other day but many many titles are missing OpenGL or perform poorly, just isn’t developed enough or supported like direct x and unless MS decide to stop the monopoly you’ll need windows for most games.
Re Linux only for servers that’s not true.. It’s great for users for normal stuff and devs, I run a massive java app (talking 500k classes) on oracle 11g on Ubuntu flawlessly somehow don’t see that happening so easily with windows
More ram, clean out your cache, free up hard drive space and use a tool such as Ccleaner, which is free on the net. I got these tips from my “go to” pc guy over at fastnezzycomputerrepair.com.
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