One of life’s biggest annoyances is waiting for a slow, creaky computer to do an essential activity; a sluggish, ageing computer can make your blood boil. Even new PCs, though, can become clogged and running slowly; we at Techcare Plus, who offers computer repair services have put up a list of fixes that you can try if your computer is slow:
Uninstall programmes that are no longer in use.
It likely comes with many pre-installed apps when you get a new computer, and these can just collect overtime on old PCs. The vast majority of these will never be used, and some may operate in the background without your knowledge, slowing down your computer.
To uninstall these, go to “Start,” then “Control Panel,” then “Programs and Features,” and delete any that you don’t need.
Temporary files should be deleted.
All of your browsing histories are saved in the depths of your PC and even if you install something, the same thing happens. It’s similar to not throwing away the box when you buy a new TV because it frees up space on your system; to clear out all of this junk, go to “My Computer,” select your primary drive, click the “Windows” folder, and then click the “Temp” folder within it.
Right-click the folder and choose “Details” from the “View” menu. Then, select all files older than the current date and delete them all. Then, empty the Recycle Bin on your desktop.
Install a solid-state drive.
If your computer takes a long time to boot up and get ready to use, the issue may be with your hard drive. A solid-state drive (SSD) uses flash memory similar to a large USB flash drive and can read data much faster, allowing your startup to be much faster.
Increase your hard drive storage capacity.
Even if you keep your computer clean, it will slow down your computer if your hard disc grows too full. If you use your computer for processor-intensive tasks such as video and media recording, your hard drive will most likely become corrupt before you know it and mega storage devices of over 1TB are now available to store thousands of HD movies.
Turn off all background programmes.
Too many apps running at the same time can cause a computer to slow down by consuming processing resources and lowering performance and some apps will continue to run in the background even after you close them, while others will launch immediately when you turn on your computer.
Open Task Manager by clicking CTRL+ALT+DELETE to check what background processes are running on your PC and how much memory and processing power they consume.
By selecting programmes and clicking ‘End task’ at the bottom right, you can close them directly from the Task Manager. If you’re not sure what software performs, you should Google it first to ensure you don’t close something important.
Still, if you need the help of a professional, we at Techcare plus will be happy to assist you with all of the technical issues at affordable prices in Christchurch.
