Reasons for a slow computer

There are a lot of reasons why a PC may run slow. One of the most common reasons I see is that someone has A LOT of programs running at one time. Many applications will install themselves and configure to boot when the computer boots. Most are not needed when the computer boots, Yahoo Messenger is one example.  The simplest fix for this is to go into the preferences for the application and then disable boot when windows starts. There is another easy way to disable startup programs, and generally keep you pc cleaned up. Download an application called CCleaner from http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ . This application has tools for cleaning out the registry, removing applications, removing temporary files, and you guessed it disabling startup programs.

The second biggest reason for a slow machine (not counting a virus or malware) is a lack of ram. Over the course of Windows XP's lifetime there have been a lot of fixes and a lot of patches to alot of programs. There is also the fact that newer applications are being written to use beefier hardware. So what happens when you install it, instant slow down. Cheap affordable and simple fix, find out the max amount of RAM you computer can hold, then purchase the max and install it. If your fearful to do it yourself feel free to give me a call.

Another reason a computer may run slow is a full hard drive. Windows uses a page file to store working copies of things that would normally be processed in RAM. This helps give the operating system a potentially unlimited amount of RAM by storing objects not immediatly being processed. That is until the hard drive is completely full at which point EVERYTHING must process through RAM. This problem is made worse if you have very little RAM. The fix for this is to remove any applications you do not use, and run CCLeaner to remove temporary files that may be on your hard drive. For good measure run a defragmentation as well.

This concludes our blog for the day, as always comments are welcome and questions.