8 Things
That Could Be Slowing Your Computer Down
High-speed internet and tablet products have
gotten consumers accustomed to information-surfing without any hiccups. But if
you’re a PC user, chances are you’ve encountered some sluggish performance that
makes for an inefficient experience. Check out these eight common problems that
can bring your productivity to a screeching halt—and how to fix them.
1. AUTOLOADING
PCs typically boot
up a laundry list of programs during start-up. If too many are jockeying for
memory and other resources, your interface will slow to a crawl. To clean up
the menu, type “msconfig”
in the Start prompt and uncheck any software you don’t want to launch
automatically each time you restart.
2. VISUAL EFFECTS
Depending on your
CPU's horsepower, a surplus of graphics demands can interfere with your PC’s
performance: Even something as simple as displaying a shadow under your mouse
pointer can take up resources. You can try minimizing some
of the unneeded display enhancements by telling the computer to optimize
settings for speed, not looks.
3. A FRAGMENTED HARD DRIVE
The more you ask
of your PC’s storage, the more unevenly it distributes information,
eventually resulting in
fragmented data that can take the computer longer to retrieve. While some newer
user interfaces defragment automatically, you might need to schedule your own
by typing “disk
defrag” in the Start box.
4. DUELING ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS
While it’s always
a good idea to have a malware or virus security program installed, it’s not so
great to have two or more running simultaneously.
If you’ve obtained a new monitoring service, make sure you disable the old one.
5. TOO MANY BROWSER ADD-ONS
If your slowed
performance is limited to web browsing, it’s possible you’ve downloaded
(intentionally or not) too many add-ons that are siphoning resources. To delete
them, look for
an “add-on” or “extensions” tab and disable any you don’t want.
6. THE HARD DRIVE IS NEAR CAPACITY
It’s best not to
try to max out your available storage space with too many programs. Try
deleting unwanted software, emptying the “trash,” or moving non-essential
data to an exterior drive or cloud storage.
7. SHARED WIRELESS
Not all lagging
computers are suffering from ailments inside their chassis. If browsing is a
problem, check to
see if someone using your internet connection is taking up bandwidth with
streaming or if a neighbor might be piggybacking on your service.
8. YOUR PC IS JUST TOO DUSTY
Without proper ventilation, your PC or laptop
is going to have problems cooling down. Check any exhaust vents for dust
build-up. If you find any, try a vacuum nozzle or compressed air to clear the
fan blades.
Jake Rossen
http://mentalfloss.com/article/78615/8-things-could-be-slowing-your-computer-down?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=botw_07102016&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=botw_sunday&bsft_eid=631b33fa-db4c-49f3-ba4c-6791b1b2417c&bsft_clkid=9c80e1e5-1615-46d3-a077-cef6871f243e&bsft_uid=d4f9562c-4347-49cb-9544-373dd1f2b1f3
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