Slow PC? Try these steps!
What’s wrong with my system?
I’m sure we’ve all experienced a slow computer before. It’s beyond frustrating watching a YouTube video buffer, or having a download or update fail due to a glitch. We don’t always need to upgrade our computers with new RAM or the fastest SSDs off the market, nor do we want to shell out thousands of new systems when ours are fine and just slow. So, what can I do to make my computer faster than a snail?
Checking for malware
The first step any responsible user should take is running a virus scan. Even if you don’t do anything more than watch videos, you’re at risk. Check out our article on cybersecurity and how to protect yourself online if you’re unsure.
Check Task Manager (Windows)
A very quick way to check what is slowing down your Windows PC is to check task manager. Hold CTRL+ALT+DELETE and select task manager. Note this is only for Windows machines. In here, you’re going to hit performance and keep note of what’s at high usage. If something is at 100%- more than likely we have an issue. Your system running at max at all times will most certainly cause crashes and maybe even loss of data. The dreaded BSOD (or Blue Screen of Death) is common on windows machines that are using almost all available resources, so this is a good first step to take.
Remove unwanted programs
For some this may sound as though its common sense, for others they may never have considered it and it should be brought up as a potential cause. If your hard disk, solid state drive, or whatever you download programs to is full or close to full- that is by far the most common cause of computer slowdowns and crashes we’ve seen. For Windows users, hitting the folder icon in the bottom and clicking “This PC” will show all available drives on the system and their storage. You can remove programs by typing “Uninstall” in your search bar and click the programs you want to remove after.
Still slow? Time to get serious.
Fastest way to speed it up if its still slow without upgrading it? 9/10 times doing a Factory Reset will speed up your device as there is less for it to load each time, and it gets rid of junk files building throughout the lifetime of your device. Theoretically, this would make your computer as fast as when you just purchased it from the shelf. This isnt always the case as we’ve gone from different operating softwares over the years, upgrading and adding more and more features will need more processing power. If your device is less than a few years old, there’s almost no reason it should be slow. Let’s get that fixed.
- Backup your data to a flash drive or an external drive- only data you want to keep and don’t want to lose.
- For Windows, just type Reset into the search bar in the bottom left. Then hit Reset This PC and follow the prompts.
- For Macs, the easiest way is told hold CMD + R while the computer is starting to enter recovery mode. From there you can install a new copy of the OS.
After you’ve done that, and if your system is still slow, you can be sure it is a hardware issue and may be time for an upgrade or maybe something inside failed and needs repair- same as if a car wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
Still need help or an upgrade? We fix, upgrade, buy and sell almost all devices.
