Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow And How To Fix It Easily in 2023

Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow

Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow

You rely on your computer just about every day and need it to work on demand.

When you first brought it home things were nice and quick. However over time, it’s become slower and slower – to the point of becoming an annoyance.

Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow

Before you go shopping for a replacement understand that computer slow down is a normal issue all computer users deal with over time. Computers become sluggish and perform slower over time due to “natural” causes. These include surfing the Internet, Installing programs, and just everyday computer use that over times fills up your computers hard drive.

Of course not all people want or are able to maintain their own computer. In this case contact a computer repair professional once or twice a year and schedule a clean up. It will save you a lot of frustration and possible money in the long run.

Read on for 4 things that can cause your computer to slow down, and 4 ways you can fix them and get your computer back up to speed and back to helping and not annoying you.

Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow

Reason #1 Too many programs running or too many browser windows (tabs). Computers were designed to make things easier by creating a way for us to do many things at once. However eventually even the best computers experience slow down. The causes are many and one of the most frequent culprits is having too many programs running to the same time. Each of these programs requires memory and resources. And your computer likely has only so much memory and resources.

So although computers are designed to let you perform multiple tasks at once it comes with some limitations. Programs such as iTunes and Spotify are constantly updating and require use of your computers power. And all the browser windows you have open are also not only eating up your computers resources but also using up your Internet bandwidth. This is one of the most common Reasons Why Your Computer is Running Slow

How to fix it: Close any programs you are not actually using along with any browser windows not necessary. If you keep web pages open because you are worried about losing them learn about Bookmark and Favorites which are ways to save your favorite and most frequently visited websites.

Reason #2 Your computer hard drive may be reaching capacity or memory is used up. You might be surprised to know than a computer hard drive is considered full at just 85%. Performance can slow to a crawl. Although you might not be a huge downloader your hard drive fills with program updates, patches, Internet downloads and temporary files are the main culprits.

Todays programs such as Photoshop require a large amount of disk space. You cant run programs like this on older computers which have a much smaller capacity than todays newer models.

How to fix it: Empty the trashcan which may contain a large amount of deleted files. Move any extremely large files to the cloud with programs such as One Drive and Dropbox. The help of a trusted computer technician can help you with this and make certain its done properly. If your computer requires a hard drive or memory upgrade working with an IT profession is essential.

Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow

Reason #3 Too many applications are loading at start up. Its very common for a software program to automatically set itself to start up with Windows. Everyone wants to be first. Programs such as iTunes, Spotify, and many computer utilities are known to do this. Although in theory the idea is to make these programs load quickly when you need them having them run in the background uses your computer resources and can cause your computer to run slowly. Its not uncommon for a computer user to be completely unaware of these startup programs.

How to fix it: Altering a computers startup configuration should be done by a trusted IT professional. Working with your local IT expert these startup items can be safely disabled without causing issues.

Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow

Reason #4 Your computer could be infected with viruses, malware, or your anti virus itself can be causing a slow down. Many viruses can run in the background and you may not even be aware of them. Others can fill your screen with requests for ransom, and can cause extreme damage by encrypting your files which cannot be recovered. A computer can be riddled with malware and the only symptom you may notice is slow performance.

Many anti virus programs such as Norton are known to cause extremely slow performance in many cases. And if you have Windows 10 no third party antivirus should be installed. Period. Windows 10 has its own antivirus built in – Windows Defender – which has been rated as one of the top antivirus programs available today.

How to fix: Avoid using free antivirus programs. While these programs can offer a layer of protection it comes with a price. Constant nags about upgrading, purchasing additional protection, these pop ups use your computer’s resources and can slow things down. Computer security requirements change very often so your best to consult with your local computer repair shop for guidance. If your running Windows 10 uninstall any third part antivirus and you will likely see an immediate increase in your computer’s performance.

Reasons Why Your Computer is Running Terribly Slow?

You need to have a trusted IT person to help you. Is your computer running very slowly? Are programs slowing things down? Want to learn more about your computer, computer security and safety? Or maybe you need a trained professional to help make sure your system is running at its best and is protected? Contact That Tech Jeff.

I have the knowledge and experience to make your computer run at its best.

That Tech Jeff