Hands up everyone who hates a slow computer! That would be us all then. Everyone has had this problem at some point in their life too. Booting your computer shouldn’t take longer than downloading a song from LimeWire. It’s frustrating when that happens.
Of course, for the layman, you might assume that some forensic-level tinkering is needed, if not a completely new computer. Yet actually, there are some things that you might be able to handle yourself before calling in the heavies.
This information might help you speed that system up a little:
Let’s start with the classic restart
It’s a variation on that old joke, isn’t it? Tech support is all about telling someone to turn it off and on again. But there is logic to restarting the system first.
A restart closes all running programs and processes. It also clears temporary files and essentially gives your system a fresh start. If you restart your system properly then it could stop your system being sluggish. Potentially, it is only sluggish because it hasn’t been turned off properly in the first place.
Manage your startup programs
There are a lot of programs that start to launch when you boot up. Not all of them are necessary, but every single one of them does have system processes that could slow down your system. These are easy to find by opening the task manager and opening the “Startup” tab.
Here you can see what is launching when your system boots up. Check them and disable any of them that you don’t require to open when you launch.
Check for updates and install them
Whatever OS you are running, there are often updates and patches you need to download periodically to make sure your system is running safely and quickly. Software often provides performance improvements that can address slowdown issues.
It might not, however, be an update for your OS that is causing the slowdown. There might be one waiting there for Office 365 or another of your locally installed software. Check these and install any updates provided.
Scan for Malware
Malicious software, spyware, or viruses are usually deployed with a specific task in mind. But they use up significant amounts of your computer’s resources, ultimately this can cause slowdown issues on your computer. It stands to reason, that if this is the problem, you want to deal with it quickly.
Run a scan on your computer’s security software to find out if there is any software that is potentially dangerous. If anything is found, remove this immediately and make sure that your IT Support are aware of the issue.
But it’s still slow at startup
If, once you have tried all the advice above, your computer still takes longer than a hibernating bear to wake up, it’s probably a good time to let your IT support know. Just because your system is still sluggish, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your computer is on the way out. Let the experts know what your problem is, and they might be able to find the problem without needing to upend your system and purchase new technology.
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