subject: Computer Running Like Molasses? Here Is Help! [print this page] Your computer was probably pretty fast when it was new. But, computers can start running slowly after a period of time for many different reasons. So why would a computer run slow, and what can be done about it? Sometimes the reason is pretty simple, such as a needed memory upgrade. Sometimes some basic maintenance needs to be performed to help make it run faster. Other times, however, the cause behind the slow computer is much more complex and more difficult to fix. It is very helpful to determine whether the computer is very slow all the time (boots slowly, shuts down slowly, etc), or if it is just slow when it is on the Internet. With that said, let's take a look at some specific reasons why your computer would run slowly.
1) Computer is slow on Internet only: the most usual causes for slow Internet are either the Internet equipment is in need of a power cycle (unplug and replug the electricity) or the browser's temporary Internet files need to be cleaned out. For help with the equipment, feel free to call your ISP's (Internet Service Provider) technical support department. To clean the temporary Internet files, open Internet Explorer (if that is your browser) and click Tools - Internet Options (if you don't see the Tools menu, press the Alt key on your keyboard). Click on the Delete button (or Delete Files in IE6) and select the options to remove the temporary Internet files and cookies. Close the browser, and hopefully it will be faster when you open it again.
2) If your computer is still slow on the Internet after deleting the temporary Internet files, it is possible that an IE (Internet Explorer) add-on is causing the problem. Open IE and this time select Tools - Internet Options again, but select the Programs tab. Click Manage Add-Ons and disable any Add-Ins that you may not be using, especially toolbars. Close the options dialog and IE, then reopen the browser. If it is faster now, you have found the culprit. You can also go into the Control Panel and either Add/Remove Programs (XP) or Programs and Features (Vista and 7) and uninstall anything that says "Toolbar." Lastly, it is possible that your cable modem or router needs to be power cycled or is going bad. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can help you with this if you need more information.
3) Slow all the time (A): It is possible that your hard drive is full - the hard drive has to work harder when it is more full because the head has to move farther to get data from the innermost sectors to the outermost sectors. To check this, right-click on Start (or the start button) and left-click Explore (or "Windows Explorer" in 7). Right-click the C: drive and left-click Properties. You will see a pie chart showing you how full the drive is (as well as how big it is). If you have less than 15% of the drive space left, you should consider uninstalling unneeded programs or moving some data off to multiple external drives and/or DVD-R disks (ALWAYS make multiple copies of valuable data!).
4) Computer always slow (B) Your drive may need to be defragmented (which can only be done if it has 15% or greater free space). To do this, right-click Start, left-click Explore (or Windows Explorer in Windows 7). Click on the Tools tab, and click Defragment Now. XP and Windows 7 both have Analyze Now buttons - go ahead and click it. If your drive is 10% or more fragmented (Total Fragmentation) you will want to defragment it. Click Defragment and let it run for several hours until complete. Vista does not have an Analyze button because it is supposed to do it on its own (MS goofed on this, for sure!) so we never know just how fragmented the drive is unless you use a third party program. Go ahead and defragment the drive anyway - let it run until completed.
5) Computer always slow (C) your hard drive's file system may have some corruption. Let's run a Check Disk to fix any problems it may be having. Click on Start - Run (in XP) and type either in the Run box in XP or Search box in Vista or 7 CMD which is short for Command and press Enter on the keyboard. A black box will open - in the black box, type "CHKDSK C: /f" without the quotes. You will be asked if you want to run the Check Disk the next time the computer is restarted - click Yes. Restart the computer and let the utility run, paying attention to any errors that come up. Errors that are shown should be fixed.
6) Computer always slow (D) if none of the above help the problem your computer may be infected with a virus or spyware, especially if there are other symptoms. Virus and spyware removal can be very difficult and may include editing the registry, which is a very complicated thing to do. You could try a Google search for the symptoms and attempt to fix the condition on your own, or it may be time to call in a professional computer repair person. The reason your antivirus software may not help in this case is because the bad guys don't tell the good guys (antivirus software) about the new bug - it can take weeks or even months before all the antivirus companies can fight new malware.
Hopefully you have found this to be helpful. Slow computers can be very frustrating, and if you find that you are losing time and/or productivity on your computer because it is so slow, a professional computer repair technician may be your answer. Happy Computing!
