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13 Possible Reasons Why Your Computer is Slow & How to Fix it


So your computer is now creeping at snail pace. It is so slow that you can turn it on, go and take a shower, come back and it would still be trying to load the welcome screen.

You curse it, threaten it, you tell it how much you hate it and probably gave it a few slaps to encourage a quicker pace. However, despite your best efforts to help your computer to get a move on, it stubbornly refuses to conform.

Reluctantly, you slowly begin to accept the fact that this is the way it is. Your computer is slow and you'll have to live with your stubbornly slow computer, or buy a new one.

Things Have Changed

But things weren't always like that, were they?

You most likely remember the first time you got your new computer. It was lightning fast. You got things done quickly and everything just flowed smoothly? You got used to turning on your computer and within a few seconds you were typing in your password.

So what has happened that your once super fast computer is now struggling to get along?

Let's see if we can make sense of all this as we perform some computer diagnostic tests.

Reasons Why Your Computer is Slow

It is important to understand that with time and usage most computers tend to slow down. So, the good news is that it isn't only your computer that is sluggish. Most computers do slow down over time. This is especially true when there isn't a proper computer maintenance plan in place.

However, identifying the reasons for your sluggish computer can be a bit of a headache sometimes. But, with a little detective work, patience and determination you should be able to solve the problem fairly quickly.

Who knows, maybe you'll even start loving your computer again.

Here are 13 possible reasons why you computer is slow:

  1. Not having enough memory - RAM

  2. Viruses, malware and spyware

  3. Too many open programs at once

  4. Outdated drivers

  5. Overheating cpu

  6. Playing memory intensive games

  7. Too much clutter/junk on computer

  8. Hard disc/drive errors

  9. Fragmented files on hard drive

  10. Not enough space on the hard drive

  11. Too many startup programs

  12. Faulty hard drive

  13. Overly-agressive security software

How To Fix Your Slow Computer

Now that you have some possible causes of a slow computer it's time to do some (laptop or desktop) computer diagnostic tests to identify the culprit(s).

Let's see if we can diagnose the problem by asking a few questions, shall we.

1. Is your computer slow only when doing certain tasks? e.g playing particular games or using certain programs etc.

If this is the case then you need to identify the task, game etc, and stop the task or game temporarily. Install more memory and see if that solves the problem. If it doesn't then you'll most likely have to uninstall the program or stop playing the game.

2. Is your computer slow on start-up only?

If your computer is slow on startup only, then you'll need to look at reducing the number of startup programs. In addition, some security software use a lot of resources on startup so you can take a look at that also.

3. Is your computer slow all the time?

If your computer is slow all the time then you need to do some updates, scans and other diagnostic tests. You would also require some additional programs which I will talk about in part 2 of this post.

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Some useful tips

  • Open a few programs at a time,

  • Scan the hard disc/drive for any errors occasionally

  • Scan for outdated drivers periodically

  • Cut down on playing any memory intensive games

  • Scan for viruses, malware and spyware frequently

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