Why does my computer slow down? I get asked this question many times by my clients, here are a few of the more common reasons.
1. Too Little RAM
One of the most important reasons why computers slow down is that they have too little RAM. Ok, for present day computers, 512 MB of RAM is considered a minimum requirement. If you have an old PC running on say Windows 98 and 256 MB of RAM, then expect to see a lot of slow down when running new applications or games.
2. Too Many Background Processes
A second reason why computers slow down is the presence of too many background processes. Computer processors have limited multitasking capability. If you run too many programs all at once, the system will have trouble keeping up. Close some applications before continuing your work.
3. Software Conflicts and System Settings
It is also very possible that one software in your computer conflicts with another, Sometimes, certain settings in Windows will also cause performance problems. Once example is setting your virtual memory too high in the Control Panel. This setting causes the hard disk to double up as a memory store. The result is that the hard disk will start to churn too much and slow everything down. However, you’ll be glad to know that there are some good tools out there can automatically resolve system setting problems for you.
4. Spyware
Ah, spyware. The bane of the modern computer. When surfing on the Net, we come across a lot of malicious websites and applications that install themselves (often without our knowledge) into our PC. These spyware applications are known to hog system resources and slow things down.
5. Bad Drivers
Another culprit which slows down PCs? It’s got to be bad drivers. Usually, you should make sure that your video card, sound card and even motherboard BIOs is up to date. If they are out of date, there is a good chance they will slow your system down, or cause other problems.
6. Bad Software
Sometimes, software installed in your system is just badly coded. These are usually freeware or small shareware programs written by amateurs. So of these programs tend to hog system resources as their code is not well designed.
7. P2P Software
And the final reason why computers slow down … P2P software. Applications like BitTorrent clients, Gnutella, Limewire and KaZaa are all P2P software. They not only encourage piracy of digital media files, they are also infamous for hogging system resources. Avoid them if you can.