Computer too slow?

Does it seem like your computer takes longer to start up, or to run applications, than when you first purchased it? This is a common complaint. It is quite typical of personal computers to "feel" like they are slowing down over time, and there are multiple potential factors that contribute to this. Sometimes it can be that we are just using applications and utilities now that require more resources than we did when we first purchased our computer. It's also possible that one or more applications or utilities running on our computer are "mis-behaving" - that is they are using more memory or processing power than they should. Or it could be that over time, we've installed and/or uninstalled so many applications and utilities, that the computer (and the windows registry!) and/or the hard drive have just become bogged down with "computer sludge". Spyware, adware and even viruses may also be contributing. 

There are several possible ways to tackle a slow-footed computer. A general performance tune-up on your computer can often provide some relief - some of the steps in a tune-up are fairly straightforward and simple, such as defragmenting your hard drive and cleaning out temporary files, while other steps are more advanced such as optimizing your startup processes, tweaking registry settings, etc. There are also some differences depending upon which operating system is running on your computer. Adding system RAM (memory) to your computer can often provide a significant peformance boost, and is relatively quick and inexpensive to do. And though it's a more involved and expensive task, backing up your data, restoring your opearting system and applications, and reloading your data, can get your computer back to running just like when you first purchased it. Of course, if your computer is old enough, given how far down prices for new computers have come these days, it might make the most sense to just buy a new one.

 

If you feel your computer just isn't up to speed these days, give us a call. Tell us what you are experiencing, and we'll be happy to offer some options and guidance to help get you running at the front of the pack again.

 

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