Steps to Help Speed Up Your Slow Computer
Is your computer running slow ? Are you tired and waiting for Windows to Start Up ? Or waiting for the internet browser to load your visiting website ? Well IF you are feeling frustrated and or sad cause your computer is running slow , Then don’t be . Here I will show you a few things you could do to help speed up your computer .
Most of the time when a computer is running slow is because there are certain things running in the background that might be using all your CPU / Processor Data . If your CPU is always tuck at 50 to 100 percent, Then your computer will be running slow , So make sure to check your Process via task manager and see if you have lots of process running . Another factor could be that if your computer has little amount of ram install , It will also slow your computer and programs down , also a Bad Virus and or Spyware will also cause your computer to run slow and sometimes make programs non responsive .
So here are some steps you could take to help make your computer running fast .
Lets start with CPU your Processor .
There are tons of processor out there in the market now a days , Some are running Single Core , Dual Core , Triple Core, Quad Core even 6 and 8 cores . Now for a simple person that really does not do much , Usually a dual core will be fine for a average Joe who just does basic data entry and or surf the internet . Now for someone who plays lots of Game or do some type of editing on their computer such as PhotoShop , AutoCad etc, Then a Quad Core or even more is needed, Depending on the need of those users and programs that there are using . One way to find out how much Core you have in your computer without installing a third party utility is to run task manager .
One way to open task manager is to right click on your Start Button toolbar below and choose Task Manager .
Right Click Toolbar for Task Manager
Once your Task Manager has open you will see the following Window .
Windows Task Manager
Now click on the Performance Tab on top to open the Performance Windows which will show you your CPU Core and Ram Utilization .
Task Manager Performance Tab
With the picture above you will be able to see how much CPU Cores you have install on your Computer . The more core you have the more better and stable your computer will become as you load Windows and Programs . For Windows XP a Single Core is fine , For Windows Vista and Windows 7 a Dual core if fine , for Windows 8 A Quad Core or more is fine , Even though Windows will run on a Dual Core , But for best performance , A Quad or more core will be best for Windows 8 .
Now let go ahead and use the task manager windows to see how much Process you have running on your CPU . To do this Just click on the Process tab on top of Task Manager . Once you open it then you will see all your background process that is running and below task manager in the bottom left hand side you will see how much total process you have running .
Task Manager Processes Tab
As you could see in the picture above , on this Task Manager there is 20 Process running on Windows XP , If you see for example that you have 20 process running but do not see all 20 process on the list, Then you might want to check the box on the bottom of the process list that say ” Show Process From All User” Checking that process will now show you all the process that are running in the background .
Now as I mention before, The more process you have running the slower your computer will get unless you have a lots of CPU Core and a good amount of Ram which will get into next after CPU Steps .
For Windows XP you should have between 20 to 40 process running in the background running when your computer start up , The amount of process depend on the programs you have running when your Windows Start Up . Remember that the only thing that should be running in your background is only your Antivirus , Spyware Programs, Your Drivers such as Your Video, Sound and wireless card , Usually everything else does not have to be running . Sometimes people will install a Instant Messaging program such as AIM, Yahoo , MSN, FaceBook , GTalk , Skype etc into their computer, Those program will automatically start when your Windows is loading which is not good , Is best to disable them and not let them start up unless you going to use it . By disable them in the startup , It will make your Windows start and load much faster . Here is a pretty good way to disable those annoying startup programs .
Click on Start then click on run and type in MSCONFIG on Windows XP , For Widows Vista and higher , Click on start and then in the search box type in MSCONFIG . When you type and click Run or Ok , Then following program will open known as System Configuration .
System Configuration
When that System Configuration Windows open, Go ahead and Click on the StartUp tab where the Red Error is pointing , Now there you will see a few boxes that are check and will need to be uncheck , By unchecking them , It will prevent those programs from starting up , But will not disable them if you need to use it
Below is how your StartUp Tab will look when you click on the Tab .
Click Startup Tab
Now here you could check all your StartUp Program , Now I really can’t say which one to disable as they are all different , But looking StartUp Item and command, You could easily identified which of those programs you could disable , Remember that you could disable everything there , except your Security and Drivers software . So make sure not to disable those . If you are having a hard time trying to figure which one to disable, Then feel free to send us a message and we will let you know .
Once you uncheck all the startup programs, You want to go ahead and click on Apply then OK , Now the System Configuration windows will close and a small box will pop up asking you if you want to restart now and or later , Lets click on Restart Now . IF for some reason , When your computer restart and your Video Display look different, Not able to connect online . Then don’t worried, you might have disable one of your Hardware Drivers . To fix this just open the System Configuration Windows Again , Go to StartUp and see what hardware driver you have disable, IF you do not know which one, Then just check all the box it and then click apply then OK and then restart your computer, Your Windows Should load normal and Video and the internet should be working normal as before . IF all went well and you were able to disable certain programs from starting up with your Windows , Then you should see a bit of speed improvement on your computer . If you open the task manager , The process count should not be less and your computer will open the programs a bit much faster . However, the internet speed will still be the same, but we will get to that in a few .
Well now that we have taken care of the Windows Process and Startup , We are going to move next Step which is the RAM install on your Computer also known to some people, Memory or Random-access memory .
Now the ram plays a big role in your computer as the CPU does but just a little more , Ram usually is a Memory stick that save data into your computer for faster read access . A ram could process / read data much faster , How fast . Well lets say 2000x time or more faster then a hard drive .
There are lots of different type of ram for your Desktop and or Laptop , Below is a picture of some ram for your laptop and or desktop for reference .
Desktop and Laptop Computer Ram
Now some computer when you buy them already come pre-installed with certain mount of ram , The less expensive your computer is the most likely the less amount of ram you have install on your desktop . to find out how much ram you have install on your Computer, You could check your system properties and will tell you how much ram you have install . To check how much ram you have install on your computer , We are going to do the following .
Right Click on My Computer Icon, Being in your Start Menu or Desktop , Once you right click on it , Choose properties . Now a new windows will open called System Properties .
For Windows XP or lower will look similar to this .
XP System Properties
For Windows Vista or Higher will look similar to this .
Windows Vista system Properties
Now that you know how much RAM you have installed on your computer , Now we will find out if you have enough RAM install in order to run Windows and any other programs without any issue and fast .
For Windows XP is best to have a minimum of 1GB installed or 2GB for better performance . For Windows Vista a minimum of 2GB or 4GB or higher for better performance . And finally for Windows 7 and Windows 8 4GB minimum or more then 8GB for better performance . With more amount of RAM install in your computer, Then better everything will perform, However, with low amount of ram, The less the computer will perform . You see, every-time you open a program, it utilize certain amount of ram, Sometimes ever more then what you have, But being there is no enough RAM install on your Computer, The computer will Utilize the hard Drive as ram by creating Virtual Memory from your hard drive . Now Windows automatically create Virtual Memory from your hard drive , It does this just in case you run out of RAM . When you start serving data from your Virtual Memory then your RAM , Your program will run slow and sluggish and sometimes they will freeze on your for a second or 2 .
To see how much Ram you are currently using on your computer, Lets Open the task manager and then click on the Performance Tab . When the performance tab open, Look at the Memory Windows right below the CPU Windows .
Look at the picture below to see the amount of ram being use .
In this Picture Below, A Computer Has 1GB of ram installed but is only using 306Mb of ram . This computer should be running pretty fast and has a lot of ram available for any other program to utilize it when needed .
Task Manager Low Ram
Task Manager Low Ram
In this Picture Below, A Computer Has 8GB of ram installed and is using 7.67GB of ram . This computer should be running pretty slow and has no RAM available for any other program to utilize it when needed , It will not depend on the Virtual Memory to make space for any other program that needs ram in order to perform .
Task Manager High Ram
Now as you could see why having a good amount of ram installed in your computer will make things run much smoothly in your computer . Now some people will have lots of ram install and will end up using all the amount of ram available on their computer, Well there could be lots of reason, One could be they have lots of program running in the program, as you could see on the high ram usage image . The Task Manager show that computer has about 99 process running in the background . Having that much Programs / Process running in the background, Will cause your computer to run slow and sometimes freeze, So if you see that you have a high process count on your Task Manager and is using up all your RAM , Then tried to close as many process you can , Usually you could do this by closing any program you have open . Also looking at the Toolbar section where the time is located , There you will see any programs that are open and running in the background . Look at the image below for how things most likely look where the time is located on the bottom right hand side .
TaskBar Windows
A lot of programs that are running there should not be running at all , Want to help free up some ram and cpu usage, tried to close some of those programs you do not use . There is no need to have AIM, Yahoo Messenger, GTALK or the weather icon there if you are not using it . The only things that usually should be there is only your Security Software you might have install , Your Volume, Video and Sound Drivers software and your network , Any other program is best to close them if you are not using them , Usually you could right click on the program you want to close and choose exit .
Now that you know how the RAM work and how you could free up some ram usage, go ahead and do it, This will usually help free up some ram and help with the system speed and program performance .
The next Step will be Hard Drive Performance , As we already know, The hard drive is a hardware inside your computer that stores all your information into your computer , Such as your Windows Operating System file, Your Pictures, Music , Videos and Program you have install on your computer , Without a Hard Drive, out computer will usually become useless as we do not have any storage space in our computer to load the files that are needed to run Windows . So hard drive is a very important hardware that is needed in our computer to do our everyday daily task in our computer . But overall time, are hard drive becomes old and start performing slow . This is normal for hard drive to becomes slow and eventually break down .
Now to optimize your hard drive to perform better and make the best use out of it, Lets do a few things to it . Now the first thing you need to do is listen to your hard drive , IF you could hear your hard drive and is pretty slow, Then you might have a pretty old hard drive in your computer, Uusally a new hard drive will barely make any loud sound, But some will do , IF you hear some pretty load sound coming from your hard drive, Then your hard drive will have to be replace, The prices of hard drive are pretty cheap now compare to how their were 10 years ago . You could usually find a 1TB hard drive which is 1000GB for about 50 to 80 USD depending on where you purchase them . A newer hard drive will be less noisy and perform a bit more better then a old hard drive .
Now here are a 3 things you could for your hard drive to run smoothly and perform better for Windows .
1) To start out you want to uninstall any program you are not using in your computer . By uninstalling all of those useless program , Well free up much needed hard drive space from your computer . You be surprise how many program are install on your computer that you did not install yourself .
2) Run a disk cleanup utility , Usually windows has a built in disk utility which will help clean your computer out of temporary file and folders that are left their by your internet browser, program installation and windows update . Running a disk Clean Up utility will help your computer get rid of all those file that are store in your computer and not being use . Also some virus and spyware like to hide in your Temp File and Folder, So usually running a disk cleanup will help remove and delete some virus and spyware that are hiding there . You be surprise how many junk is on a client computer when I run a disk cleanup . Some temp files and folders been store and now clean out for a few years . Some people never clean out their computer since they first bought it . Accumulating all those file and folder will make your hard drive space shrink . So make sure to do a clean up weekly if you can .
This are the step you could take to open the Windows Built in disk cleanup utility .
Open Disk Cleanup by
clicking the Start button
clicking All Programs
clicking Accessories
clicking System Tools
and then clicking Disk Cleanup.
If the Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection dialog box appears, select the hard disk drive that you want to clean up, and then click OK.
Disk Cleanup
In the Disk Cleanup Options dialog box choose whether you want to clean up your own files only or all of the files on the computer.
Disk Clean Up
Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Click the Disk Cleanup tab, and then select the check boxes for the files you want to delete. When you finish selecting the files you want to delete, click OK, and then click Delete files to confirm the operation. Disk Cleanup proceeds to remove all unnecessary files from your computer.
Please note that the Disk CleanUp Utility does takes a few minutes to complete . So be patient as it does it’s needed clean up .
3) Well now and final step to help out and optimize your computer is to Defrag your Hard Drive . Doing a Hard Drive defragment will greatly help speed up your hard drive and the computer will be able to access the information needed from your hard drive .
By doing a defragment , you are bringing all the files to the front of the computer . This is good as you want all your information to be in front of your computer instead of scatter all over the place .
Think about it like this . you have a deck of cards and let see if your Computer File . If you throw the stack of cards in a room which is your hard drive, It scatter all over the place . Now tried to look for Heart of Kings . IS going to take you a awhile to find it as it’s scatter all over the place . Now stack up the cards in a row and you will be able to find the King of heart and you will it faster . Well this is the same way your hard drive work . Your files are all over the place, So running a defragment in your computer . It will help defrag and put all those information right at the beginning of your hard drive . Make your computer work less to find the information and load the files needed much more faster .
To run Disk Defragmenter on your computer follow the steps below .
For Windows XP
click Start
point to All Programs
point to Accessories
point to System Tools
and then click Disk Defragmenter.
For Windows Vista – 7
clicking the Start button
clicking All Programs
clicking Accessories
clicking System Tools
and then clicking Disk Defragmenter.
Click Defragment Now.
Below is how your Hard Drive will look when not defrag and when is defrag
windows defragment disk
The Nest Step thing you could do to help speed things up in your computer and is really simple and short . Is to run a Virus and Spyware scan on your computer . Running both of those security software in your computer will help speed up your computer by removing any spyware and or virus that you might be running in the background which is causing your computer to run pretty slow . Virus and Spyware tend to use lots of RAM and CPU Usage bring your computer sometimes to a scroll, So make sure you install and run a good antivirus software on your computer and run a weekly scan if possible. This will help make sure your computer stay clean of pest and performing fast .
If you do not have any security software install, Then head over to our download section by clicking here http://thirty5tech.com/downloads/ and download a free AntiVirus and Spyware program you could use to help remove any virus your computer might have and help protect your computer from getting infecting with any virus .
And Final Step, To help make your internet run faster . Well this is pretty hard as there a lot of factor that comes into place . But here are a few things you could do to help speed your browsing experience in your Computer Internet Browser .
Sometimes the more people you have connected into your computer, The more slower your internet will get . Your ISP give you a certain amount of computer speed . The more people that is connected to the Internet line of you , the more slower it will get . Especially if someone is watching a Video on their computer such as NetFlix, Youtube, Hulu or any other streaming video application . They will consume the most bandwidth from your internet and slow the internet connection down .
Also if someone is using a P2P program to download music, games, movies such as Limewire or torrents etc , Then that also will slow the internet connection as well .
Being connected directly to the computer via Ethernet cable instead of Wireless will make the internet perform much more faster .
Well This is all for this Steps to Help Speed Up Your Slow Computer . I do hope that this little small tutorial was able to get your computer to perform a bit much faster . Even thought there are a few more things you could do to make your computer run faster , By doing a bit more tweaks and upgrading your hardware .
This basic information should be good enough for a average computer users to follow . However, IF you are still having issue with computer running slow and need a Tech to stop by your location and help you take care of the computer problem you are having, Then feel free to let us know .
If there is some type of error with what we wrote down or don’t understand , The please let us know by sending us a message .