The best thing about modern technology is that everything is just so fast. Computations that once took days to get through are now completed within seconds by modern computers. Everyday living has never been more convenient or efficient.
That’s why it’s so frustrating when computers go slow on you. Do you ever say when anything takes more than five seconds to load: “What century are we living in? The 1800s?” It’s 2016! Computers need to be fast. As a member of the millennial generation, five seconds feels more like five hours. But I’m sure millennials aren’t the only ones frustrated by slow computers. For those of you out there suffering with a snail’s-pace Windows computer, here are five tips on how to improve its speed:
1. CLEAR OUT YOUR DISK SPACE
Having a full hard drive can slow down your computer considerably. To give it a little more breathing room, go through your folders and delete any files you don’t need anymore. Some good places to look are My Documents, Downloads, and your hard drives on My Computer. Examples of files you may no longer need are photos, videos, or documents that you may have downloaded from the internet and that now show up in your Downloads folder.
2. UNINSTALL UNNEEDED PROGRAMS
Programs will take up the most disk space than any other file on your computer! You can therefore clear out a lot of disk space by uninstalling any programs that you don’t use anymore. To do this:
3. CHECK FOR VIRUSES
If you’ve noticed that your computer has all of a sudden slowed dramatically, this could be a symptom of malware. Perform a quick malware check on your computer to ensure that it’s not under attack from a virus. If you don’t have the antivirus software to do this, we suggest you install one immediately! Some good, reliable antivirus programs are: Symantec Norton Security, Bitdefender Internet Security, and Kaspersky Total Security.
4. DISABLE STARTUP PROGRAMS
The first sign of a slow computer is a slow startup! If your computer takes centuries to boot up, oftentimes it’s the result of too many programs automatically starting up with your computer. For some programs (such as antivirus software), automatic startups are probably a good thing – but for programs you don’t really need (such as Skype), here’s how to disable automatic startups.
For WINDOWS 7 users:
For WINDOWS 8 and 10 users:
5. INSTALL MORE RAM
If you’re desperate for more speed, you can add more RAM (i.e. storage) onto your computer at a relatively low cost. Installing more RAM is a manual task, so you will need to take your computer to your local computer store to get this done. This will speed up your computer noticeably.
Failing the RAM addition, it’s probably time to upgrade to a new operating system (or even a new computer) if you really, really can’t stand the crawling speed of your machine. However, a lot of the time, the reasons for low speed will be specific to the computer. So if you’re really eager to keep your machine, take it to your local computer store to have it checked out.