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Why is my computer running so slowly all of a sudden?

Close Some Open Programs

There are a few possibilities when it comes to determining why your computer is running more slowly than usual. Sometimes computers are slow to process commands if there are a large number of programs running. For starters, to troubleshoot the situation, you should close any open programs that you aren’t using. Programs that upload and download files take a lot of processing power so turning these programs off while you are trying to run other processes might help.

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Check your Free Hard Drive Space

Your computer might also be running slowly if there is too little free hard drive space for your programs to run normally. It is recommended to keep at least 10% of your hard drive space free for operations. You can check your free space:

•  
  1. Click the Start button, then choose My Computer
  2. Right click on the Local Disk C: in the Hard Drives section
  3. Choose Properties
  4. It will display the amount of used and free space on your hard drive

Choose OK to close

Check Programs Set to Start Automatically

You can also check which and how many programs are set to automatically launch when you boot up your computer. Too many programs opening and running at the same time might be slowing your system. To view and delete any unnecessary programs in Vista:

• Open Control Panel
• Click to choose the Windows Defender icon
• Click the Tools tab at the top of the screen
• Choose Show for All Users
• At the User Account Control prompt click Continue
• Under Category, choose Startup Programs
• Scroll the list to check it
• Select any programs that you want to change and click Remove, Disable or Enable
• Grayed out entries are system programs that should run at Startup and you shouldn’t try to change them

Run a Disk Scan To make sure that there is nothing wrong with the hard drive itself, run scandisk, which tests the drive.

• Click twice on My Computer
• Choose the hard disk drive C: by clicking it
• Right click the highlighted drive and choose Properties
• Choose the Tools tab
• Click Check Now
• If the computer asks to schedule the scan the next time it boots up, click OK and restart the computer to run the scan

Defrag the Hard Drive

The Windows Disk Defragmenter is another good tool to run every once in a while to improve your system’s performance by optimizing the hard drive. To run the tool:

• Open My Computer
• Right click the volume that you want to scan - most likely C
• Under the Tools tab, click Defragment Now
• Choose Defragment

Clean your Registry

Your computer might be running slowly because there are a lot of partial files or bits of code stored on your computer’s registry. It is part of your computer’s normal function to save pieces of code on the registry but over time these fragments can build up and interfere with other operations. Altering the registry has the potential to ruin your computer and destroy your programs and files if done wrong, so only attempt to make manual registry changes if you are familiar with the registry and its functions. There are registry scans available on the market like RegCure by Paretologic.

Run a Complete Malware Scan

Finally, update your PC security software and run a complete system scan. Malware can dramatically affect performance and a slow PC is one of the first symptoms of an infected computer.

Our PC’s performance is not satisfying us although it has 1GB RAM. Its working speed is not much better and it has been attacked by viruses.

PC Performance Tips

Even with one GB of RAM installed, if your PC is running Windows Vista, you may find one gigabyte is not enough. My daughter and I have nearly identical laptops running Vista. Hers has one gigabyte of RAM, mine has two. The difference is dramatic.

However, your PC may not be able to take more memory. If you can’t add more memory, you can still take proactive steps to squeeze out more speed. Let’s take a look at the options available.

Combat the Viruses and Spyware

You mentioned that viruses have been a problem, so let’s tackle that issue right away. If your computer has been attacked in the past, there’s a good chance that you have quite a few viruses and other forms of malware on your computer. Not only can these malicious programs damage your computer and steal confidential data like account numbers and passwords, they sap performance. Plus, vulnerable systems beget more malware, which compounds the problem. Your PC may have dozens of hidden programs all running at once - each taking up its fair share of available memory. In addition, many malicious programs called “downloading Trojans” actually invite other spyware and viruses into your PC.

Obviously, you’ll need a solid defense and a way to clean these infections. Check out our reviews of anti-virus applications here. Several of the products that we reviewed are available for free for “personal use” while others require a yearly subscription. Unfortunately, in this connected environment, these products are an absolute must.  

Remove “Start Up” Programs

After removing spyware and viruses, you should notice an immediate boost in performance. After all, if you had numerous hidden applications running without your knowledge and now they’re gone, they will no longer be gobbling up your computer’s memory. Now, let’s stop all of the legitimate programs from doing the same.

When installing software, many of us just click the “OK” and “Next” buttons without giving it much thought. By doing so, we often allow the software to set itself up for automatic startup each time Windows boots up. Unless you use these programs each and every time you use your PC, there’s no need to load them because they’re just taking up memory that you’d most likely appreciate having available for other tasks.

You can prevent programs from automatically loading by going to the Start button and typing msconfig into either the Search bar (Windows Vista) or the Run dialog. Once launched, click the Startup Items tab. Remove the checkmark from any programs that you would prefer to load on demand only. For example, if you rarely use QuickTime, remove the checkmark from the QuickTime box. In the future, you can launch QuickTime by using its icon or shortcut found in the Programs list.

Vista Performance Center

Vista includes an entire section dedicated to performance, the Performance Information and Tools center. This section is found in the Control Panel. Spend some time exploring this area and making adjustments to your PC. For example, you can adjust startup items, visual effects, indexing, and more - all of which can improve your computer’s performance. The Advanced Tools section is particularly useful with detailed performance reports and specific suggestions offered for improving your computer’s performance.

Other Tips

There’s so much that can affect performance ranging from having too large of a desktop image set as your background wallpaper to errors residing in your Window’s registry. Spend some time looking through our PC Performance section where you’ll find loads of advice for speeding up sluggish computers.

I have an HP (recently new) Professional and just got two, 1GB RAMs installed but for some reason everything is slower, mainly the Internet. I have trouble watching programs on YouTube but it says my computer connection is very good or excellent.

There are two main reasons why the Internet, particularly videos, runs slowly: viruses and your ISP connection. Having trouble with your registry can also slow things down and you should probably run a registry cleaner if that is the suspect cause, but as you said your computer is relatively new, let’s focus on the other two possibilities.

Slow Bandwidth

You don’t say what kind of Internet connection you have, but speed can vary depending on how you connect. Videos and large files will have trouble over a dial-up connection, but should run well with DSL or cable. If you are running with dial-up, it doesn’t matter what kind of computer you have, you’re going to have viewing problems. Consider upgrading if that’s possible.

You can check the speed of your bandwidth at sites like these:

http://www.bandwidthplace.com/ and

http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/ . CNet will run a comparison of your bandwidth to other ISP providers. If you find that your bandwidth is slow, you can optimize your Internet connection at Cablenut:

http://cablenut.com/ .

Spyware or Adware

Spyware and adware are programs that are downloaded when you are visiting other websites. They track user activity and can use up your computer’s resources and slow you down. You should be running a good antivirus program regularly, particularly if you spend a lot of time on the Internet.

You can download some good protective software here:

• AdAware
• Spybot
• Paretologic antivirus

Update Flash Player

Most videos, including YouTube run with Adobe Flash Player. If you have an old version, it might not run as well. You can go to the Adobe website and download the latest version here: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash.

Because your computer is new and it looks like you have plenty of memory, one of these options should help speed up your computer.