Sometimes your computer suddenly starts running slowly or freezes for unknown reasons. To figure out what's wrong, diagnose and fix the problem, you can resort to several procedures. In this article we will look at what to do if the computer slows down and freezes, typical causes of malfunctions and describe ways to solve them.
Reason #1: A running process or service
Typically, a slow computer is caused by an unstable/memory-consuming process. Running applications can be seen in the Windows Task Manager, but the standard manager does not show some of them.
To see all the processes, it is better to use a special program. We'll look at the best app for this - Anvir. With its help, you can find the process that is slowing down your computer.
Download Anvir from the official website
After installing and running the program, you will need to:
To understand in detail what each process is, you can right-click on it and select two options:
Based on the information received, you can decide what to do with the running process, leave it or stop it.
In addition, running services can also cause your computer to freeze. To view them you will need:
As with processes, you can find information about services on the Internet or check for viruses. After deactivating unnecessary applications, you will need to restart your PC.
Reason #2. Startup programs
The system startup contains a list of applications that start after the OS starts. To speed up the system and prevent your PC from freezing, you can try to remove everything unnecessary from there.
For Windows 7 and its predecessors will need to do the following:
In Windows 10, startup settings can be found in the task manager, which opens by pressing the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Delete and selecting the appropriate line.
Reason #3. Lack of free space
Sometimes your computer freezes due to lack of free disk space. This is usually partition C. To view information about available memory you will need:
Reason #4. Viruses
It is also possible that your computer is freezing due to a virus. To clean the system you can use
Reason #5. Overheat
Sometimes the computer freezes due to heating of individual parts. To check their temperature, you can use Speccy program
Install the utility and run it. You will see the temperature of your computer components. If any device exceeds the temperature of 70-80 degrees, while the computer is not busy with any activities, That this oh not normal
.
You will need to check and fix the cooling system of the component that is heating up.
Reason #6. System unit contamination
It also sometimes happens that the computer slows down and freezes due to dust in the system unit. Clean it using a vacuum cleaner and a brush. Turn off the computer and blow it with a stream of air. After this, you can check all the cord connection contacts if necessary, reconnect them.
Reason #7. RAM
Often, unstable operation can cause your computer to freeze. You can check it using a standard Windows application.
Before turning on the PC again, a memory test will begin, after which the OS will boot and notify you of the results with a pop-up window in the Windows system tray.
If errors are found, you can clean the contacts connecting the RAM to the motherboard and repeat the test. If this does not help, then you will need to replace it with a new one.
In conclusion, it must be said that first check the temperature of the computer components and then move on to the software. Good luck.
As a rule, every PC user has experienced a slow computer. At the same time, even the most mundane and simple tasks were no longer performed at the same speed as before. But as soon as you install a fresh OS, the speed returns to its previous level. And after some time everything repeats itself again - the computer works slowly. What to do in such a situation?
Ordinary users try to solve such problems by simply reinstalling the operating system. Usually this measure helps for a while. But this process is long, you can restore performance much faster if the problems are related to the software. If the hardware becomes corrupted, even installing a clean system will not help; other measures are needed. In both cases, the computer is slow. Read the article to find out what to do to solve the problem.
So, to put your electronic friend in order, you need to perform a number of actions. Remember that all measures must be applied comprehensively, only in this way the effect will be maximum.
Temporary files
If your computer is running slowly, it is advisable to first clear Windows 7 of completely unnecessary files. The operating system independently creates them during operation, but does not always delete them. To display them, you need to configure settings for showing hidden files and directories.
Open My Computer and press the ALT button on your keyboard to display the top menu bar. In it, select “Tools” - “Folder Options”. In the properties window, find the checkbox that is responsible for showing hidden and system files and directories. After this, all you have to do is click “OK”.
Go to the “Users” directory (there may also be “Users” or “Documents and Settings” options), which is located in the system disk cortex. Here you will see several folders that are named after the usernames in the OS.
Each directory hides each user, his settings, the “Documents” section, shortcuts located in the “Start” menu, and many system directories.
Over time, a great many of these directories can form, especially if the computer is on a network and each user uses their own unique login/password pair to connect to the computer.
Over time this trend will lead to two problems
- Reducing the amount of free space on the system partition.
- Slow OS.
Moreover, all this happens even if users do not save any files. But Windows still adds new elements to temporary storage for its needs while they are running. According to the developers, directories for storing temporary files should be cleared immediately after turning off the computer, but this does not always happen, and “garbage” accumulates there.
Go to any user's directory and follow the path "Appdata/Local/Temp". Typically, you will see a huge number of small files here. But since they exist, records about them are stored in MFT (a table that helps the OS find a particular file). And as the number of files increases, the table also grows, and this slows down the system. In addition, also look in the folders “Appdata/Local/Temporary Internet Files” and “C:/windows/temp”
If your computer starts to slow down, feel free to clear these three directories first.
Garbage removal is complete. Now uninstall all applications that you do not use at all. Consider this the main rule for fast computer operation - drive C: contains only the system and essential programs. Remember that “Documents” and “Desktop” are also located on the system partition. Don't clutter these directories with heavy files.
Autoload
When optimizing system performance, it is not a bad idea to clear startup from unnecessary applications, because each running process reduces the speed of the computer. Click on Start and select Run. Here, type the command “msconfig” into the input line.
In the configuration window, go to the “Startup” tab. All items that are checked indicate which applications and programs are launched in the background immediately after Windows starts. Like any other, they take up space in RAM and use all other computer resources. The startup list is displayed in several columns:
- Startup item (shows file or product name).
- Command (path to the directory where the executable file is stored).
- Location (registry key responsible for launching the element).
- Manufacturer.
- Shutdown date.
Uncheck everything that you consider unnecessary. Look in the tray on the taskbar. Perhaps there are too many icons that you don’t click on at all, and it is because of the work of unnecessary programs that the computer began to slow down. The main thing is to leave the antivirus program and elements of the Microsoft manufacturer in startup. The fewer resources are used in real time, the better the running and running applications will feel.
XP-AntiSpy
If your computer slows down a lot, you can use not only manual methods to solve the problem, but also automated ones. The xp-AntiSpy utility is distributed completely free of charge and works on all modern operating systems (except Windows 8). The application automatically disables unnecessary ones. It has full Russian localization. If you don't understand a menu item in the program, just hover over it and a tooltip will appear with a comprehensive description.
To enable any parameter, just tick it. After final setup, simply click on “Accept”. When finished, restart your PC.
Defragmentation
Often, users cannot understand why the computer began to work slowly, but they also do not remember about regular maintenance. If your computer is slow, do not forget about an effective means of optimizing access to local data - defragmentation. When the disk is used for a long time, the files become unorganized. Composed of fragments, one file can be distributed across the entire surface of the hard disk, rather than stored on it in the form of a sequential structure. Defragmentation reverses this process by moving parts of files to neighboring clusters.
To start maintenance, right-click on any local disk and click on “Properties”. After that, go to the “Service” tab. Here you can see several options, click on “Run defragmentation”.
Everything is simple here. In the window, you can select the disk that needs to be defragmented and, in fact, give the application a command to get down to business. Nothing extra. You can also configure defragmentation on a schedule. Before starting work, the program will test the disk, and if optimization is not required, it will say so; it will also warn the user if there is too little free capacity on the partition. Sometimes, if there is little free space, it is impossible to perform defragmentation; you will have to delete something. Do not defragment if you are using a solid state drive, this process may ruin it.
Defragmenting the paging file
There is a wonderful file in Windows operating systems called “pagefile.sys”. This can be considered to be a section of RAM that is located on the hard drive. There Windows stores data that it needs to work but is not critical in terms of access speed. This file is always occupied by the system, so defragmentation by standard means sometimes cannot be performed. If the swap file is fragmented, the computer is slow. “What to do in this case?” - you ask.
To defragment the page file, you need to use third-party utilities, such as System File Defragmenter. After launch, a window will open in which it will be written how many separate fragments “pagefile.sys” is divided into. To optimize access time, check the “Defragment” checkbox in the application and, as in any other program, click “OK”. After a reboot, the swap file is optimized automatically.
At the end of the work, the application will notify the user with the message “pagefile is already 1 fragment”. Also, during operation, some registry hives will be optimized, which will also help increase loading speed. No further action is required from the user, the OS will boot on its own.
Viruses
If your computer slows down a lot, perhaps it simply has a few (or many) friends. This happens especially often if the computer is often used on the Internet, if external flash drives or portable hard drives are rarely connected to it.
Most often, the virus is disguised, so it is not so easy to determine whether it is running. Don't try to do this by opening the task manager. Malware almost always spends most of its time in the active phase, looking for ways to spread itself or opening security holes, which slows down the PC. If the computer is already infected, checking for viruses using tools installed in the OS will not help. There is only one piece of advice - download a distribution that can create a bootable flash drive or CD, for example, Cureit.
Use only products with the latest virus databases. Malicious programs are constantly being improved by their creators to ensure the maximum level of camouflage.
Antivirus
We got rid of viruses, will we really now have to get rid of the antivirus, leaving us completely without protection? Such drastic measures, of course, are not required, but it must be said that antiviruses often consume a lot of system resources for their work, and as a result, the PC works very slowly. The computer would be happy to devote more time to applications, but it cannot; anti-spyware programs have higher priority. And it’s not at all necessary, the software fights against malware, often the antivirus simply conducts full surveillance, checking everything and everyone. It's rare to suffer from these problems, but if your workstation is considered solidly average, there's a reason to do some analysis.
First, go to the software manufacturer's website and check to see if there are any new versions that have addressed the performance issue. Also, if you are using the latest developments by programmers, it would be a good idea to study the information about the release of the program; it is quite possible that the latest developments have a beta or test version status.
If updates are not required, and there are no complaints about performance from other users, disable real-time protection in your antivirus. Work without it for a while. If the computer begins to slow down much less, the cause can be considered identified. Give up your usual application in favor of another manufacturer.
Be careful never to disable or uninstall antivirus software when surfing the Internet. Before deactivating the antivirus to work outside the global network, a full virus scan of all system partitions must be performed.
Remember - Windows usually starts to work slowly when several of the described software factors come into play at the same time; the hardware part is much less likely to sin.
Overheat
If your computer is running very slowly, it would be a good idea to check the temperature of its main components (HDD, CPU, RAM, video card). Due to high temperatures, computer components not only begin to work slowly, but also wear out faster; sometimes a week or even one day of such work can “burn out” the device, which will require its replacement.
Stress tests are used to check the temperature and overall stability of the system. One of these is offered by the AIDA64 program. You just need to click on the chart icon in the top menu of the application, select the temperature of which devices to display on the graph, then click on the “Start” button. Be careful, during this test all computer components are loaded with work “to the fullest”, and the program will not stop even if the temperature readings go beyond normal limits.
You can test your computer in a more gentle mode, without running the test, but simply leaving the window with the graph while you work. Just switch to it regularly to study the metrics, especially paying close attention to the charts during operations that require a large percentage of hardware resources. To find out what operating temperatures may be optimal for a particular component, look at the device data sheets or go to the manufacturers’ websites. Typically these sources provide the most complete information.
If the computer boots slowly and runs due to overheating, try blowing out all the radiators located in the system unit, replacing all dust filters and changing the thermal paste on the central and video processors. It should be noted that after some time, cooling fans may begin to perform their duties not as efficiently as immediately after purchase, due to wear and tear on the mechanical parts.
Hardware problems
If your computer is slow to boot and run, the problem may be due to a breakdown of major or minor PC components. Most often the culprits are RAM or HDD sticks. You can check these two components without much difficulty, but if checking them does not reveal any problems, you will have to contact a service center.
To test RAM, go to Control Panel through the Start menu and select Administrative Tools. In the list that opens, double-click on the icon labeled “Memory Checker”. Choose between immediate and delayed reboot. Once enabled, the testing process will begin even before the operating system boots. If errors occur while reading or writing to RAM, this information will immediately appear at the bottom of the screen.
To check the HDD for bad sectors, open the Start menu and type “command line” into the search box. Enter the command “chkdsk c: /f /r /x” into it. A reboot will be required to complete testing. Instead of C:, the letter of any other section can be used, and it is advisable to check all of them. Bad sectors can be marked as unused, and data from them can be copied to the working part of the disk, but if the HDD begins to crumble, it is better to replace it as soon as possible. Recovering data from a drive that has failed is much more difficult than from one that is just showing the first signs of wear.
For experienced users who assembled their computer themselves, we can advise you to try changing each device separately and check whether the software component continues to malfunction. This method is quite effective, but requires a second computer, so it may not always be applicable.
Narrow places
It happens that we work on technology that is already an order of magnitude outdated. You don’t want to throw away such equipment, and it is mainly used for everyday tasks that are not too resource-demanding, but if your computer is still running slowly (do you have Windows XP installed, which is not resource-demanding, or any other OS), think about its configuration.
If a decent processor has taken up space in the system unit, but only 512 megabytes of RAM help it carry out all the user’s orders, most likely you need to add several sticks of RAM. The opposite situation also happens: 2 gigabytes of RAM are installed, but the old Celeron Northwood is working hard in the socket.
The equipment is outdated
Of course, this reason is often obvious, but it also needs to be said. If the computer began to work very slowly, and it was purchased quite a long time ago (3-5 years ago), then it could easily become outdated. Of course, if you do not update the software at all, do not run modern games on your machine, or are still working on an operating system that is outdated along with the computer, this problem will not affect you. But if you installed something new on old equipment, check whether the hardware meets the system requirements that apply to the software part.
Checking computer speed
If your computer is already fast, but you want to further optimize the system, you will not be able to determine whether it is faster or slower after changing the parameters. Special programs that are used by overclockers will come to the rescue to see even the slightest changes in the speed of the computer. And these programs are called benchmarks.
To check the speed of your computer, you can use the AIDA64 application. It has several benchmarks, mainly aimed at testing the speed of RAM and CPU; in addition to your own results, you can look at the results of other users and those that are considered reference by the software manufacturer.
If your car is slow, you have performed every imaginable software optimization and are absolutely sure that the slow operation is due to a hardware bottleneck, there are also special applications for this case. They are called stress tests. During such an event, many graphs and diagrams are displayed on the screen, for example, the temperature of each module, data exchange speed, processor load, voltage. By comparing the results of a similar test performed on your machine and comparing them with the reference ones, you can calculate which equipment requires repair, replacement or maintenance. Always monitor the indicators during such activities; it is better to stop the test if, during an increase in load, the processor temperature rises sharply or the voltage value drops.
To check the speed of your computer and understand which component has begun to work ineffectively, you can also use the tools built into the OS. Press the keyboard shortcut “Windows+Beak\Pause”. Here you will see a number indicating the overall PC performance index, the speed test was performed earlier. Usually you can't use the Aero theme without it.
- Memory (RAM).
- CPU.
- HDD.
- Graphics (Video adapter).
Remember or write down all the values, since it is impossible to know the current speed of the computer without rewriting the estimates. Look on the right side of the window for a link that says “Repeat assessment.” The benchmark will start running. During this time, it is recommended not to touch anything or use any other programs. If any of the updated numbers are much lower than the value from the earlier test, then the device has become ineffective in performing its duties. As a result, the computer runs slowly. What to do in this case? The answer is simple - change the element to a new one.
I was even a little confused, because there could be hundreds of reasons. But after a few seconds I decided to start the discussion with the most common problems that can contribute to the computer not working properly. Many people still believe that it is enough to restart the computer and everything will immediately work normally, but this is far from a correct assumption. There are many cases in which a reboot will not help, and that’s what we’ll talk about today.
Local drive C is full
One of the most popular reasons why a computer slows down is improper use of memory. We download dozens of files to our computer every month and don’t always think about where they are saved. But this is very important, because computer memory is not endless and sooner or later everyone runs out. Only someone monitors this and deletes unnecessary files in time to upload new ones. And some people keep pushing a bunch of information until the computer completely crashes.
So, friends, it is very important to keep the information on your computer as clean as possible. And the most important thing is not to overload the local drive C. After all, it is on it that your operating system is stored by default. Therefore, when the memory is overloaded, the computer simply does not have the ability to physically work in the correct mode.
It probably won’t be enough to just say it. Let's now everyone who reads the article check the computer's memory and find out if there is such a problem at the moment. To do this, go to the “My Computer” shortcut or through Explorer, but the main thing is that a window opens in front of you, in which local and external drives will be listed. Among them, we are mainly interested in local drive C, so we look at it carefully, if the memory indicator is blue, it means everything is in order at the moment, but if it is highlighted in red, then rest assured it’s time to delete unnecessary information, thereby unloading system.
I think the meaning is generally clear, if you don’t like to keep things in order, don’t expect good, stable work from your computer. For those who take care of their equipment, nothing goes wrong:
Heavy load on components
In the first few seconds, many may wonder what kind of load is on the components that can cause the computer to malfunction? I hasten to dispel your guesses; in this section I want to remind you that you should not forget about the maximum capabilities of your PC. Let's say you bought a computer, about 4 years have passed and you want it to still work just as well, but unfortunately, in reality this will not happen. The parts inside the system unit operate at fairly high temperatures, which somehow accelerates the wear of the iron.
Here you just need to understand that an old computer will only work slower every year. Not because it was broken or misused, but simply because it was old. But it also happens that when you buy a new computer, some programs glitch or freeze. It’s a rather offensive situation in which everyone begins to worry, some even swear, saying that they just bought a new one, but everything is already buggy. It is worth being patient and trying to understand why the glitch or freeze is happening. After all, as a rule, everything is fine on a new PC, so the first thing you should pay attention to is the load that you put on your computer.
Most likely, when you run one or two programs, the computer will work normally, but if you run something else at the same time (a game in the browser, a player with music, and at the same time an anti-virus scan), then just at this moment a failure may occur, as a result everything works very well. slow or freezes completely. From this behavior we can conclude that the computer simply does not have enough physical power of its components, that is, you demand more from it than it can. Each machine has its own maximum capabilities and it is advisable to know them or at least understand them.
The modern generation is not poorly versed in the structure of system units and almost everyone can conduct small tests that will help determine which part of the computer does not provide the required power. But people born before the 90s, in most cases, have difficulty “defeating” the structure of computers. I cannot tell you in one article what characteristics and details you need to look at, what tests to carry out to identify the load. Therefore, for those who are interested in being “friends” with their computer, it will help diagnose the PC and track most of the most important performance parameters.
Infection with malware and viruses
Now we have moved on to the most understandable section of the article, at first glance. After all, I most often hear from friends, clients and just acquaintances that the computer is slow because there are a lot of viruses in it. And even though you try to prove that this may not be the reason, people, even without understanding the principle of operation of the operating system, will foam at the mouth to prove that the computer is glitching precisely because of viruses, which probably exist, but cannot be found.
In such cases, the “debriefing” time increases several times, because it is necessary not only to solve the problem, but also to explain to the person what the real reason is. Without going off topic, we should partially agree that there are really a lot of viruses and they often infect the computers of inattentive or careless users. Although most often they overtake curious people when downloading pirated software or when visiting sites with liberated content.
I can disappoint many by immediately saying that there is no ideal antivirus that will save you from any infection. Therefore, even after installing a reliable antivirus, do not lose your vigilance and always use your head. But if you haven’t been able to avoid infection or you just think that perhaps the virus could have gotten to you somehow by accident. It is clearly necessary to conduct a high-quality check aimed at a “deep” search for malicious files.
I don’t see the point in analyzing each type of infection and how to solve it; I simply don’t have enough energy, time and knowledge. Therefore, I am ready to offer you an excellent, universal solution to the problem. I have already written a detailed article with practical examples and a video that explains how to correctly find and remove a virus from a computer?
Many errors in the database registry
Not everyone knows what the registry is and why it can slow down the computer. Let's try to bring a little clarity to this, I will try to write in the simplest possible language that everyone can understand. So, the registry is a huge database that simply stores operating system settings.
To understand a little better what is happening, let me tell you that when you install any new application (program or game), new entries (settings) will appear in the registry, designed for the correct operation of this application.
And so Hello everyone! Today we’ll talk about why your computer might slow down. If you begin to notice slow performance or loading of your PC. This means your system requires intervention. Most users do not know how to revive the system. Therefore, most often they reinstall the operating system. But this is not always convenient because over time, each of us accumulates information on our computer. We install a lot of different programs, and simply customize the computer to suit your needs. And after reinstallation, everything will have to be done again, and the time spent on reinstalling the operating system and setting up the PC will take a lot of time.
In addition, this may or may not help, it all depends on the reason why the problems started. Therefore, it is better to try to restore the computer’s functionality without resorting to reinstallation.
And so let's start, you began to notice that the computer began to slow down. It loads slowly and takes a very long time to launch various applications, and sometimes it generally freezes. There are several simple methods that can be used to restore functionality.
Three easy ways to speed up your computer
First What you need to do if your computer slows down a lot is to check your hard drive for errors and bad sectors. To do this, go to My Computer, right-click on the hard drive and click Properties.
In the menu that appears, select the service tab and click Run check. In the next menu, check the boxes Automatically correct system errors and Scan and repair bad sectors and click Start. After which a message will appear.
Click Schedule disk check and restart the computer. During the reboot process, the operating system checks the hard drive for errors and automatically corrects them. This may take a long time depending on the condition of your hard drive. Very often the computer slows down precisely because of problems with the hard drive.
Second After your hard drive has been checked and the computer has turned on, you need to defragment the disk. Defragmentation helps a lot. It consolidates scattered files on your hard drive. It is recommended to do defragmentation at least once a month. If you do not do this, the computer may slow down greatly. To do this, also go to My Computer, right-click on the hard drive and select Properties. In the window that appears, go to the Tools tab and click Defragment.
In the window that appears, click Disk Defragmentation and wait for the process to complete. If anyone wants to know more about whether a computer can slow down and freeze because of this, and what it is.
Third What you can do is clean the registry and remove all sorts of junk. Problems with the computer can also arise due to the fact that there are a lot of different unnecessary files in the system; this will not slow down the computer much, but these files will have a negative impact on the work.
To do this, we will use the free CCleaner utility. . After you have downloaded and installed the program, launch it. Click on the Cleaning tab and below click on the Analysis button. After the analysis is completed, you will see a list of unnecessary files and the size they occupy, click clean.
Now go to the Registry tab. Here everything is the same: click Search for problems and see a list of problems and then click fix.
CCleaner will offer to make a backup copy of the registry, click yes, indicate the path where the backup copy will be stored. In the next window, you can fix problems one by one, but if you have accumulated a lot of them, then click Evaporate marked ones.
Fourth What you need to do is update your anti-virus databases and scan your computer for viruses. If you have Nod32, then you can use the update server.
You can restore the system using these standard methods. This method will help you when there are no problems at the hardware level, i.e. the computer hardware is in working condition. If after all the steps described above, the computer continues to work slowly. This means you have more serious problems and need to try reinstalling the system.
One of the most common problems encountered on the Windows 7 operating system is that a computer or laptop “stumbles” or “slows down”. This manifests itself in the fact that the device begins to load much more slowly, respond to user actions, and ultimately slows down and refuses to work. There are a huge number of reasons for such freezing. They can be divided into two main blocks:
In each individual case, different actions must be taken. Let's look at the most common problems with slow Windows, as well as ways to solve them.
Lack of free space
For a computer or laptop to run quickly, the system requires sufficient memory. Most often, Windows is installed on the “C” drive. Due to inexperience, users install all other programs on it (sometimes even in system folders, like “program files” or “system 32”). Make sure that the disk on which you installed Windows has sufficient disk space for comfortable work.
Remove all unnecessary files and programs that are located on the system disk. Typically this includes the following directories:
- Desktop;
- Downloads;
- My documents (library, images);
- Trash files.
By the way, it is recommended to clean the desktop first. The presence of a huge number of different files, shortcuts, folders on it reduces the performance of a computer or laptop several times. By freeing up enough free space (so that the disk bar appears in blue rather than red), the computer will lag noticeably less.
Damage to system files
The next reason that a computer or laptop is very slow may be damage or the absence of files and folders important for the operation of the system. The reasons may be different:
- Initially incorrectly installed Windows 7.
- Critical errors after using installed Windows for a long time.
- Consequences of system infection with malicious files.
- Incorrect operation of a computer or laptop.
- Accidental deletion of important system files.
- Incorrect removal of third-party applications.
- Consequences of incorrect operation of the registry.
The easiest way to fix the problems listed above is to perform a system restore. The advantage of this function is that the procedure does not affect programs that the user himself installed on the computer (drivers and other software) or other personal files, but only checks the integrity of the system. If necessary, missing files are downloaded and the computer slows down less. Carrying out this procedure cannot have a negative effect, and after restoration the computer will only work faster.
If the damage is too serious, you have carried out the restoration, but the computer or laptop is still slow or slow, then you can think about the option of reinstalling Windows. This should only be done as a last resort.
Garbage in the registry and startup
As you use your laptop or computer (installing and uninstalling programs, copying files, connecting USB devices, etc.), many entries accumulate in the Windows system registry (). Some are duplicated, others are entered there by mistake. All this leads to system errors appearing, applications conflicting with each other, and the computer slows down and works slowly. To improve the performance of your computer or laptop, it is recommended to clean the registry. Of course, you don't have to do this manually. It is best to use the free CCleaner utility. In it you can not only fix registry errors, but also configure startup settings.
Many programs that are installed on a computer are loaded when the system starts. Sometimes these can be completely unnecessary applications that the user rarely uses, but when launched and working offline, they consume system resources. By removing unnecessary programs from Windows startup, your computer will not only boot faster at startup, but also run faster.
Virus infection
As a rule, the virus operates in stealth mode and requires a lot of system resources, which is why the computer slows down. The following symptoms may indicate that a computer or laptop is infected with viruses:
- the device freezes when performing certain actions (for example, opening “my computer”, the explorer takes a long time to update);
- files and folders are not deleted; on the contrary, they are missing or cannot be opened;
- critical errors began to appear;
- the browser’s home page and default search engine have changed, third-party extensions or intrusive advertising have been added;
- third-party programs have appeared that cannot be removed;
- the processor is loaded at 100% with closed programs;
- It is impossible to perform a system restore, start the task manager, or terminate one of the processes.
The problem of virus infection is complicated by the fact that they have a high priority. This means that if the system has a choice: to perform an action requested by the user or a virus, priority will be given to the virus. This results in a noticeable delay when running applications, and the computer slows down. To solve the problem, you need to do the following:
- install an antivirus if you don’t already have one;
- scan your computer for infected files;
- send found files to quarantine or delete.
The virus blocks the launch or installation of an antivirus program
Sometimes infected files change system settings. This results in the inability to run or install the antivirus. In this case, you need to do the following:
- Use the express check program. Such software does not require installation and is completely free;
- Perform a system restore. If this is also blocked by a virus, then reinstalling Windows (via a bootable USB flash drive or disk) will help save the computer;
- Before doing a full reset of Windows, do not forget to save important information to another flash drive (it should be empty), and then scan it on another device for viruses (if the files are infected).
As a rule, an express virus test gives a positive result and takes no more than 30 minutes. After such cleaning, your computer or laptop will work much faster.
Hardware failure
If the computer slows down a lot or starts to freeze completely for a certain time, while making strange sounds (knocking, creaking, noise), then this may indicate a serious internal breakdown and hardware malfunction. There are a number of problems that affect the speed of a computer, and some of them can be easily identified by the average user:
- hard drive failure;
- CPU overheating due to cooling system failure;
- cooler failure;
- presence of dust in the system unit or laptop.
Hard drive failure
The speed of a computer or laptop depends more than 70% on the hard drive. Unfortunately, the hard one does not last forever and tends to wear out. When this moment comes, some slowdowns are noticeable in the system. This is due to the fact that the hard drive consists of sectors on which information is stored. From time to time they are erased and marked by the system as “broken”.
When a computer reads information and enters a “broken” sector, the system crashes (a characteristic sound may appear), the computer freezes until it moves to another sector. Such a freeze can lead to a critical error and a system reboot. The more “bad” sectors there are, the more often the computer slows down and the closer the time is when the hard drive will have to be completely replaced. This problem is inevitable, but it can be delayed as much as possible and the consequences reduced. To do this you need to do the following:
- Defragment at least once a month. Full instructions.
- When cleaning your computer from dust, do not forget about the hard part; heating has a negative effect on it.
- Avoid physical impact on the hard drive from the outside.
If you suspect that one of the sectors is “broken,” use special utilities to find and restore them.
We look for bad (marked in red) sectors on the hard drive using the “Hd Tune Pro” utility
Overheat
Another common reason for a slow computer is overheating of computer components. It is quite easy to diagnose such a malfunction based on the following signs:
- The computer boots quickly and works for a while, then performance drops sharply.
- The cooler makes a lot of noise or is not audible at all.
- The computer turns off unexpectedly.
- If you have a laptop, you can simply put your hand on it and check the temperature by touch (there have been cases when the computer overheated so much that you could get burned!).
If the reason for slow operation is overheating, then you need to do the following:
- Determine which component is overheating (processor, chipset, hard drive). This can be done using any free utility or even gadgets for the Windows 7 desktop.
- Clean the system unit or laptop from dust and, if necessary, change the thermal paste.
This procedure will not only increase the speed of your device, but will also extend its life.
Prevention
The computer cannot start to slow down unexpectedly (except for physical impact on it, after which this can actually happen). Any problem begins gradually. To ensure that the device does not bother you with malfunctions for as long as possible, you need to do a number of procedures that will help improve productivity:
- Monitor the amount of free memory.
- Sort installed programs and uninstall them correctly.
- Check the registry for errors.
- Do defragmentation.
- Clean your computer from dust.
- Remove unnecessary debris from your desktop in a timely manner, empty the trash can, etc.
- Watch autoloading.
- Scan your system for viruses.
All this does not require a lot of time or special knowledge, but it will save you a lot of nerves in the future.
