Help! My PC is running slow. What can I do?

A PC that is running slow, or even crashing at times, is one of the most frustrating situations for a computer user.  Hours or days can be lost and time is a precious commodity that can’t be regained.

If your PC’s speed is sluggish here are three areas that you can check, which should improve the performance of your computer.

Improve PC speed

1. Disk defragmentation

Over time files on a disk can become defragmented. Defragmentation occurs when one file may be stored in three or four parts, spread over the disk.

When the file is accessed or opened it can take the disk a little longer to read these three or four parts.

Defragmenting the disks moves these separate parts into one contiguous part making it quicker for the disk to read it.

2. Anti-virus scan

Virus and Malware infections not only make your data vulnerable but can also impact the performance of your PC, sometimes making it practically unusable.

Performing a virus scan with an anti-virus program will find any infections and remove them.

3. Uninstall unwanted programmes

Over time more and more programmes are installed on your PC. You probably find these programmes are used less and less, but continue to use precious hardware resources.

Going through your list of installed programs and uninstalling those which you know you do not use anymore could free up these resources for use with other programs.

A word of warning about PC cleaning tools

Be careful using cleaning tools such as registry cleaners as they can cause irreparable damage to your system and make it unbootable.

If this occurs the only way to get the PC back up and running is to reinstall windows and all your programmes and then restore your data from a backup, which is a time consuming exercise.

Another thing to be aware of are programmes that suddenly appear on your PC informing you there are performance problems and/or errors that need fixing.

Be especially careful if it is a program you do not remember installing as these types of programme often ‘sneak’ in as part of another installation, or worse may be some kind of phishing program that asks you to pay for the repairs which may result in you giving your bank details away.

PC Clean-up Service

Hopefully your PC is now running at a good speed, but if you are still experiencing problems, arranging a PC clean-up is the next best step.  If you would like to book a full PC clean-up please give us a call on 01737 824 003 or email rod.bradbury@tlptech.co.uk.

“My laptop was running slowly and started to freeze up around 2 to 3 times a day. I asked TLP Technology to have a look at it and they suggested giving it a clean-up. It is now quicker, and more importantly, has not frozen or crashed since they returned it to me.”  Colin Gooderson, Formosa Renewable Energy