Certainly one of the most common questions we hear is, “Why is my computer so slow?” While the answer is almost impossible to affirm without investigation, there are some things that will slow every computer down over time, and some things you can do about it. This is the second installment in this series.
Excessive Resources
One of the most common issues we see that causes slow computer performance is the excessive, unnecessary use of resources like memory and the CPU (central processing unit). While some services are necessary in order for your system to function properly (as expected), most of the time there are services, and processes running that don’t need to be.
Some of the most common culprits are:
- Weather and news applications
- Registry or Adware cleaners
- Multiple Anti-virus programs (this is really bad)*
- Update programs for almost everything
*With multiple anti-virus programs, you now have every single file scanned multiple times when opening, closing, saving, and sometimes scans of your entire file system might be taking place while you are trying to work.
Also note that McAfee Anti-virus seems to be the most resource hunger AV protection that we have seen. If your using McAfee and your computer is running slow, try uninstalling and finding a different AV protection.
Finally, manufacturers such as HP, Dell, Intel, and Asus often install multiple applications to “enhance your experience” with their hardware. Most of these are useless and only duplicate services and features that already come standard with windows… nevertheless, they take up system memory and resources that could be used to do whatever it is you want to do.
What to do?
The first step is to take a little time to go through your “Programs & Features” in Control Panel, and uninstall anything that you do not need. When that is complete, type “msconfig” in the start menu, or “run” command box, and click on the services tab. At the bottom you will see, “hide all Microsoft Services”. Click on that first so you don’t turn off critical operating system services. Then you can pretty much disable everything except for your AV protection services. If you find something doesn’t work the way you want it to after that, you call always come back and turn things back on.
Then click on the startup tab. In Windows 7 you will see a list of programs that start when Windows starts. You can then deselect anything that you don’t want running (everything but your Anti-virus program). In Windows 10 you will be redirected to the startup programs window, where you can select each startup program, and click the “Disable” button at the bottom right. When making changes in msconfig, you will be prompted to restart your computer.
Restart your computer and see how it does…. my guess it that it will be much faster than it was before.
Of course if you have any issues, or are not comfortable doing this yourself, just contact us and we’ll be glad to help.
Phone: 859-744-9969
Submit a Ticket: http://support.istam.net
Or Email us at: support@istam.net
Thanks so much and have a great day!