5 Tips for Fixing Your Slow PC

Dvanp002
edited August 2023 in PC Tech


Is your productivity at work starting to suffer because your PC is slow on the uptake? Have you experienced undeserved defeats in online gaming arenas because of a lack of responsiveness in your formerly impressive performance? Are files and apps slow to warm up and taking excessive amounts of time to open?  

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms on your PC, there is a decent chance that your computer could do with some maintenance and tender loving care to improve your machine's efficiency. Following these five tips for fixing your slow PC will help you put everything back to the speedy response times that you rely on for work and pleasure. 

Try Cleaning Your Registry to Make Opening Files and Programs Faster and Easier 

For those unfamiliar with the term, your PC's registry is effectively the heart of your Windows computer. It contains system settings for all your apps, software settings, and even hardware settings. If your registry is running properly, you will likely not notice any issues with performance. 

Should the settings become corrupted, damaged, or deleted, users can experience a notable slowdown in their PC's overall performance, disrupting operations across the device. Disruptions may be due to your PC having to search in multiple locations for singular files, not being able to locate files at all, causing Windows to boot up more slowly, and may even have a negative impact on the reliability of your internet connection.  

Several free and premium programs available online, including JetClean, Advanced SystemCare Free, CCleaner, Wise Registry Cleaner, and more, offer users the ability to fix their registry and resolve the issues described above. It is highly suggested that you create a backup registry file if an error occurs unexpectedly. 

Try Cleaning Out Any Clutter, Rarely Used Programs, and Non-Essential Files 

Although this will not come as a surprise to more experienced owners of a Windows PC, the larger the amount of your file storage that is taken up, the less efficiently your PC will operate. Files that could be considered clutter include unused apps, downloaded temporary files like documents, videos, photos, and thumbnails, years-old PDFs that are no longer useful, and so on. By having to search and navigate through thousands of files to locate the one item you need, the operational efficiency of your PC can take a sharp nose-dive.  

You can do several things to clear up space on your PC, including regularly checking and emptying your Recycle Bin to ensure that unwanted files are gone from your PC and deleting any apps you haven't used in months. It may also be worth investing in a USB stick, external hard drive, or cloud storage service to migrate non-essential files before removing them from your PC's hard drive. 

Adding More Memory Can Lead to Greater Speeds and Responsiveness 

While almost every computer owner is familiar with the term RAM (Random Access Memory), you might be wondering about the kind of impact that adding more memory to your PC might have. A general rule for a PC is that the larger the RAM you have at your disposal, the faster and more efficiently your programs will run.  

Each PC has specific physical limitations on the size and availability of expansion slots for installing additional RAM. In addition, the bus speed (a circuit that connects one part of the motherboard to another) of your PC's motherboard and the overall speed of your processor will also set the upper limit of RAM that your PC can use.  

One of the most important factors when buying RAM is its memory speed measured in MHz (Megahertz). Purchasing RAM with greater memory speed will lead to more visible results, although you may have to either remove and replace your existing RAM or add it to an expansion slot, depending on the configuration of your PC.  

Consider Swapping Your HDD For an SSD 

If you are the proud owner of an older generation of PC, the time may have come to consider making the switch from your traditional HDD (Hard Disc Drive) for an SSD (Solid State Drive) to boost your speed and performance significantly. HDDs have been the only option for desktop and laptop PCs for several years. While they last longer than their more modern counterparts, they are far more prone to physical damage and will decline in performance as they age. It is worth noting that SSD hard drives can cost as much as four times as HDD models for the same number of gigabytes, so be wary of sticker shock. Unlike HDDs that need to physically read hard drive discs, SSDs store data on a series of integrated circuits, allowing for far faster data transfer speeds. 

Update Your Outdated Programs to Ensure Operational Efficiency 

Although this will not surprise experienced PC owners, the importance of keeping all your system software, apps, and other programs updated to the latest version cannot be overstated. Updates contain necessary drivers, communication improvements, security protection, and other vital components that let your PC work quickly and accurately. If you do not have automatic updates enabled for your PC and various apps, you are not only making your computer slower and more prone to critical errors, but you are also leaving your system vulnerable to being exploited by malware, viruses, and other forms of cybercrime. 

Having a slow PC can be a real stress and anxiety point, so these helpful tips will ensure you know exactly what to do. There are multiple solutions to help you resolve the problems easily and quickly, allowing you to focus on what genuinely matters to you. 

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