Why is My Computer So Slow?

If your computer is running slower than normal and you are considering taking it to be looked at by a computer repair specialist, before you spend any money on getting your computer back to its normal level of performance, you should take a look at some of the common problems that cause a computer to run slowly.


While these factors may not be what's causing your computer to run slowly, there is a chance that you can fix your computer without spending a single dime, and instead just an investment of a minimal amount of time and effort into looking at the following potential issues (please note that all of these issues pertain to PC computers):

Is your Hard Drive Too Full?
If your hard drive has less than 500 MB of free space (you can check to see how much space your hard drive has available by right-clicking the hard drive icon and navigating to the menu that displays the properties of your hard drive), it can have a negative impact on the performance of your computer. To resolve this issue, you can delete unused programs or large media files (such as movies). If you don't want to delete anything, you can store these unused programs and large files on a storage medium such as a CD or DVD, or you can transfer them to an external hard drive.

Do you have Multiple Drivers that are Conflicting with Each Other?
A driver is a program that controls a specific device. However, there is a possibility that you could have multiple types of one driver (such as an older version and a newer version), which can cause conflicts when Windows is unable to determine which driver is correct.

To find out if this is the cause of your computer's slow performance, boot your computer into Safe Mode by holding down the F8 key as your computer starts up. Once Safe Mode has loaded, navigate to the Devices menu by going through Start, then Settings, then Control Panel, then System and selecting Devices.

By clicking on all of the drivers that are listed, you will be notified whether or not there are any issues through the use of a yellow or red exclamation mark. If you find out that there is an issue involving conflicting drivers, you can delete the duplicate or obsolete versions of the driver.

Is your Hard Drive Fragmented?
When programs are loaded and deleted, they can cause your hard drive to become fragmented, which can result in a decreased level of performance. To avoid this problem, use the tools that are included in your operating system to defragment the hard drive at least once a month. This can be accomplished by right-clicking the hard drive icon, opening the Properties menu, selecting the Tools tab and then choosing Defragment Now.

Is your Computer Running Too Many Programs at One Time?
A major cause of decreased computer performance is running too many programs at one time. Because programs can run in the background without your knowledge, you may be running far more programs at one time than you realize.

To see all of the programs that are running are your computer at once, press the keys CTRL, ALT and Delete at the same time. If there are open programs that you don't need running in the background, you can close them by selecting them and then clicking End Task.

Is your Computer Infected with Spyware, Adware or Viruses?
As you are surfing the Internet, programs like spyware, adware or even viruses can be downloaded and added to your computer without your knowledge. All three of these malicious types of programs are leading causes of making a computer run slowly.

To find out if these types of programs are present on your system (and to then remove them), you will need a special piece of removal software. The five most popular pieces of free malware detection and removal software are:

Ad-Aware 2008
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Trend Micro HijackThis
SpywareBlaster