My Computer is Slow

There are many reasons why computers run slow. It may simply be perception, hardware limitations or software or operating system issues. The challenge is to determine the nature of the slowness. Is the computer always slow, or just sometimes? If sometimes, then when? Does the computer take forever to start up? Or is it slow while you are surfing?

My computer is slow - Perception

The computer is slower than what? You may just think you have a slow computer. Are you on a faster computer all day and come home to an older machine? Or is it the other way around? Can you live with this perceived slowness, or are you just looking for an excuse to buy a new computer?

You may not need to buy a new computer. You can make a slow computer faster with an hardware upgrade: more memory, a new graphics card or both might just do the trick.

My computer is slow - It takes forever to start.

If your computer is slow to start, it may be because there are a lot of programs which start up every time you turn on the computer. You might not need all of these start up programs. Search online for a start up manager so that you can explore which programs are starting and if you need them.

My computer is slow - It used to be fast

Overtime, the computer runs slow. Performance naturally degrades with computer usage. The computer can slow because of disk and registry fragmentation. You can find tools to tune-up the computer performance by looking on-line.

My computer is slow - Too many apps

Having too many applications open at once can cause the computer to run slow. Your computer only has so many resources. Try not to exceed its sweet spot by opening lots of applications. It may be that your computer can handle only one application at a time.

My computer is slow - I cannot browse the internet

There are multiple reasons why your computer may be slow for surfing. It could simply be your ISP. If you have a cable modem, you are sharing the cable with your neighbors and with cable programming. Sometimes there is a traffic jam and your connection speed slows down.

My computer is slow - You have a virus!

Hopefully you are running an anti-virus program and it is up to date. If not, you may have a virus. A virus is a computer application like any other software. Each software application consumes the computer resources. A virus can consume significant amounts of resources thereby denying your application any room to work.

My computer is slow - Spyware

It could be spyware. The effects are similar to a virus, the computer runs slow, but your computer will not be damaged

So there you have multiple answers to "My computer is slow!" Trying to get to the bottom of it takes some sleuthing and specialized "tune-up" and other diagnostic software. Solutions can be found by searching for articles on line and following links.