My Computer has Started Running Slow

If your computer has suddenly started to run slower than normal, then this is usually easier to fix than a computer that always runs slow. Suddenly slow, is almost always caused by a recent addition to your computer. This could be a new piece of hardware or new software. The problem becomes harder to fix, if you have installed or added more than one new item, at the same time.

I have already covered many issues affecting computer performance in previous articles, including: Viruses, Spyware, Resources and Low System Memory.

If you have read any of my earlier Articles, you will know that I keep ‘banging on’ about only adding one new thing at a time to your computer. If you add one new piece of hardware, for instance, and your computer starts hanging or crashing or suddenly it runs a lot slower, then you know what is causing the problem. You also know how to fix it. Simply remove the new hardware.

Why your new hardware is causing issues, is another matter. It could be faulty or it may not be compatible with your motherboard. It is also possible that the software or drivers for your new hardware are causing a conflict. Check out one of my previous articles for help with this. But for now, you know what has caused your computer to slow down and you can return it to its previous state.

So what happens if you install two new pieces of hardware and your computer starts dragging its feet. You could for example, upgrade your Video card and at the same time add another memory module, as many people do without any problems. How do you know now which component is causing the trouble. It may be both, there could be a conflict between the two components own memory and your systems memory.

You will now have to remove both components and any associated drivers and then install them again, one at a time so that you can determine which component or its drivers have caused the problem. Once you have identified the culprit, contact the manufacturer to see if there are any know issues or updated drivers.

It is for the same reason that you should only install any new software, one at a time. If after installing a new PC Game or utility your computer runs slow, you can simply check for any ‘patches’ on-line to fix the problem, or uninstall it. But what if you installed a new game and during the same day, you downloaded a new media player for instance, and maybe a video or a couple of music files. How are you going to figure out which one is the villain. And as we all know with any software, there is always the added possibility of viruses to think about. So you will now have to run a virus scan on your computer even if you know which software to uninstall.

So, if your computer has suddenly become slower, try to determine exactly when you first noticed it. If you have fitted any new hardware, then you will have to remove it. If you have installed any new software, including Games, downloads or updates around the time it first started to be slow, you will need to uninstall these.
You can do this one at a time if you want, you might just get lucky and uninstall the rogue software first time. Do not uninstall any Windows or Anti-virus updates.

It is a fact that sometimes you do get damaged or corrupt software, particularly downloaded software. If you have managed to identify and uninstall the software causing the problem, you may find that a second download and installation will work just fine. Remember to do a Full System Scan with your Anti-Virus suite, just in case, after any download.

An alternative solution for software glitches is to use System Restore. Choose a point before the problem started. This will turn your computer back in time, to a point when everything was fine. This method will however, remove all software installed since that point, apart from your saved files.

Quite recently, I had a customer with a slow computer who had installed a new Video card and he had also installed a downloaded version of a well known Security Suite. I will leave you to guess which one was causing the slow-down.

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