Computer sluggishness is a common cause of frustration for many technology users who are increasingly reporting their machines to perform slowly. The underlying cause of sluggishness depends on each individual computer and how it is maintained, although most users think very little about this particular aspect. Whether you are streaming online movies, or attempting to deal with a demanding photo editing software such as Photoshop, your computer seems simply unable to perform up to your expectations, hence making your experience rather displeasing.
Let’s take a look at 4 of the most common causes of a slow computer.
Running Several Programs at the Same Time
It is common for users to download and utilize different programs and applications, but running too many of them in the background can cause your computer to perform slowly, and even become unresponsive at times, freezing for a few seconds before unfreezing. To prevent this from happening, you should make sure to use only one antivirus program, avoid downloading web browser helpers, and also stay away from software that claim to speed up your computer’s performance or Internet connection. Uninstalling programs you do not use anymore will also help increase your computer’s processing speed, and closing those you are not actively using will most definitely improve its performance as well (i.e. uTorrent).
Virus or Malware Infection
Another very common cause of computer sluggishness is a virus or malware infection. Many of these malicious software can accidentally get into your computer when downloading and installing other programs, when accessing hacked web pages, when completing online forms, and even when installing add-ons to your web browser. One way to check whether there is any malware ruining your computer’s performance is using an antivirus or anti-malware program to find and safely remove it.
Running Out of Disk Space
If you happen to be the user of an older computer, or if you do a lot of video editing, there is a good chance that you are running out of disk space – a common cause of a slow computer. Once the hard drives are filled up, your computer is unable to manipulate files anymore, which will slow down its performance dramatically, making it become completely unusable. If you notice several alerts stating that you are running out of disk space, the only solution you have is moving some of the files you are not using too often to an external hard drive. Deleting temporary files and files you do not need anymore, as well as performing regular disk cleanups will also help free up disk space.
Barely Meeting Minimum Software Requirements
Most software have minimum requirements that need to be surpassed to ensure that they are working at maximum potential. If your computer’s specifications (operating system, memory, processor speed, and hard drive space) barely meet the minimum system requirements needed for these software to work, there is a good chance that your machine’s performance will be slowed down. Updating your computer’s hardware might be necessary to make sure that it surpasses minimum software system requirements.
In Summary
There are countless causes of computer sluggishness, and most of them are rooted in users’ poor computer maintenance routine. Storing useless files, running dozens of applications at a time, and accidentally installing a virus or malware are just some of the most common causes that might make your machine run slowly. Performing regular reboots, and reinstalling your operating systems every six months is recommended to ensure that your computer is running at optimum speed.