Computers

Here at Tips4U we know computers can be most confusing things. But the benefits of knowing your way around computers far outweigh the the fear of learning how to use them.

We know that the topic of computers is a massive area, so we'll be dipping into the topics at all sorts of levels ranging from the simple basic things through to fairly detailed items which will need a grasp of some of the basics to start with.

Tips4U in this section will cover the following things:

 

STEPS TO FIX A SLOW RUNNING COMPUTER

Tips4U - How to fix a slow running PC

Note: This page only covers an overall slow computer and not a computer that has a slow boot up or slow Internet.

Below are steps for Microsoft Windows users that can help speed up the computer or determine why the computer is running slow.

1. Reboot

If your computer has not been rebooted recently, make sure to reboot it before following any of the steps below.

2. Background programmes

One of the most common reasons for a slow computer are programs running in the background. Remove or disable any TSRs ("Terminate and Stay Resident") and startup programs that automatically start each time the computer boots.

Note: To see what programs are running in the background and how much memory and CPU they are using, open Task Manager. If you are running Windows 7 or higher, run Resource Monitor to get a better understanding of how your computer is being used.

If you see any processes using high amounts of CPU and they are not familiar to you (it may take a while to get used to the more common processes you might expect to see), look these up on the internet and decide whether you feel they need to be stopped or removed.

If you have an antivirus scanner on the computer, spyware protection program, or another security utility, make sure it is not scanning your computer in the background. If a scan is in progress, it can decrease the overall performance of your computer. If this is the case, allow the scan to complete, and the computer's performance should improve.

3. Delete temp files

As a computer runs programs, temporary files are stored on the hard drive. Deleting these temp files can help improve computer performance.

First, we suggest using the Windows Disk Cleanup utility to delete temporary files and other files no longer needed on the computer.

Windows 10 and Windows 8

  1. On the Desktop screen, press Windows key + X to open the Power User Task Menu.
  2. In the menu, tap or click the Run option.
  3. In the Run text field, type cleanmgr and press Enter.

Windows 7 and earlier

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Click on Programs > Accessories > System Tools.
  3. In System Tools, click the Disk Cleanup utility.

OR

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Click the Run option.
  3. In the Run text field, type cleanmgr and press Enter.

Note: We highly recommend that users DO NOT check the option to Compress old files (if seen). Often this option causes more issues than the small amount of space it recovers is worth.

Unfortunately, the Disk Cleanup may not delete every file in the temp directory. Therefore, we also suggest deleting temporary files manually. To do this, open the Start menu and type %temp% in the Search field. In Windows XP and prior, click the Run option in the Start menu and enter %temp% in the Run field. Press Enter and a Temp folder should open. You can delete all files found in this folder and, if any files are in use and cannot be deleted, they can be skipped.

4. Free hard drive space

Verify that there is at least 200-500MB of free hard drive space. This available space allows the computer to have room for the swap file to increase in size, as well as room for temporary files.

Determining available hard drive space.

Determining the available hard drive space will vary depending upon the operating system that is currently being used. Below is a listing of various operating systems and the methods of determining how much space is available in that operating system.

Windows 10 users

  1. From the Windows Desktop, click the Start button to open the Start menu or press the shortcut keys Windows Key + X to open the Power User Task menu.
  2. In the Start menu or Power User Task menu, select File Explorer.
  3. In the File Explorer window, on the left navigation pane, click on This PC.
  4. After selecting This PC, you will see each drive with a small percentage bar of how much disk space is being used, as well as a description of how much is free and the total disk space. If you need additional information, right-click the drive and select Properties.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users

  1. From the Windows Desktop, double click the Computer icon or press the shortcut key Windows Key + E.
  2. In the Computer window, you will see each drive with a small percentage bar of how much disk space is being used, as well as a description of how much is free and the total disk space. If you need additional information right-click the drive and select Properties.

Regaining computer hard drive space.

Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 users

Run the Disk Cleanup option

  1. Click Start
  2. Type disk
  3. Click on Disk Cleanup.
  4. Once in the Disk Cleanup window check each of the boxes (except "compress old files", we strongly recommend users do not compress their hard drive or compress their old files.) that are taking disk space and click Ok and then Yes if you want to proceed.

Uninstall old programs or games no longer used

If a program is no longer being used, or additional space is required, it may be necessary to uninstall or delete the software. The following sections contain a variety of different methods for uninstalling programs from a computer running Microsoft Windows, as well as the pros and cons of each. To proceed, you can read through all of the options or select one from the list below.

Install and Uninstall option

Pro: Will remove all or the majority of all files copied to the computer during installation.
Con: Not all programs support or use this feature.

  1. Open the Control Panel or press the Windows key, type Control Panel, and then press Enter.
  2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs, Uninstall a program, or Programs and Features.
  3. Within the new window, select the program you want to uninstall and click the Change, Remove, or Uninstall button.

How do I know what to delete? If you don't know what it is, we suggest that it not be removed or ask someone who knows before proceeding.

If the program or game is not listed, continue reading this document for alternative methods to uninstalling software.

Unwise Wizard

Pro: Created by a program's developer and allows for the deletion of any files that were originally installed.
Con: May cause errors as it can delete files that are currently used by other programs.

  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Open the Programs folder under Programs or All Programs.
  3. Within the folder, look for an Unwise or Uninstall shortcut.
  4. Click this shortcut to begin the uninstallation process.

OR

  1. Open Windows Explorer.
  2. In Explorer, open the folder containing the program you want to uninstall. If you're not sure where the folder is located, a good place to check first would be the Program Files folder.
  3. Once the folder has been located and opened, look for an Unwise or Uninstall shortcut link or executable program.

Note: Do not search for unwise.exe since it's likely several of these files exist on your computer and may be associated with another program.

If the program or game you have does not have this option, continue reading this document for alternative methods to uninstalling software.

Manually delete

Pro: Manually deleting software from a computer helps save space when no other options are available.
Con: May cause additional errors if the operating system or other programs require files that are deleted.

Note: Before manually deleting any software from the computer we recommend you do each of the suggestions below.

  1. Empty your Recycle Bin; that way, any files that are deleted can be restored from there.
  2. Backup all important data.

Once you are ready, follow the steps below to manually delete the files.

  1. Open Windows Explorer.
  2. Highlight the program folder, making sure you're not highlighting its containing folder, such as Programs Files.
  3. Press the Delete key on the keyboard to delete the files.
  4. After deleting a program, reboot the computer to verify no errors occur.

Note: If an error occurs, the files can be recovered from the Recycle Bin.

Disable System Restore

Windows XP, Vista, and 7 users can also reduce the default space utilized by Windows System Restore and may be able to gain several gigabytes of hard drive space. See the steps below in customizing this feature.

  1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and open System Restore.
  2. Within the System Restore window, click System Restore Settings.
  3. Within the System Restore tab, you can either check Turn off System Restore on all drives to completely disable this feature, or click the Settings button and decrease the space usage. We recommend the second option.

Move the swap file

If you have more than one hard drive in the computer and the C: drive is the drive running out of space consider moving the swap file to another drive.

Disable hibernation

If you turn your computer off instead of using hibernation mode you can disable this feature to free up lots of space.

To disable or enable Hibernation mode in Windows, follow the steps below for your version of Windows.

Windows 8 and Windows 10 Users

  1. From the Windows Start Screen or Start Menu type power options
  2. Select Power Options from the returned results.
  3. In the Power Options window, click the Change plan settings link for the power option currently selected.
  4. In the Edit Plan Settings window, click the Change advanced power settings link.
  5. In the Power Options window that just opened, expand the Sleep section, then the Allow hybrid sleep option and change the Setting to Off.
  6. Click OK to save the setting change.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Power Options icon.
  3. In the Power Options window, click the Change plan settings link for the power option currently selected.
  4. In the Edit Plan Settings window, click the Change advanced power settings link.
  5. In the Power Options window that just opened, expand the Sleep section, then the Allow hybrid sleep option and change the Setting to Off.
  6. Click OK to save the setting change.

Check to see if Hibernate mode has been turned off successfully. You can do this by opening the C: drive on the computer and checking if there is a file named hiberfil.sys located at the root of the C: drive. If you see that file, Hibernate mode is not fully turned off. Follow the steps below to fully turn off Hibernate mode.

  1. Open a command prompt window.
  2. Type the following at the command prompt and press Enter: powercfg.exe -h off
  3. Verify Hibernate mode is now fully turned off by checking for the hiberfil.sys file on the C: drive.

Note: You can turn Hibernate mode back on by following the steps above, but instead, type powercfg.exe -h on at the command prompt and change the Allow hybrid sleep setting to On.

Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7

Run the Disk Cleanup option

  1. Open Windows Explorer.
  2. Right-click on the hard drive that you want to regain hard drive space. For example, right-click on the C: drive.
  3. Click Properties.
  4. Within the General tab, click the "Disk Cleanup" button located next to the pie chart.
  5. Once in the Disk Cleanup window check each of the boxes (except "compress old files", we strongly recommend users do not compress their hard drive or compress their old files.) that are taking disk space and click Ok and then Yes if you want to proceed.

Uninstall old programs or games no longer used

Go to Uninstalling Windows software

Disable System Restore

Windows XP, Vista, and 7 users can also reduce the default space utilized by Windows System Restore and may be able to gain several gigabytes of hard drive space. See the steps below in customizing this feature.

  1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and open System Restore.
  2. Within the System Restore window, click System Restore Settings.
  3. Within the System Restore tab, you can either check Turn off System Restore on all drives to completely disable this feature, or click the Settings button and decrease the space usage. We recommend the second option.
5. Bad, corrupted or fragmented hard drive

Run ScanDisk, chkdsk, or something equivalent to verify there is nothing physically wrong with the computer's hard drive.

How do I run Microsoft ScanDisk?

To run ScanDisk and check your hard drive for errors follow the steps below for your version of Windows. Before running scan disk on the computer, keep in mind that it can take several hours to complete depending on the size of your hard drives, and any errors that may exist with the drive.

Tip: Before running ScanDisk we suggest all open programs be closed to help prevent any data loss and prevent any problems during a scan. Windows 95, 98, and ME users may even want to boot the computer into Safe Mode before running ScanDisk.

Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 users

To run Scandisk, we recommend following the steps below.

  1. Press Windows key + E on your keyboard to open File Explorer.
  2. In the File Explorer window, click on This PC in the left navigation pane.
  3. A list of drives is displayed on the right side of the window. Right-click on the drive you want to run Scandisk on and select Properties.
  4. In the Properties window, click on the Tools tab.
  5. Click the Check button in the Error Checking section.
  6. The computer needs to restart to run Scandisk without any interruptions.

Windows XP, 2000, Vista, and 7 users

Keep in mind that these versions can be a networking operating system, and it's possible that the privileges to run Scandisk may have been revoked by the system administrator. To run Scandisk, we recommend you follow the recommend steps.

  1. Double-click My Computer.
  2. Highlight a local hard drive by clicking on it once.
  3. Right-click the highlighted local drive and select Properties.
  4. Click on the Tools tab and click Check Now to check the drive for errors.
  5. The computer needs to restart to run ScanDisk without getting interrupted.

Although not required we suggest having ScanDisk automatically find and fix any errors found.

Run Defrag to help ensure that data is arranged in the best possible order.

How do I run Microsoft Defrag?

Caution: Do not run Defrag on a solid-state drive (SSD) or a flash drive.

Windows 10 Defrag

To run Defrag in Windows 10, follow the steps below.

  1. In the Windows Search box, on the taskbar, type defrag and select the Defragment and Optimize Drives option in the search results.
  2. Click on the drive you want to defrag and optimize.
  3. Click the Optimize button to being the defragmentation and optimization process.

Tip: You can schedule the defrag process to run automatically by clicking the Change settings button in the Optimize Drives window.

Tip: Windows also supports running Defrag from the Windows command line. For a syntax and full listing of defrag options in the command line we suggest a search of the internet.

Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, and 8 Defrag

To run Defrag, we recommend you follow the steps below.

  1. Double-click My Computer or open Explorer.
  2. Highlight the local hard disk C: drive by clicking on it once.
  3. Right-click the highlighted local drive Click Properties
  4. Click the Tools tab and click the Defragment now button.

Tip: Windows also supports running Defrag from the Windows command line. For a syntax and full listing of defrag options in the command line we suggest a search of the internet.

Use other software tools to test the hard drive for any errors by looking at the SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) of the drive.

6. Scan for malware

Today, spyware and other malware is a big cause of many computer problems, including a slow computer. Even if an antivirus scanner is installed on the computer, we recommend running a malware scan on the computer. Use the free version of Malwarebytes to scan your computer for malware.

7. Scan for viruses

If your computer is infected with one or more viruses, this can cause your computer to run slow. If your computer does not have an antivirus program installed, you should get one installed for active protection against viruses. Windows Defender is built into the latest versions of Windows and helps guard your PC against viruses and other malware. For a PC running an older version of Windows 7, you can download Microsoft Security Essentials for free.

8. Hardware conflicts

Verify that the Device Manager has no conflicts. If any exist, resolve these issues as they could be the cause of your problem.

9. Update Windows

Make sure you have all the latest Windows updates installed on the computer.

If you are on the Internet when your computer is slow, make sure all browser plugins are up-to-date. You can also try disabling browser plug-ins to see if one of them is causing the slowness.

10. Update your drivers

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your computer hardware, especially the latest video drivers. Having out-of-date drivers can cause an assortment of issues, including slow performance.

11. Reboot computer again

If you have done any of the above steps but your computer is still acting slow try rebooting the computer again at this point.

12. Memory upgrade

If you have had your computer for more than two years, you may need more memory. Today, we suggest computers have a minimum of 1GB of memory (RAM) for 32-bit system and 2GB for a 64-bit system. By having enough memory for programs to run within memory, your computer will not need to swap information stored in memory to the swap file. If the hard drive light is constantly active, it can be an indication the computer is frequently swapping information between your memory and hard drive.

Determining how much RAM is installed and available.

To check how much RAM is installed and available on your computer, follow the steps below.

Note: Memory (RAM) and hard drive space are two completely different things. If you want to know how much information you can store on your computer, see the "Determining available hard drive space" section.

Windows 8 and Windows 10

  1. From the Start screen or Start menu type ram
  2. Windows should return an option for "View RAM info" Arrow to this option and press enter or click it with the mouse. In the window that appears you should see how much installed memory (RAM) your computer has.

Note: If a memory chip is not being recognized by the computer, it will not be included in the amount of memory listed under "Installed memory (RAM)" in the System Properties window.

View used and available resources

To determine the amount of available system resources, including memory, as well as what is currently being utilized, open the Task Manager. On the Processes tab, you can see which programs are running and using resources. On the Performance tab, you can see an overall picture of all the system resources. You can see how much memory is available next to the Available label.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

  1. From the Desktop or Start Menu, right-click on Computer and select Properties.
  2. In the System Properties window, the system will list "Installed memory (RAM)" with the total amount detected. For example, in the picture below, there is 4 GB of memory installed in the computer.

Note: If a memory chip is not being recognized by the computer, it will not be included in the amount of memory listed under "Installed memory (RAM)" in the System Properties window.

OR

  1. Click Start
  2. In the Search box, type "ram" without quotes and click the Show how much RAM is on this computer.

OR

  1. Click Start
  2. Click System and Security
  3. Under System, click View amount of RAM and processor speed.

View used and available resources

To determine the amount of available system resources, including memory, as well as what is currently being utilized, open the Task Manager. On the Processes tab, you can see which programs are running and using resources. On the Performance tab, you can see an overall picture of all the system resources. You can see how much memory is available next to the Available label.

How much memory or RAM should my computer have?

This question depends on the type of computer user you are, what programs you plan on running on the computer, and how many programs you have open at a given time. A method of determining how much RAM you should have is to look at the system requirements of the programs you run on your computer and double the memory requirements. However, below is the general recommendation for the amount of memory we suggest that today's computers have (statement made in 2016).

Minimum: 2GB
Recommended: 4-6GB
Excellent: 8GB or more

If you are using an older computer, with an older version of an operating system, the minimum memory requirements can be a lot less. For example, users who are still running Microsoft Windows 98 can get away with 64MB of memory since its requirements are only 24MB.

Note: Keep in mind that a 32-bit version of any Microsoft Windows operating system only detects a maximum of 4GB of total system memory. Upgrading to a 64-bit processor and a 64-bit version of Windows will increase your memory requirements, but it also allows your computer to recognize more memory.

What type of computer memory to use in a memory upgrade?

By far the best method of determining the memory (RAM) to use with your computer is through the computer or motherboard manufacturer documentation. If you do not have your product documentation, you can also find it online through the computer manufacturers or motherboard manufacturer website.

13. Hard drive upgrade

One of the biggest bottlenecks of a computer is the hard disk drive. For anyone with a slow computer or just looking for the best component to upgrade, upgrading from a hard drive to a Solid State Drive (SSD) can significantly improve the performance of a computer.

14. Run Registry cleaner

We would not normally recommend Registry cleaners. However, if you have followed all of the above steps and your computer is still slow, you could try running a Registry cleaner on the computer.

15. Computer or processor is overheating

Make sure your computer and processor is not overheating. Excessive heat can cause a significant decrease in computer performance because most processors automatically reduce the speed of the processor to help compensate for heat-related issues.

What should be the temperature of my computer processor?

The appropriate operating temperature of your processor depends on its manufacturer, top clock speed, where the sensor is located, and what programs it is currently running.

The majority of today's desktop processors should not exceed temperatures of 35°C and most run between 21°-32°C.

Dust, dirt, and hair can also constrict proper airflow inside your computer, which can cause a computer to overheat. Make sure your computer case is clean and fans are not obstructed.

16. Erase computer and start over

CAUTION. This is a big step to take and should not be taken lightly.

If none of the above solutions resolve your issues, another option is to either reinstall Windows or erase everything and then start over.

Erasing everything and starting over can increase performance by getting rid of old software or drivers that may be on the computer and causing the computer to be slow. Installing a fresh copy of Windows, software programs, and the latest drivers help verify there are no software related issues causing your computer to be slow.

17. Hardware issues

Finally, if your computer is still slow after trying all of the above recommendations, there may have a more serious hardware related issue, such as a failing component in the computer. Examples of failing hardware could include a failing or bad hard drive, CPU, RAM, motherboard, or another component.

You can run hardware diagnostic tests using the Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) utility. This utility provides many diagnostic tests that you can run and determine if your computer has a bad piece of hardware.

18. Old computer

If your computer is more than five years old, the age of the computer could be the cause of the slow performance. As more advanced software programs are released, they are optimized to run more efficiently on newer computers. Older computers are not able to run these new programs as well, which can cause them to perform more slowly. We recommend that you consider purchasing a new computer or accept that your computer is not going to be as fast as a newer computer.