Tips To Speed Up A Lagging PC

One of the most annoying things about a computer is its tendency to slow down after a while. This can be a huge drain on productivity - especially if you're waiting for programs to load, close, the computer to boot up, or the computer to restart. I know what it's like to have a computer take almost 10 minutes to completely boot up! This is unacceptable in this day in age.

So what is the main cause of a computer's lagging speed? Generally the problem falls into a few different categories. The first cause is when there is a lot of extra software on the PC. This can be a huge drain on system resources, especially programs that have not been coded very well. They can drastically reduce system performance - and sometimes you don't even know they are running in the background!

So the first step in improving your computer's performance is to take a look in the Add / Remove Software section of the Control Panel. This is where you can see if there are any extra software programs that might have snuck their way onto your computer. One of the most annoying things these days (and it's becoming a trend) is to have "bundled" software install itself with another program you've downloaded. One example is the case where McAfee tries to install an antivirus software tool along with Adobe Flash. Every time I want to update Flash, I have to ensure that I de-select the McAfee option. Otherwise I'll end up installing a program I never intended to - and this is a program that will run in the background and hog resources. If you get enough of these programs on your system, the computer will definitely slow down.

Another thing that you can do to drastically improve system performance is to add additional RAM. RAM is a physical measure of how much your computer can do at once. If you go to Crucial's website they have an automatic system to determine exactly what type of RAM your computer can take (making it much easier for the average person to get and install RAM on their own). I did this with two computers; it was a breeze, and made my computers run so much faster.

One more common reason that a computer will slow down is simply the fact that the hard drive is full or close to full. This can happen more quickly than you think these days thanks to the large size of video and music files, and the ease at which internet speeds enable you to instantly download them. The best option in this case is to put these files on an external hard drive. If the hard disk that the Windows operating system is on is full or nearly full, the system will have a very hard time running efficiently. One rule of thumb I heard was the keep the OS hard drive half full at all times.

If you're looking for more information on how to improve system performance, then check out Variance Net, a website dedicated to helping the average person figure out computer issues.