Remember when your computer was brand new? It was so bright and shiny and everything ran so fast! A few months or a year later, though, and there is a definite lag and sometimes it even crashes. What gives? You’re just doing the same stuff you’ve always done. Why is everything moving more slowly now? Your computer isn’t old enough to start wearing down!
There are a lot of reasons a computer can slow down and start crashing that have nothing to do with age. And while losing data might not seem like a big deal if your computer is just for fun or hobby uses, it is definitely a big deal if you use the machine for work. Secure Data Recovery is a great tool, and even the experts who do it will tell you that the best thing you can do is take steps to prevent the crashes and lag from happening in the first place.
Here are some things that you can do to prevent future problems:
Too Full
Do you keep everything you download and make? Is your hard drive stuffed full of rough drafts, multiples of your photos, old software that you never use anymore? A hard drive with very little (or no) free space can cause your computer’s processing speed to lag. Take some time to go through your folders. Get rid of what you don’t need anymore. If there are important files that you think you need to keep but that you don’t need immediate access to, store them on an external encrypted drive. That way you’ll have them but they won’t be eating up your computer’s memory.
Clear Out
You do not need to keep every single piece of software that you’ve ever downloaded. Go through your system and remove any of the programs that you don’t use anymore. Then go into your downloads folder and remove their download and installation files. This alone should speed up your computer quite a bit, as many software programs are “startup on startup” by default and will eat memory even when the program isn’t running. Speaking of which…
Your Start Menu
Take some time to go through your startup drive. This is the list of software and applications that start running as soon as you turn on your computer. Most of the items listed here will be the programs that run your video card and other mechanics. Some of them, though, will be programs you downloaded but rarely use or that you certainly don’t need to have running all the time. Remove these programs from the list and require manual startup for them instead. You’ll reduce your CPU and memory usage and your computer will start up and run a lot faster.
Bits and Pieces
Sometimes software that gets deleted leaves little pieces of itself behind. Sometimes part of one program will mysteriously migrate into another program’s folder. We don’t know why this happens, but it does and that’s why it’s good to run a registry cleaner when your computer starts to lag. A registry cleaner, especially when used in conjunction with defragging your hard drive, can clean up your computer and speed it up quite a bit.
Malware
It’s true that native malware detection has come a long way since Windows first got popular. Still, it’s good to have an independent and reliable malware detection and removal program on hand as well. Run a deep scan of your computer with this program. You might be surprised at how many cookies, trojans, viruses, etc. there are on your system. Getting rid of them will definitely help speed up your computer.
Physical Cleaning
Dust and debris find their way into our computers. It is an inevitable part of computing life, no matter how diligent we try to be about keeping our systems clean. Every once in awhile, especially if your computer is running slow or hot, take a can of air and clean out your laptop’s keyboard, ports, etc. If you have a desktop computer, take the casing off the tower and use that canned air to blow out all of the dust, pet dander, etc. that has built up inside. This process might gross you out, but it’s necessary.
If you’ve tried all of these basic steps and your computer still seems to be running slowly, you might want to make an appointment with a professional to get a thorough “check up.” Pros have access to tools that the average user doesn’t (or doesn’t know how to use). They’ll be able to dig into your code and root out problems.
The point is: you do not simply have to adjust your expectations when your computer starts to slow down. There are a lot of steps you can take to improve your device’s health and keep your data safe.
