Speed Up Computer

A recent Harris Poll sponsored by Intel shows that more than 80% of people get frustrated by slow computers. Just over half of all respondents admit to “doing something out of character” to express their frustration with slow computers and technology. This “out-of-character” moment could include yelling or swearing at the computer; hitting it or banging the mouse.

Study Shows Speed Is Important To User Experience

One-third of survey respondents say they’ve missed out on something while waiting for their technology to respond. What are they missing? Losses include things like online sales, auctions and tickets for sporting events and airline travel. The survey was conducted online, so the results are not considered scientifically valid, however, most people can attest to the fact that a slow computer is frustrating.

In the case of users who believe they’ve lost out on something online, it’s hard to say that slow computers alone are responsible. Internet connections can make a fast computer seem slow because when you’re using the Internet, your computer is going through a complex conversation with another computer elsewhere on the Internet. The conversation can sometimes be interrupted or delayed, causing the computers at either end to appear as though they’ve frozen or simply stopped responding.

Nonetheless, slow computers can pose a major hazard to your productivity and (at times) your mental well-being! There are certain slowdowns you can’t really manage, reduce or eliminate, but you can control much of what happens on your end of the computer. Basic maintenance is a must if you want reliable computer performance.

Basic maintenance includes protecting your computers from spyware, malware, adware and viruses; preventing Trojan infections that could give others access to your computer resources; making sure your network and firewall configurations are correct; defragmenting your hard disk and providing adequate storage space for your files and applications, and using a registry cleaner to keep your computer in good working order.

Some people I work with have a hard time believing that regular, simple maintenance can have such a profound effect on computer performance. The lesson here is that while simple things can make a computer speed up, simple – even mundane – things can also cause your computer to slow down. I once had a supervisor who counseled, “Take care of the cheap stuff first.” By that, he meant “Don’t overlook the obvious but seemingly small stuff, because it really does add up.”

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There are an infinite number of things that will cause a slow computer, not the least of which are hardware and software incompatibilities. When people upgrade their computers, they often assume that their older hardware will work with newer software and vice versa. Few things could be farther from the truth.

Always Check Hardware Compatibility

Don’t dismiss the notion that your computer is slow because you’ve got mismatched hardware or mismatched hardware and software. These incompatibilities exist and can cause serious performance deficits.

Before you upgrade your computer or replace a piece of hardware, check the processor, memory and operating system requirements carefully. Also check to make sure that you’ll have working drivers for your operating system. Manufacturers don’t always go back and write drivers for older operating systems, so you can’t assume that the new device will work on your old computer.

Before you upgrade, check the memory requirements for your operating system, applications and hardware devices. If you’re trying to skimp along on the minimum recommended RAM, you’re almost guaranteeing yourself poor computer performance. Rather than making your upgrade a multi-step process with a lot of troubleshooting thrown in, consider upping your complement of installed memory.

Before you upgrade, check the video requirements for your device. Some devices or software applications have specific video requirements in terms of video memory, version numbers and graphics processing power. In addition, you may need to upgrade your video driver to make your computer run more smoothly. This is especially true of gaming applications and other graphics-intensive programs like drawing, photo editing and design software.

Before you upgrade (especially an OS), check the hardware compatibility for all of your old equipment. If you plan to use the old peripheral equipment but it’s unsupported by your new OS, your chances of getting a happy result are minimal. You may either have to postpone your upgrade or replace older hardware sooner than you had planned to.

If you’re planning to purchase a USB device, check the port speed requirements. Newer devices require USB 2.0 ports to perform well. Older, slower USB ports may cause your applications to hang or prevent your device from being recognized or accessed properly. In this case, you may have to upgrade your USB ports or choose a less finicky device that will work on older, slower USB ports.

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Anti-virus software programs are a necessity in today’s computing environment. No user should be without active anti-virus protection. That having been said, there is a performance cost to running anti-virus software. Indeed, your computer will take more time to complete certain functions; starting up is a good example of where you will experience a noticeably slow computer.

A/V: A Diminishing Return

With anti-virus software, you can be over-protected. That’s a nice way of saying that you shouldn’t have more than one anti-virus program installed at any given time. To be sure, some AV programs have advantages over others. Some are updated more frequently; others are better at detecting obscure infections. Others provide a balance of good protection at a reasonable cost.

What you don’t want is competition on your system. Anti-virus programs, by their nature, examine the activities of other programs. More than that, they limit the activities of other programs, including other anti-virus programs you may have installed.

AV programs compete for access to the same resources and can throw up unnecessary warnings, cause conflicts and crash the system when confronted with another AV program that is scanning the computer. Some AV programs make nice with each other, so these dire results aren’t always a foregone conclusion. Some users rely on two or even three AV programs that run simultaneously to protect the system.

AV software may work pleasantly in conjunction with a firewall, but throw in an extra measure of protection and you could be in a very slow world of hurt. The rule of thumb is that you should choose one AV program and one firewall program to protect your computer from malware and possible intrusions. Test your protective software for compatibility and if you find a good match, stick with it.

If you find that your combination has produced an unacceptably slow computer, switch out the test components one at a time. You may find that certain firewall/AV combinations don’t work well together, while others produce a perfectly harmonious result. Ultimately, the combination you choose should be one that provides good detection of viruses, as well as good prevention.

Also, don’t assume that firewalls come configured for your system right out of the box. Simply installing a firewall does not always equal protection. Frequently, their default state is either “minimal” protection or “off,” so make sure your firewall is actually configured to do something useful once you have it installed.

Finding a combination of AV and firewall protection that works well together doesn’t mean you can never change your protective software suite. Just don’t expect exceptional results from combined software suites that are designed to interfere with other software on the same computer!

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A slow computer may signal virus issues. Often, “viral infection” is the premature diagnosis that’s applied to a slow computer, but it’s not always accurate. Slow computer performance can be the result of many things, an accumulation of problems, or a single catastrophic problem. Sorting out what’s going on may take time or require the assistance of a professional. Before you do anything else, run a virus scan to see if you can identify any viral infections, and clean up whatever you find.

Help! My Computer Is Slow!

If your computer is connected to a network, the first step I’d recommend is disconnecting it. Sometimes, network services can cause a computer to slow down or monopolize its processor. By disconnecting the computer, you isolate it from the network, and in doing so, you “divide your problem in half.”

If, after disconnecting your computer from the network, the computer immediately perks up, you know that the problem is related to the network. The computer is sharing information over the network or is waiting for an event to “time out” before moving on. A computer (yours or someone else’s) or network device whose network interface has gone bad may be tying up the network by generating a lot of useless network traffic. Your network administrator may be able to help you determine the location of the bad device. If you’re working on a home network, you may need to disconnect or restart individual network devices until the culprit is found.

If your computer remains slow after disconnecting from the network, you’ve at least isolated the problem to your computer. With system tools like the Task Manager and Performance Monitor, you can determine what percentage of your CPU’s time is being devoted to each process.

If there’s a process that’s consuming 100% (or close to 100%) of your CPU cycles, shut down the task and restart it. If a restart fixes the problem, you may have saved yourself time and money. If restarting the task doesn’t solve the problem, try restarting the computer. (The task may have gone “bad” because some part of the OS is no longer functioning properly. By restarting the computer, you ensure that the OS has gotten a fresh start.)

If the problem persists, use the Task Manager to examine the programs that are running each time your computer starts up. Shut down all non-essential applications and add them back in one at a time to see if you can spot the application that slows down the works.

If a particular application causes problems, make sure your system is “well-endowed” enough to run the application, and consult with the manufacturer’s technical support group to see if there are updates or patches available to fix the issue.

If nothing seems to solve the issue, try a registry cleaner like RegCure. Periodic maintenance of the registry will help keep your computer running smoothly.

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Better Performance Sometimes Means Doing Things Differently
Computers are all about making work easier, and helping users to work smarter. Without a doubt, one of the complaints I hear most often is that a user’s computer performance is slow. There’s no apparent reason for it, but the computer is definitely slower today than it was the day it came out of the box.

Sometimes, the computer really has slowed down and I can find an explanation for the slow performance. The solution might better regular maintenance, including disk defragmentation and monitoring of the file system. It might be an upgrade to the computer’s RAM or graphics processing. It might be careful monitoring of system processes and applications that “steal” processor time or computer memory space. It might even be corrupted files, viruses or other malware.

Faster User May Be Cause Of Slower Computer Performance

Sometimes, I can’t find an explanation of why the computer suddenly seems slower. The performance indicators I use don’t detect a problem, the file systems is in good shape, the memory and CPU usages are where they should be and there are no detectable malware or virus infections that might cause the computer to slow down.

In those cases, I assume (maybe unfairly) that the problem isn’t that the computer has slowed down as much as it is that the user has gotten faster! Newer users tend to miss the fact that they’re developing proficiency with the computer. Proficiency sometimes means that users improve their computer skills, making it seem as though the computer is slowing down when in reality, they’re just getting more comfortable with the computer.

Assuming that your computer is working well, you can increase your own performance by incorporating a few shortcuts into the way you use your computer. Shortcuts, especially those that start an application you use regularly, or get you to a point in the file system that you visit frequently, can help you make better use of the time you spend at the computer. Windows Vista also allows you to customize your computer with shortcuts that automate routine tasks.

To get to the applications you use regularly, try adding these to the Quick Launch menu in Windows Vista. Quick Launch icons are found to the right of the Start Button at the bottom of the screen. This menu can help you get right to work. To add an application to the Quick Launch menu, you can either drag it from the its location in the Programs menu to the Quick Launch bar, or you can right click on the application and choose Add to Quick Launch from the contextual menu. If the Add to Quick Launch isn’t visible on the contextual menu, hold down the Shift key while right-clicking on the program you want to add. The Add to Quick Launch option should become visible in the contextual menu.

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