Nothing reminds me of how fast time flies like an old, slow computer. It seems like you’ve just put them into service when suddenly, you realize that they’ve become horribly outdated. When it is time to replace a slow computer and can you prolong a computer’s service life?

Replacement Schedules Are Unique

A replacement schedule shouldn’t be a hard and fast rule, unless you’ve got a real reason to stick to one. It used to be that a good rule of thumb was about five years. If your computer was still in service five years after you first deployed it, then it was probably time to replace. Today, computers seem to age a little better, but in some cases, five years is far too long to hang onto an old piece of equipment.

One of the chief complaints about old computers is their performance speed. Slow seems to be the watchword of the day. “Slow” can be caused by a lot of things. As such, there are some approaches you can take to prolong your computer’s lifespan.

Laptops age much less gracefully than desktop computers do. The first question to ask yourself is whether you’re dealing with a laptop. If so, a five-year replacement cycle is likely to be too long. Laptops typically use older processors, slower internal communications speeds, smaller complements of memory and smaller hard drives. They also go through batteries at the rate of about one per year. Under these circumstances, a five-year-old laptop becomes a distant cousin to a medieval torture device.

If you are working with a desktop computer and your tasks are limited largely to Web browsing and basic word processing, you can go much longer without having to replace the computer. You might consider upgrades like more memory, a faster processor, a larger hard drive or even a better network card. Routine maintenance like disk defragmenting and registry cleaning can also improve the performance of an older computer.

If you’re doing very graphics-oriented work – graphic design, photo editing, engineering or gaming – then you’ll want to put your computer on an accelerated replacement cycle. If you load new software frequently, check the manufacturer’s recommendations carefully to make sure your system complies with the hardware requirements. When you start seeing software on the shelf that demands more than your computer can provide, that’s the time to decide whether to upgrade or replace!

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If you’re experiencing a slow computer, looking for a solution can be frustrating, especially when you don’t know where to start. If you look at the historical development of Windows, you’ll find that earlier versions of the OS were plagued with something called “device conflicts.” Do device conflicts still occur and can they cause a slow computer?

Device Conflict? Yes and No

Older versions of Windows relied on a limited system of IRQ’s (Interrupt Requests) to signal an interruption, or need for CPU services. Today, the architecture of the modern CPU has changed, so the old system, which had a high potential to create device conflicts, has been replaced with a much more flexible system that vastly increases the number of physical devices that a computer can manage. This newer architecture, combined with a more dynamic system of device communication, means that there are fewer opportunities for old-style device conflicts.

That doesn’t mean that all hardware devices get along with each other, though. There are plenty of other opportunities for devices to “conflict” with each other! More commonly today, devices may use shared libraries, which can cause some conflicts over resources. Too many USB devices plugged into the computer may cause power problems, especially if they’re plugged into a USB hub or an extended USB port found on devices like keyboards or monitors.

Some devices (and software) compete aggressively for hard disk space and physical memory. In these cases, some applications or hardware may find it difficult to access the resources they need to run properly. While this isn’t technically a device conflict, lack of memory and hard disk space can definitely impair the performance of the computer.

Generally speaking, the system of device management on a modern computer is designed to prevent device conflicts, or to make them much less apparent to the user. Newer computers and operating systems are outfitted with the tools they need to redirect hardware requests that might otherwise conflict with each other. Nonetheless, you can use the Device Manager on Windows to examine the peripherals your computer sees, and inspect how each device is handled by the CPU and operating system.

Old, outdated or corrupted information in the registry can also cause computer performance problems. Again, this isn’t exactly a device conflict, but this bad information can cause devices to misbehave, and can also slow down the CPU while it looks for resources that no longer exist. A good registry cleaner like RegCure can help remove these stumbling blocks so your computer doesn’t have to waste time executing abandoned code.

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Computers rarely slow down suddenly. A slow computer develops over time and that can hide the true cause(s) of computer performance problems. In all likelihood, there is no one cause of a slow computer. Small problems accumulate and eventually, you notice their impact on computer performance.

Slow Computer? Try These…

You can try a bunch of random things when it comes to speeding up your computer, but you’re in a much better position to diagnose problems when you have some information about what your computer is (and isn’t) doing. Before you jump into solving your slow computer problems, take a moment and think about the last ten things you added to your computer. (Installation logs may help at this point.)

Sometimes slow performance can be the result of something you’ve added or changed. Your computer hard disk could be badly fragmented or even close to full. If you don’t have at least 20%-25% of your disk space free, you need to consider whether this could be the source of at least some of your computer performance issues. Remove old files or store them on CDs or DVDs. Once you’ve made some room on your hard disk, use the Defragmenter tool to tidy up your files. You may find that simply clearing out old files and defragging your hard disk has put a little pep back into your slow computer.

If making more room doesn’t help, or wasn’t the problem in the first place, you need to know what processes and programs your computer is running, and what’s occupying most of the computer’s CPU time. You can use the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) to get to the Task Manager. Take a look at the processes that are running. You may find that you’ve left a lot of programs open. Quit all unnecessary programs and restart your computer if necessary to see if that improves your lot. Reduce the number of programs that are configured to start automatically. As a general rule, starting and stopping programs manually will best allow you to optimize the performance of your computer.

If you find that you have a lot of processes running that you don’t recognize, or recognize some “bad actors” running on your computer, do a malware/virus scan and remove whatever you find. Please invest in a reputable A/V program and keep it up-to-date. Don’t rely on demo versions of A/V software to protect your computer.

Clean up the registry once in a while! Using a program like RegCure can help you avoid a buildup of useless, orphaned or corrupted programming code within your registry. Keeping your registry clean and backed up may provide not only an invaluable burst of speed, but also a bit of extra security in the form of a registry backup.

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Are you spending a lot of time waiting for your computer to respond? Does the computer seem to hesitate, or stall on certain tasks? If so, your slow computer could be suffering from an overloaded, undermaintained registry.

The Registry Doesn’t Take Care Of Itself

The registry is a common area in which the OS and applications meet. The registry contains a lot of information about what’s installed and how the system is configured. The information in the registry is dynamic, meaning that it changes all the time. Each time you change the configuration on your computer a new entry is created in the registry. Adding, subtracting or updating applications and hardware can also require changes in the registry information.

Installers and uninstallers are supposed to clean up after themselves. They’re supposed to remove old, useless entries from the registry when they’re done. The registry is a common area and everyone is responsible for keeping it clean. (For those of you with roommates, does that sound familiar?)

Well, just as with your old college roommates, not everyone does what they’re supposed to do when it comes to maintaining the registry. As a result, leftover code that should have been removed instead gets abandoned in the registry. Installers add only what they’re supposed to add and uninstallers remove only what they’ve written into the registry, so if something gets left behind, it’s stuck there.

That’s why it’s a good idea to use a registry cleaner software program like RegCure. RegCure eliminates the leftover and abandoned registry code that should have been removed and wasn’t. RegCure also backs up your registry files before it makes any changes, so reverting to the former state is as easy as it gets. Removing the leftover code is essential. It can eliminate persistent errors and reduce the amount of time the computer needs to read and interpret the registry file.

People ask me all the time about whether or not a registry cleaner is useful or necessary. For a highly experienced technician, it can be a time-saver, although many professionals prefer to edit the registry manually. For the inexperienced user, a registry cleaner is like a miracle worker, so I recommend it for users who don’t have access to professional technical support.

Users who install RegCure are almost always surprised by how much faster and more reliably their computers perform.
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If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, but there are many, many reasons a computer can slow down. The biggest culprits are a lack of physical memory, lack of hard disk space (which includes badly fragmented hard disks), slow network response, and registry errors. I see certain situations that can cause computer slowdowns often enough that they bear repeating, however.

AV Programs Do Compete With Each Other

Anti-virus (A/V) programs are a godsend when they work properly, and a slow torture when they don’t. Most computers come with a trial-version of any of a number of A/V programs; some computers come loaded with multiple different A/V applications. Layer on top of that the specialized anti-malware applications and you should be able to build yourself a pretty hardened computer, right?

Well, not exactly. A/V programs are indispensible, and I would never recommend that a user go without some type of ant-virus protection. Microsoft now includes a malware detection tool with its operating system, however the Microsoft tool isn’t meant to prevent malware infections in real-time. The Microsoft tool only detects and removes active infections of the most “popular” malwares making the rounds. It isn’t a substitute for full-blown A/V protection.

If some protection is good, more must be better, right? Again, not exactly. Layering multiple different A/V software programs onto your computer can be a recipe for disaster. A/V programs do compete with each other and can shut down themselves or the competing program. In addition, these programs can interfere with each other. This interference can absorb a lot of CPU time and may actually reduce the overall effectiveness of your A/V protection.

When it comes to A/V software, your best bet is to buy one and stick with it. If you’re unhappy with the program, or find something more to your liking, uninstall the old A/V software before installing the new software. If you’re not sure you want to go that route, at least disable one A/V program before you try out the other. When you’ve made your choice, eliminate the program you decided against and keep the winner updated at all times.
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