Nothing damages your productivity quite like a slow computer. It always seems to act up when you’re in a rush too. Whether it takes ages to load up, or simply gives up on trying to work at all, it’s just enough to grind your gears and become a nuisance. 

This all-in-one computer brought in by a customer had been ‘slow as f*ck’ for a while and required some much needed TLC in the memory department… A new SSD upgrade and a clone later to ensure that no programs are lost, it was back up and running, better than ever! 

What Causes A Slow Computer?

There’s a multitude of things which can cause a computer to run slowly, but one of the common issues which people face is too many applications running at once. Even if it looks like you are only running one thing, there is likely to be much more in the background that you’re unaware of. When your computer is trying to do too much, the extra applications use up the majority of the processing power and cause it to run much slower than usual. 

When you start up your computer, there are a range of different programmes which load during boot up, which could also be the culprit. If your computer is attempting to load too many applications at once, it just becomes clogged and struggles to operate. You can check these by opening the Task Manager window by clicking Ctrl+Shift+Esc. This is a list of non-essential programs which load every time you load your computer. If you don’t think you need them, disable them (don’t worry, this only disables them during start up).  

Malware and viruses can also cause your computer to run at a snail’s pace. When  they infect your system they take memory away from legitimate programmes. Some malware leave paths within your computer for more malicious code to follow and take hold of your device. There are many different types of malware, but all of them are likely to slow down your systems. 

How To Speed Up Your Computer…

When you are about to throw your computer through the window, it can be tempting to just buy a new one outright. However, don’t despair, there is a more cost effective way to speed up that old machine…with a disk upgrade instead! 

Upgrading from a standard hard disk drive (HDD) to a solid-state drive (SSD) will give your computer a new lease. SSDs are up to 15x faster than a standard HDD, and with no moving parts can be more reliable. This will allow your operating system (Windows) to process information and load your software or games more quickly. An SSD also uses half of the power to operate than a HDD, ensuring efficiency. 

Did you know there are 2 types of memory in a computer? Read only memory (ROM) is what is on your HDD or SSD and stores your photos and music. Random access memory (RAM) is memory that is used for processing information when software runs. This memory is cleared when a computer is rebooted, but if your system doesn’t have enough RAM then programs have to wait in a queue before they can continue with the task. Not all systems can have a RAM upgrade, but it’s definitely worth a look if you have a slow computer. 

Of course, if you’re unsure on how to upgrade your computer, we’re more than happy to assist. Just give us a call to book in and we’ll do the rest.