Did your Computer Suddenly Slow Down?

Remember when you first got your computer?......How fast it seemed?....How quickly it booted up?

Now it seems kind of sluggish, and it takes a lot longer to boot up. This happens with normal use and can be managed. However, here I would like to address that really weird, seemingly sudden, slowdown. Here are some things that might be causing this situation, in no particular order and in many potential combinations.

Your PC may have a Virus or Worm: Even though you may have Antivirus software running, is it up to date? Although your Antivirus always runs in the background, have you recently run a full scan? This should be done periodically, maybe every month or so.

Your PC may have Spyware or Adware running: These can be picked up at many websites without your knowledge. There are a number of programs available to remove these. Again, these usually run all the time in the background, but you still need to run an active scan periodically.

You may have added a new program, and now you do not have enough RAM memory to continue working the way you are accustomed to, or this program has loaded itself into your "Start Up" Group.

One or more of your system files has been corrupted: When this is serious enough, Windows won't even run, but you will get an error message stating that this is what has happened. Other times you may not show any other symptom to alert you about this problem.

You may be running low on "Virtual Memory": When this gets severe enough, Windows will tell you, but you will be pulling your hair out by then.

Your hard disk drive may contain bad sectors: It is quite common to have some bad sectors, a few shouldn't cause too much problem, unless of course one of those critical "system files" is in a bad sector, in which case Windows may nor run at all. Ever hear of the "blue screen of death"? There are methods to avoid this.

You may have added new hardware: Until Window fully integrates a new piece of hardware you machine will most likely be almost non responsive, so a new piece of hardware could really slow you down!

You may have installed some new program for which your PC hardware doesn't, or just barely meets the program's requirements: You may have a simple choice here - upgrade your PC - or do without that particular program. This doesn't necessarily mean you need a new computer - it could be as simple a thing as adding more RAM memory, most types of which are really very inexpensive now.

Your CPU is overheating: More than likely this goes back to my statement about dust. Even I can hardly believe the accumulated dirt I have found in some PCs!! Air flow through your PC is a critical factor in its proper operation. CPUs generate a lot of heat, and if that heat can not escape, all kinds of really strange things can happen. How about 2+2=3?!

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