What makes my computer slow

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Best Gaming Monitors. Best iPads. Best iPhones. Best External Hard Drives. To stop a program from starting automatically. Open Startup Apps settings. In the Startup Apps area, find the program you want to stop from starting automatically and set it to Off. Note: If you turn off a program and it continues to start automatically when Windows starts, you should scan for viruses and malware.

See the next section for more info. A virus, malware, or malicious software could cause your PC to run slowly.

Other symptoms include unexpected pop-up messages, programs that unexpectedly start automatically, or the sound of your hard disk constantly working. The best way to handle viruses and malicious software is to try to prevent them by running antimalware and antivirus software and keeping it up to date.

However, even if you take precautions, your PC can still become infected. For more info, see How to protect your Windows PC. If they are, choose the one you want to run, and then disable or uninstall any others. If you have another antivirus program installed and turned on, Windows Security will be turned off by default. To scan for viruses using Windows Security. Open Windows Security settings. On the Protection updates screen, select Check for updates to make sure you have the most recent updates.

Wait for Windows Security to finish scanning for viruses and malware. Run the recommended advanced scan. This scan takes longer but searches more extensively for threats on your PC. If no viruses are found, restart your PC and try to reproduce the performance problem you were having with your PC. To scan for malware and viruses with Microsoft Defender Offline.

The scan might take 15 minutes or so, and your PC will restart again after that. Restoring your PC undoes recent changes that might be causing problems. If you think a recently installed app, driver, or update for Windows could be causing problems, you might get things running normally again by restoring your PC to an earlier point, called a restore point.

Select Search on the taskbar, type advanced system , then select View advanced system settings from the list of results. On the System Protection tab, select System Restore.

Select Recommended restore to go with the most recent restore point Windows has made automatically, or Choose a different restore point to select one yourself, then select Next. If you chose to select a different restore point, select one, then select Next.

Either way, select Finish to begin restoring. In the search box on the taskbar, type create a restore point , then select Create a restore point from the list of results. On the System Protection tab, select Configure.

One of the best ways to get the most out of your PC is to make sure you have the latest version of Windows 10 installed. Sometimes apps that were made for an earlier version of Windows will still run on Windows 10, but they might slow down your PC. In the search box on the taskbar, type troubleshoot , then select Troubleshoot settings , which has System settings listed underneath it. Select File Explorer from the taskbar. In the search box on the taskbar, type advanced system , and then select View advanced system settings , which has Control panel listed underneath it.

In the Temporary Files area, select Delete temporary files that my apps aren't using. Select which files you want Storage Sense to delete your choices are files in your Recycle Bin and in your Downloads folder , then select the corresponding time intervals. Windows will take a few moment to clean up your files, and then you'll see a message indicating how much disk space has been freed up.

In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup , then select Disk Cleanup from the list of results. When you find an app to remove, choose it from the list and select Uninstall.

Get more info about freeing drive space in Windows Windows 10 includes many visual effects, such as animations and shadow effects. An HDD mechanically moves an actuator arm across a spinning platter to find each portion of data. An SDD, however, accesses the data digitally with flash memory chips. This allows SSDs to retrieve data like documents, images, and videos more quickly while using less power.

Plus, they can be used with multiple systems and devices. Unlike programs or videos that are permanently stored on the storage drive, memory stores data that is currently being used, allowing it to be retrieved quickly, functioning as a pool of resources for your system to get things done. The more memory you have, the more resources your system has at its disposal, meaning it can do things faster and handle more things at once. Adding more memory is a straightforward way to fix problems with slow performance when switching between apps and slow response times.

Upgrading your memory may sound intimidating, but it's actually quite easy. With a screwdriver, your owner's manual and a good how-to video, you can install new memory in just a few minutes. No computer tech required.

Just a few small, manageable changes that deliver immediate and lasting results. A slow computer is likely because you have too many programs running. This takes up a lot of processing power and impacts performance and speed. There are two ways to fix this: firstly, decreasing the number of programs running, and secondly, increasing your computers memory and processing power.

All rights reserved. Is your computer running slow? Are certain programs limiting productivity and efficiency? Would you like to learn more about enhancing cybersecurity while also boosting productivity, all without breaking the budget?

Is Your Computer Running Slow? Research company Gartner forecasts an increase