The personal computer over the last twenty five years has evolved from an IBM mainframe capable of occupying significant space within a lab, to a compact, 20lbs tower, featuring dual or quad microprocessors, 1GB video cards, enhanced PCI bus expansion slots, 1 terabyte hard drives, multiple operating system platforms, 400 watt power supplies, etc.

The PC has experienced an impressive technological leap, that is unsurpassed. It’s inevitable, that with the wide variety and versatility of applications and hardware that are available in the market today, conflicts, slowdowns, freeze ups, will on occasion, arise. It’s essential to always properly maintain your PC, by installing antivirus and antimalware applications, having utility software to regularly clean up unwanted files, browser cache, cookies, ad banners, etc, as well as keeping up with the latest software updates, of the above applications to maximize the chances, of protecting your system from getting infected.

It is true of course, that there can be many reasons for a PC being slow. A virus may have infected the kernel or other critical components of the operating system, the registry may have been modified, user profile information or security settings were compromised. However, the problem may also lie with unnecessary files cluttering the hard drive to such a degree, that it’s bogging down the overall efficiency of the CPU, thus making it very difficult for main tasks to be completed in a timely manner.

Additionally, having too many applications loading up at startup, can significantly slow operations down as well as not frequently using utilities like Scandisk or Defrag, especially after several applications have been installed or uninstalled, within a relatively, short period of time.

Therefore, if the PC is slow, the best course of action would be to run utilities like CCleaner, registry clean up or optimization applications, antivirus programs that also protect the computer from incoming attacks, antispyware that specifically targets malware, worms, Trojans, etc, as well as shutting down or disabling unnecessary software that loads up on startup.

Keeping up with the latest firewall upgrades, video or sound driver updates, running apps that free up memory, should also be given serious consideration. To the very least ,the above tips should be implemented on a regular basis, to ensure maximum protection as well as peak efficiency.

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The first thing to do when a computer suddenly slows down is to shut it down. Make sure it is completely powered off, and then restart it. This will typically fix any random, non-repeatable problems.

Also, make sure that it is the computer itself that is running slowly, and not your internet connection. Network congestion and problems with ISPs can look like a problem with the computer itself, but are not fixable on your end. If the problem re-occurs after rebooting, then there are a variety of things that could be going on which can be looked at by a user with no technical training.

1) There may be a program of some kind which is suddenly going out of control, using up memory and CPU time. Close all your running programs one by one, and see if the problem goes away when a certain program is closed. If all of the running programs are closed and the computer is still running slowly, then it may be one of the programs which are running all the time, such as anti-virus programs, and other tools with icons that typically reside in the system tray (in the lower right corner by the clock). Some of these programs can be exited or disabled by right-clicking on their system tray icon, but some of them may need to be uninstalled.

 2) Run a spyware/malware check using a trusted scanning tool. Malicious software can often use up computer memory and other resources in order to perform whatever tasks its creator gave it, and will often not show up in any list of programs to close or uninstall.

3) The system may be overheating and causing the CPU to slow down in order to avoid damaging itself. This is typically caused by bad ventilation or defective fans. Make sure that nothing is covering up air intakes or outputs. Opening up the computer to see if there are any broken cooling fans may void your warranty, so contact your computer manufacturer first if you believe this may be the case.

4) The computer’s memory may have developed a fault, causing the computer to stop using the defective memory stick. Check how much memory your computer says it currently has, and compare that to how much memory it should actually have. If it is smaller, contact your computer manufacturer for instructions.

5) A peripheral device may be malfunctioning. Try shutting down the computer and disconnecting all non-vital equipment, like scanners, external hard drives, USB thumb drives, webcams, printers, etc. If the problem goes away, reconnect them one by one and see which one causes the problem to return.