I will answer this question for Windows users. For those who don’t have windows I give the advice to do the similar things but in any case you have to look how this is done on Linux or MacOs (or whatever).

There are two main cases of slowness: The pc itself is slow or the internet connection is slow. The best thing to find out, if your pc itself is slow, you should download a benchmark test program. You can find many of them on a common search engine (e.g. google or yahoo).

Just type in the search terms benchmark test download and you will find a lot tools and description how you can test if the benchmark output is correllant to you machine. But in most cases it is not your computer that is not fast enough, but the internet connection.

To check this, try the following points. It could be, that your neighbours are surfing together with you, but you don’t know it. Things like that happen, if you have a wireless connection between your router and your computer. To be sure, that this can’t happen anymore, login into your router (he has normally an IP-Adress by itself) and make your internet connection keyword safe.

Best thing to choose is RSA at the moment. To set that, you normally have to directly connect a cable to your router. The next thing is to check all the tasks running in the near of the clock. There are many things, that need to “call at home” permanently. So ask yourself: Do I know this program? Do I need this program?

Another important thing is the system update of windows. If you like to make your computer only in the standby mode, the system can get more and more unsecure. So always drive your system down or manually check, if all updates are always installed.

Very important is a virus checker that is always updated. Antivir is not the best one, but its for free and its better than nothing. Another point are all the places windows has to start programs automatically. Get from sysinternals the autostart checker and put everything away there what you don’t know.

Laptop Image

While it is often difficult to determine the precise cause of your sluggish PC, there are several likely culprits. Over time, the files and folders on your hard disk drive(s) may become fragmented. You should periodically ‘defragment’ your hard disk drives(s) by using a utility program for that purpose. For example, if you are using Windows, the Disk Defragmenter can be found in Accessories, System Tools.

 However, there are many other commercial and open-source utilities with additional features that will keep your file system up to speed. The Windows registry can become fragmented, thereby slowing down your computer. Again, a good utility program can be purchased or downloaded (either as freeware or shareware) to take care of this problem.

Did you know that your system’s memory can become fragmented? There are several specialized programs that will ‘defrag’ your RAM. If your computer seems sluggish, you probably have accumulated a great number of temporary files that can be deleted, in the case of Windows, by using the Disk Cleanup utility in Accessories, System Tools.

It’s also important to empty the Windows Recycle Bin periodically. Viruses and other malware, including rootkits, can bring your PC to its knees (or to a screeching halt). It is very important that you protect your system with a good anti-virus program as well as with firewall software.

Ironically, anti-virus and firewall software may slow down your system somewhat, because of their features for updating virus signatures and blocking malicious Internet traffic. Yet these and other tools for optimizing your PC will prove to be invaluable.

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.