5 Ways to Fix a Slow PC

nytimes.com - 10/21/2011
PAUL BOUTIN

It seems to happen to most Windows users: You buy a new desktop or laptop PC. It runs fast. But a few months later, you're sure it's slower than it used to be. Ask for help on the Internet or in real life, and you usually get one of two answers: you must have downloaded a virus, or you need to defragment your hard drive. Bad advice. You probably don't have a virus, and Windows doesn't need you to run the defragmenting tool yourself these days. Your problems lie elsewhere.

After suffering with a slower-than-it-used-to-be PC myself, I appealed to Microsoft for help on how to solve the problem. The company came back with five suggestions for getting a Windows machine back to speed.

Check for viruses -- This usually isn't the problem, despite what your MacBook-toting friends tell you, but it's worth a look. If you haven't got antivirus software running already, download the free Microsoft Security Essentials software. If you get the impression that I find this answer annoying, there's a reason: antivirus software itself is almost guaranteed to slow down your computer even more.

Run Windows Update -- If you haven't updated your Windows operating system in a while, there may be speed fixes that Microsoft has published since you bought it. Of course, that doesn't explain why your PC would have actually become slower, but it might improve the problem. Microsoft recommends that you turn on automatic updating, but plenty of readers hate the automatic updates -- they always seem to insist on installing themselves in the middle of a deadline or an important chat session. I prefer to make Windows wait until I tell it to update.

Reduce your Web page history -- This one works for sure. Internet Explorer stores a historical archive of Web sites you have visited. If it gets too big, managing it slows the browser. Microsoft recommends keeping no more than a week's worth of Web history. The company has instructions for how to reduce the size of your history.

Disable add-ons -- Browser add-ons can slow browsing, especially if you install several of them. To disable add-ons, go to the Internet Explorer option Tools -> Manage Add-ons. Other browsers have similar configuration controls.

Free some disk space -- A disk that's running out of space can slow Windows a lot, as it juggles data that it would normally just spit out to the disk. To reclaim space, run the Disk Cleanup tool (Bring up the Start menu and type "disk cleanup tool" into the search box) to remove Internet cache files, clear the Recycling Bin and delete installed programs that you never use.

Still slow? Here's a fast and easy way to get help from the people who make Windows: Log in to Twitter and post a tweet with @MicrosoftHelps in it to get attention from the Microsoft customer support team weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Pacific time. Microsoft has plenty of online documentation, but having a human being help you navigate it is much quicker--especially if you're already crawling.

If these tips didn’t help let our Tech take a look- visit GeeksOnCall.com to schedule a visit

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