How Do I Fix My Slow Computer?

It happens to all computers. When you buy them they're amazingly quick, but with time they start to slow down. Eventually it gets to the point that you decide you have to do something, but what? Here are the first things I recommend trying when you notice your computer getting slow, in the order I recommend trying them:

1. Restart- The first is easy. Restart your computer. When was the last time your computer was turned off? While computers are getting much better about going for extended periods of time without needing to be restarted (also known as "rebooted") letting it rest even for the couple seconds it takes to restart will often do wonders for a sluggish computer- especially a new one.

2. Clean Things Out- (WARNING!- Before deleting things from your computer, make sure you have a current backup of your computer. If you don't know how to backup your data, read this.) It's possible that your computer could be slowing down because it has so much information in it. The analogy here being that if you load up your car with a bunch of stuff, it slows down and you have to push the gas more to get it to go the same speed. I generally recommend people keep at least 10% of their hard drive empty for daily use. For example, if you have a 500 GB hard drive (click here if you don't know what "GB" means) you should have at least 50 GB left free to help prevent computer slow down.

3) Reinstall- Now things are getting serious. If you've tried both restarting and cleaning your computer, reinstalling your computer's operating system would be the next recommended step. (This article helps explain what an operating system is.) This is a bit more extreme as it involves removing everything from your computer and then putting it all back on. This is generally done to ensure that problem causing the computer to slow down isn't part of the computer's underpinnings. Sometimes, especially as the computer ages and sees more use, things simply get mucked up and need to be replaced. Think of this as shaking the proverbial Etcha-sketch on your computer. Because of this, I again urge you have a backup and to consult with your technology advisor for more help.

4) Add RAM- So you've restarted, cleaned things out, reinstalled your operating system and things still aren't as snappy you'd like them to be. Now we look at doing hardware upgrades. RAM is your computer's short term memory, and the easiest thing a consumer can physically change about their computer to speed it up. (Click here for a primer on what RAM is.) How the RAM is changed in your particular computer is variable, so it's important to have the owner's manual or your technology consultant handy. If you don't feel comfortable opening up your computer, don't worry, this is a simple operation and most computer technicians won't charge an arm and a leg to do it. (Find a new tech if they try and tell you it will take more than an hour to do the upgrade!)

Here's a photo example of RAM from Office Max.

Practical Tip of the Day:
Defragment- This would be located between steps 1 and 2 if you're using a Windows computer, but since I'm trying to write this in an operating system neutral way, I thought this would be the better place for it. Defragment- or "defrag" for short- is the process a Windows computer uses to put data back where it belongs. Computers are like preschoolers when it comes to putting things away when they're done with them; They don't. If you have a Windows computer, you can run a defrag to tell the computer to "clean up its room" in a sense. In some versions of Windows, you can even set a schedule to tell it to do it on a regular basis.

If you have a Mac, the computer defrags any files it views as "highly fragmented" when you go to open the file. This happens automatically unless you have less than 10% of your hard drive available. This is why step 2 is so important!

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When should I turn off my computer?

This topic was recommended to me by a friend. She writes:

If you use a computer all the time, is it better to leave it on or shut it down each night? Does running a computer for long periods of time cause harm?

This is a very good question, and even people who have been using computers their entire lives are slightly confused on this topic, and with good reason!

It used to be that it was widely recommended to shut your computer down (aka turn it off) whenever you weren't using it- just like your car. You only left your computer on if you were going to be coming back to it soon. This was because older computers needed that break to clear out their RAM (see our last topic!), and they used a lot of electricity even when they were in "sleep mode" (more on that in a bit).

Nowadays, it's generally recommended to shut your computer down once a month, or if you won't be using it for a few days or more. I've had my own personal computer for almost five years now and it's only ever been turned off for about a month's worth of time in total, and most of that was when I was away on vacation.

Here's some quick terminology tidbits to help explain things:

• Shut Down- Completely turns the computer off. The computer has a routine it goes through before turning off (just like people do before going to bed), and then it stop taking in electricity. It's at this point that it's safe to unplug your computer from the wall.
• Sleep/Stand By- This mode can vary slightly between types of computers, but it does a good job of drawing it's own analogy. Just like how people don't completely stop all our functions while we're asleep, in sleep mode neither does the computer. The screen is dark, the computer isn't doing anything, but it can quickly be "woken up" by tapping a few keys on the keyboard or wiggling the mouse around. This is the mode generally recommended if you plan to return to your computer within 48 hours. (That's not a hard and fast rule, by the way, just a loose recommendation.)
• Screen Saver- The screen saver is the simple animation that shows up on your screen if you haven't interacted with your computer in awhile. The screen saver usually comes up before the computer goes to sleep. It's called a "screen saver" because it used to save your screen from getting what's known as "burn in". If a particular image was left on the screen of an older CRT monitor (the ones that looked boxier and were much heavier) , it would literally burn in, and no matter what you wanted to see later, you would always have the hint of that previous imagine there. Think of a double-exposed picture for any camera/film aficionados out there.
• Restart- Restarting tells your computer to shut down, but riiiiight before it powers off, to turn back on again. More on this later!

So why the switch? Sleep mode on most computers nowadays uses so little power that it's almost negligible, and most computers come with enough RAM that an average user can use the computer for long lengths of time without noticing a difference. That added with the increased attention of computer manufacturers to make computers that don't need to rest means that there are few reasons to turn off your computer, especially when it usually takes more electricity to turn a computer on than to leave it running in sleep mode for a few days.

Why turn it off at all then? Turning the computer off does still let it rest and clear out it's RAM- read the PTD (Practical Tip of the Day) for why that's important, but the biggest issue usually is safety. Don't worry, not for you, but for the computer. Coming from Florida, I'm used to having to go around the house and make sure all the electronics were turned off for the big thunder storms. If the power goes out when your computer is turned on, the computer will shut down without getting to go through it's routine. Imagine if you've ever gone to bed without getting to brush your teeth, check the doors, etc. You wake up feeling a bit off. Same with your computer!

Practical Tip of the Day:
Is your computer starting to slow down? It does take longer than normal to open a program or check a web page? Is it being cranky and not doing what you're telling it to? Try restarting your computer. By restarting, you're allowing the computer to shut down, clear out it's RAM, and then start again fresh. Restarting a computer is like letting your computer take a nap- it's only "asleep" for a few seconds, but just like that refreshed feeling you get after a short nap, your computer will be perkier, quicker, and ready to go after a quick restart!

How do computers remember things?

Computers didn't always remember things. You used to ask it a single question ("What is 23432.692 divided by 1621.22235?" for example) and it would give you a single answer. Nowadays, we don't so much as our computers questions, but ask them to complete tasks for us. We ask them to help us write a letter, look at a photo, read a web page, etc. When writing a letter for example, you often will begin writing and eventually take a break. What keeps the computer from completely forgetting about your paper in the meantime?

Computers, like people, have two different kinds of memory- long-term and short-term. Short-term memory in people is what helps us remember what we ate for breakfast, or what it is we came into a room to get. (I have problems with that last example sometimes!) For computers, the short-term memory is called RAM (Random Access Memory- don't worry if you forget that in five minutes though, I doubt anyone will be quizzing you on it.) This is where it remembers the changes to your letter before you hit the Save button for example.

The other type of memory is your hard drive. You may remember me briefly mentioning the hard drive in the article "Why do computers hum?". The hard drive is where the long-term storage happens. This is where your letter is stored even after you close the program or even turn the computer off. As many of you may remember, if you had a record playing, and the needle got bumped, it could scratch the record. If the record got scratched it was all but ruined- it never played the same again. Hard drives work similarly, but instead of a physical needle touching and reading grooves on a record, it's called a "play head" and it hovers about a hair's width above the disc reading magnetic imprints. (Stay with me! Don't glaze over quite yet!)

Ever heard of a hard drive "crashing"? Crashing usually refers to the play head actually touching the disc and scratching it. Just like your old vinyl record, if the hard drive gets scratched, it'll never work the same way again.

Practical Tip of the Day:
Because hard drives crash, and because there's usually little or no warning to when they do, most people "back up" their information. Backing up simply means making another copy of your information and putting it in a safe place. You probably already do this with your important documents (titles, birth certificates, etc.). You usually have one copy you keep locked up in a safe spot like a safe, and then a photocopy that you can take to show people if need be.

There are many different ways to back up your information, and there's no best way for everyone. Feel free to either message me or talk to your local computer specialist for help picking the method that best fits your lifestyle.