Why Your Computer Is Sometimes Slow Working

There's a reason your computer is slow.

There are times when you can hear your computer churning, but nothing seems to be happening. Before buying another computer because you think your old computer is too slow, find out why the problem is occurring. There are a number of possible reasons. It may be an issue with the hard drive, the way you're using the computer, or a virus.

Using a number of applications

If you are simultaneously using several application programs like Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and the Microsoft Works database, your computer may slow, especially when you begin to transfer data between programs. Computers are more likely slow as you transfer more data. The actual number of application programs affects speed. The risk of problems increases as you run more applications. Consider using one program at a time, if possible. For example, use Word, close it, and only then switch to Excel.

Using multiple browsers

If you open too may browsers to surf the Internet, your computer will slow down. Microsoft Windows works best when you use just one Internet Explorer to surf the Internet. Opening several Explorer browsers at the same time may cause the computer to slow down or crash completely. Opening a combination of programs and browsers at the same time complicates matters for the Windows operating system, and your computer may slow down as a result.

Problems encountered on the web

While you surf the web, you may encounter things that slow your computer. You may collect a virus either via a download or by other means. Such a virus may slow down your computer. You may also try to access a site that is receiving heavy traffic, and that causes a delay.

Disk defragmentation

After your hard disk has been used many times, it may require defragmentation. Data is not stored sequentially on the disk. Essentially, your computer must occasionally rearrange the data it stores or disk operations will be slow. The process of rearranging the data is called defragmentation, and there are utility programs that perform this task. When your hard drive is full and you save data, the computer must move some data to make room for new data.

Miscellaneous Reasons

There are miscellaneous reasons your computer may lose speed. Your software may have an error in the programming code. For network users, there may be too many users on the network, and the excess traffic may slow down your computer.

References

• Computer Problem Help: Why is my computer so slow?
• Golden Gate University: Computer Security