How to Fix a Critically Slow Computer When Nothing Else Works
There are a number of reasons why your computer slows down. If you have exhausted time and possibly money but couldn't find a solution, it might be time for a big cleanup. Just like our homes, computers become cluttered up with stuff. Instead of overcomplicating the issue, use some common sense to fix it.
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Things You'll Need
- Disks
- Thumb drive or external hard drive
- Anti-virus software and backup
Instructions
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1
Back up all pictures you do not have hard copies of. Get as much data as you can off the machine before it crashes.
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Turn off the computer, then boot it up in safe mode so you can slowly do some last-minute saving. Use the ROM drive to copy and back up everything you truly want to save.
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Restart your computer in regular mode. Starting with your desktop, put all the icons, stuff you saved from the Internet and 3-year-old emails into the recycle bin. Print hard copies of anything you want to save, then delete everything in your recycle bin.
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Show no mercy and purge as much data as you can. Go to My Computer and click on "Add/Remove Programs." See how many megabytes each file holds. Remove games you don't play and Internet downloads. Remove the stuff with the highest number of megabytes.
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Keep removing as much as you can. Get your computer down to one game. Keep the necessary software you use daily. Purge duplicates and stuff you have on a hard disk. Remove as many videos and pictures as you can by putting them on a thumb drive or an external hard drive.
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Reboot the system and add anti-virus protection.
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7
Defragment before going to bed. Shut down the computer and leave it alone for a little bit so it cools down. Reboot it as you normally would.
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Tips & Warnings
You can try resetting the internal clock by going into settings and restore. Go back about a month and you should eliminate any glitches or bugs you may have.
Don't delete anything in DOS mode or you will end up deleting your operating system. Be careful to delete only what you know you are deleting.
