No one likes settling, so it may be your time to look into a big laptop upgrade soon. With the rapid development of modern computers, older operating systems simply cannot keep up with the many updates most of your favorite applications require in order to run.
Computers running Windows XP, Vista, or even Windows 7 generally perform far slower than their more contemporary successors with Windows 8 and Windows 10 laptops. However, with big tech giants like Apple openly revealing that they intentionally slow down old devices to push consumers to upgrade to newer models, tech obsoletion is an unfortunate reality of the digital age. The prices of our most valued pieces of technology can cost us hundreds to thousands of dollars, so it’s only fair that we expect them to last us years and years. Slowdown cause #4: Your laptop is too old Quick fix: Run virus and malware scans to find and remove anything suspicious.
Decide how to use your RAM for various projects while multi-tasking. Access your PC’s task manager by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL, and under the processes tab, you will be able to view which programs are hogging your RAM. Quick fix: You should check on the status of your laptop’s memory usage.
This could be anything from anti-virus programs conducting scans to Dropbox silent syncing files. Most modern computers handle multi-tasking without missing a beat, but dated or overworked PCs won’t be able to handle many memory-intensive programs running at the same time.Įven if you’re not actively multi-tasking, you could have a number of programs running in the background slowing your laptop’s performance down.
Signs pointing toward low memory include incredibly slow processing when more than one program is open. The more RAM, the more capacity for running memory-heavy programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Knowing how much RAM (random access memory) your laptop has is valuable information so you can properly gauge what programs can be run on your PC. Start everything else up only as you need them. Quick fix: Pare down your start up protocol to only the necessary programs. Tasked with getting each program up and running as quickly as possible, you feel the reverse effect and are left watching the clock as your computer struggles to reach your home screen. Unless you have manually unchecked the permission box to disable a program’s self-start at every power-on, your startup is likely clogged with too many applications firing up at the same time.
However each and every time you download a new program, it joins the battle for a slot in your computer startup. In fact, that is probably the very reason you invested in your computer in the first place. Laptops give you the lightweight portability of taking all of your favorite songs, applications, photos, and files wherever you go. It’s only natural to download programs onto your laptop. Slowdown cause #1: You have an overzealous startup These common causes of computer slowdown could be the reason behind your laptop’s poor performance.
If you constantly find yourself waiting on your PC to catch up with your many trains of thought, it’s probably about time you figured out how to expedite your processing power.īefore tackling a solution, you need to address the issue at hand. Sluggish PCs can interrupt your workflow and compromise productivity with a single crash. There are few things more frustrating than sudden slowdowns and inexplicable crashing. Whether you’re dealing with dated tech or malfunctioning hardware, being able to diagnose the cause of your slow down is the first step to coming up with a solution.īefore you give yourself a headache wondering “why is my laptop so slow?” we’ll break down the many common causes and fixes that could get your computer back up to speed. We expect our expensive tech to match our fast-paced worlds but the reality is that over time, slowdowns just happen.įrom our smartphones to our laptops, slowdowns can occur for a number of reasons that may have nothing to do with the way you use your device at all. The digital age has turned us into instant gratification monsters who have zero tolerance for long load times and laggy processing.