Electronics

[Lindsays Grandma]

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@gardenman wrote:

Computers can slow down for all kinds of reasons, but typically it's because something is misbehaving. A few years back I had a plug-in (Yahoo I think?) on my browser that inexplicably kept grabbing 97% or more of the CPU capacity. I could have defragged the hard drive, removed everything from the startup menu, and none of it would have mattered. As soon as I'd open the web browser the computer would slow way down. The way I found out what was causing the trouble was by going into Task Manager and seeing what was using the resources. When I found the process using 97+% of the CPU capacity, I'd found the culprit. Who knew a simple plug-in could cause that much chaos? I sure didn't. By using Task Manager I could see exactly what's causing the trouble and fix it. 

Task Manager is any Windows computer user's best friend. It lets you see what's really going on inside your computer and gives you the power to fix whatever the problem is.

Now among the other reasons a computer can run slowly, are the lack of available hard drive space. If your hard drive is nearly full, then your computer will slow down. Too little memory can slow a computer down. Sometimes a memory stick will fail or come loose if the computer's been moved. Sometimes a lack fo cleaning will slow down a computer. Dust, cat hair, dog hair and just whatever junk is in your air ends up getting pulled into the computer.

Modern motherboards and CPU's monitor the temp and when it gets too high they throttle down the CPU to keep it from literally melting the CPU. By throttling down the power they slow down your computer. If you have a conventional CPU cooler atop your CPU, (a fan with metal fins under it) a blast of compressed air through the  radiator fins can clean it out and restore more speed to your computer. (Lots of stuff tends to pile up there blocking airflow.) If you have a water cooled system (not likely unless you're a gamer) then a failed or failing coolant pump could result in your computer's CPU having rising temps and throttling back its performance.

If the fan above the CPU isn't moving at all, then the fan has either burned out or come unplugged and that's why you have really slow performance. The CPU has to be kept cool to perform well. The cooler you keep it, the better it will perform. (Some on the loony fringe use liquid nitrogen to cool their CPU to get insanely high benchmark tests. Definitely not recommended for the average user.)

Higher end computer cases will often have five or more lage fans to move air through the case to keep the components cool. Most commercially available computer have just one or two fans. If that fan or those fans, fail the computer will heat up and will slow down. An inadequate power supply will slow down a computer. If your system needs 350 watts and you've got a 300 watt power supply the power management software built into the motherboard will not distribute the power evenly, but will portion it out sequentially, resulting in slower performance. 

In theory, most modern BIOS setups will alert you to a failed CPU fan or overheating, but some don't. If your computer slows way down and you can't find a reason, then it could be a CPU overheating issue. 

My first step in troubleshoooting a slow computer is to open task manager and see what's going on. That'll show me how the CPU and memory are being used and how much memory there is. If you've got software to monitor CPU temp, take a look at that and see what's going on. If that's fine, then move on. Is the hard drive full or nearly so? If not, move on. Are the case fans working? Is the power supply adequate? Eventually you'll find the culprit and have your computer back to full speed. Typically, you'll find the problem in Task Manager though. Learning to use Task Manager is a great investment in your time. That's probably more than you ever wanted to know about fixing a slow computer, but it gives you a good idea of what to look for and how to fix it.

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Thank you so much for this, it is full of information in English, not computer language.  I'm waiting to hear from my friend and once he tells me what his Son-in-Law did I'll be able to pass it on.  Thanks again.

[WildDunes]

Perhaps he meant clean your computer using Ccleaner. If you're not really comfortable with new programs, don't try this one on your own. Get someone that's familar with it to help you. It's a free download.

[Lindsays Grandma]

@lovestoteach, @Venezia, @artisto, @SilleeMee,

@gardenman, @WildDunes, @Caffeina, @Nuttmeg

@glb613, @Lilysmom, @cats01, @Marp,

Thanks to all of you for responding, if I missed anyone please accept my apologies.  I was able to contact my friend and he said yes, it was CPU, Computer Processing Unit that his son-in-law used on his computer.  He mentioned that his son-in-law's profession with Saint Mary's Hospital in Minnesota is maintenance of all computers and operation.

According to my friend there are operations on every computer that only a professional knows what they are and how to use them.  I disagree with that statement as I know there are many people who are not professionally trained who can determine and fix problems.  So thanks again to all of you.

[glb613]

I almost hate to admit this but, I will.  My iMac has not been running well for some time and I'm considering resetting it back to factory condition.  It's my main computer with everything on it, I make regular backups, and the thought of having it out of commission for a while is what's stopping me.  I got to thinking and couldn't remember when I had last done any maintenance so I spent time yesterday performing tasks.  I was stunned just how much data I had in the trash, or recycle bin if using Windows, and how many temporary Internet files.  I ran scans, emptied the trash and did a first aid of the hard drive.   The increase in performance is noticeable. 

Not performing maintenance is easy to do.  I still plan on restoring to factory condition sometime soon.  I use to do it with my Windows every other year and it made a huge difference.  Just like purging you house or closet, purging your computer is a good thing. 

[gardenman]

You do have to be careful doing a full reset as you can lose the license on some software by doing so. If you install everything by CD/DVD you're generally okay, but if you've downloaded software online, some developers won't let you redownload the software without paying for it all over again. It's kind of ticky tacky on their part, but they set the rules. You also have to be careful with some software on CD/DVD as sometimes the software needs to be activated online and they won't let you activate it from a clean install without paying a new license fee for it. Some consider a clean install a "new computer" even though it's still the same old one just refreshed with a new install of the OS. You can find yourself paying a few hundred dollars or doing without software you really want if you do a full reset and have the wrong software on your computer before the reset.

[SilleeMee]

The last time I performed a full reset on my pc, it was a disaster. It would not reboot. I don't know if it was because the pc was old or if it had something to do with the software...whatever it was I had to buy a new pc after I tried resetting that old one. I won't be doing that again.

[glb613]

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@gardenman wrote:

You do have to be careful doing a full reset as you can lose the license on some software by doing so. If you install everything by CD/DVD you're generally okay, but if you've downloaded software online, some developers won't let you redownload the software without paying for it all over again. It's kind of ticky tacky on their part, but they set the rules. You also have to be careful with some software on CD/DVD as sometimes the software needs to be activated online and they won't let you activate it from a clean install without paying a new license fee for it. Some consider a clean install a "new computer" even though it's still the same old one just refreshed with a new install of the OS. You can find yourself paying a few hundred dollars or doing without software you really want if you do a full reset and have the wrong software on your computer before the reset.

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Sometimes it pays to be OCD about my computers since I always keep the installation CDs/DVDs, print out activation numbers from online downloads and other program information.  You can contact the company and get the information needed prior to doing a reset. 

[Mz iMac]

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@Cats3000 wrote:

@Lindsays Grandma  I've had Macs for decades.  The only thing I've ever done is delete old stuff from my hard drive if I wanted to.  That's the only thing i've ever "cleaned".

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Mac user since 1999 & never looked back.

[JBSH]

When I received my new laptop, I had to clean out things like the virus protection that came with it I did not want, and several other absurd programs so the seller could claim the computer came with loads of free programs that are, essentially, junk.

YouTube has several videos on what programs to get rid of from Windows 10 and other versions of windows, I learned a lot from some videos.

Good luck, you don't need any program you will never use---Microsoft has a bunch of junk they add on that are free to begin with, then if you want to continue, they will begin to charge you after a year. I'd get rid of all of those. Things like "Jumpstart", "Dropbox" are what I got rid of, including others.They may give you a tiny amout of free space, but you have to pay for anything more. Not worth it, there are better free things.

Good luck. As someone else mentioned, there is a free version of CCleaner, and its great, been using it 10 years, comes highly recommended. Also, checking Task Manager is a great suggestion.  Do you know there is a Programs feature on Control Panel and you can uninstall programs there. I would also check the file location to make sure every bit of the program is gone.