If you are asking yourself or more likely searching online asking Why does my computer run slow? the answer is - it could be one of many reasons or a compilation of several things. Â Here you will find some of the most common reasons that your computer may be running or preforming sluggishly and some suggestions on how to speed up your computer.Â 


Why does my computer run slow? Causes of poor or slow computer preformance:

Fragmented files taking up space on your computer. These fragmented files can cause your computer more work to find simple information.

Just to give you an idea - say you have important information on a single topic broke down into a 50 page document spread arranged in order of relevance. Now say you were to split those up into two piles throw in 50 more unrelated documents and shuffle them together as you would a deck of cards. To find the information you need you would have to sort through a lot of unnecessary chaos to find it taking more time than had it all been arranged neatly. That is what fragmented files can be like for your computer - hence the reason they can contribute to slow load and speed times.Â 

Remedy? Defragment your computer regularly. Preferably once a week if you store a lot of information on your system or if you add content often.Â 

Reboot is needed. If you are in the habit of leaving your computer on and running all day and night chances are you need to change your habits as this can be a partial answer to your question of "why does my computer run slow?".If your computer is not allowed the chance to cool down and be process free on occasion then the preformance will be sluggish, programs are more likely to freeze and you will end up even more frustrated.

Remedy: Shut your computer down when it is not being used. This is needed for your computer to run as intended. It is much like sleep to a human - a necessity for optimal functionality.

Remove unnecessary programs. Unnecessary programs, files, browser add-ons and applications take up room on your computer that could be used to help needed applications run faster and smoother on your computer.

Check for Viruses. Viruses and other malicious programs can affect your computer speed as well as put your personal information at risk. These programs can embed themselves into your computers memory, files and folders which will cause it to preform more slowly and can actually cause irreparible damage to the computer system and functions.Â 

If the issues that you are having are only occurring when you are online here is another problem that can be caused by malicious programs:

According to windows.microsoft.com


Â Remedy: Keep an up to date antivirus program as well as a spyware and malware program installed on your computer and regularly preform scans on your system. It is wise to set up the programs auto scan to check your system in conjunction with manually initiating scans daily.

Delete your history, cache, cookies and temporary files. These non essential items take up space and memory on your system which can slow down how fast it processes applications and programs and can affect the speed in which pages load on the internet.

Remedy: On most computers you can delete these items by visiting "Internet Options" in the control panel. You can also delete (and should) the history on the browser that you use. The option to do this will often be found (on most browsers)Â  in the upper toolbar under Tools.

RAMCredit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/carlos24

Your computer needs more Memory. If you are experiencing extremely slow connection andÂ loading times then your computer may not have adequate memory to handle all requests.

Â Everything that you use online (programs, browsers...) will utilize your computers memory in order to process requests whether that be loading a standard webpage or an internet game.Â 

Remedy: Computer memory also known as RAM can be added to most computers. By doing this you can make your computer work faster.Â 

Â This is a process that you can do yourself if you have the know how or that you can entrust to an outside computer techie. Most places that offer computer repair or refurbished computers will be able toÂ handle a job of this nature.Â 

One of the final answers to why does my computer run slow is age. After awhile things just naturally slow down. Processes don't function as well, connections become loose and an abundance of other little things start breaking down and not functioning at the speed or rate that they did when new. Sometimes having your computer refurbished or upgraded can help - other times all you can do is just Â say enough is enough and invest in a new computer.Â