Chapter 1. What’s Slowing Down Your Computer?
In This Chapter
Signs That Your Computer Is Getting Slower
Signs That Your Computer Really Isn’t Getting Slower—Even if You Think it Is
Quick Fix: Five Quick Steps to Improve Your PC’s Performance
So you think your computer is getting sluggish. Is it really slowing down, or is it more of a perceived problem—that is, does it feel slower because you need to do faster stuff? And if it is slowing down, why?
Speeding up slow computers is what this book is all about, of course, and this chapter is the place to get started. Read on to learn more about what kinds of things can slow down your personal computer—and how to troubleshoot a sluggish PC.
The longer you have your computer, the slower it seems to get. Now, some of that is perception; that slight wait while a folder opens seems longer the more times you have to sit through it. But there is some truth to the notion that computers get slower over time. In fact, some computers can get really sluggish really fast.
How can you tell whether your computer is really getting slower? Let’s examine some of the more common situations.
Not everyone reboots their computer every day. (Fortunately!) Most of us leave our PCs on for days at a time, and only turn it off when we’re gone for an extended period of time—or reboot it when we’re forced to by some new program installation or unexpected program crash or freeze.
But when you do reboot your computer, it takes a long time to turn back on. This is true even with a fast new PC; the boot-up process is time consuming. Still, if you have to wait more than a few minutes for your computer to get up and running, something may be wrong—especially if it used to boot up much faster.
Let’s examine why it takes so long for a typical computer to turn itself on. Not that you need to understand any of this to make your PC work, but it’s nice to know what’s going on as you wait for your computer to boot up.
It all starts when you press your computer’s “on” button. At this point power is sent through the PC’s power supply to the motherboard (which holds all the important pieces and parts of your system), and your system reads instructions stored in your computer’s basic input/output system (BIOS), which is stored in read-only memory (ROM). These instructions tell your computer to perform a power-on self test (POST), which checks and verifies the status of all the low-level hardware in your system—random access memory (RAM), controllers, and so on.
Note
Don’t confuse read-only memory (ROM) with random access memory (RAM). ROM is a small amount of static memory, housed on your PC’s motherboard, used to permanently store firmware instructions on how to start up your system. RAM is a much larger amount of memory, housed on removable memory chips, that can be written to and read from over and over again (and so is used to temporarily store programs and data that are open on your system).
After the self-test, your computer looks for the first bootable drive on your PC. This is probably your hard drive (C:), although it could also be a disk drive (on an older computer) or CD/DVD drive with a bootable disc inserted. A bootable disc contains, in a sector called the Master Boot Record (MBR), those important system files necessary for your system to operate—files that are normally hidden from view, and not displayed in a normal folder listing. When your computer accesses a bootable drive (normally the C: hard drive), it reads into RAM the contents of the disk’s boot sector, which contains certain files that tell your system how to load the Windows operating system.
The first file found on and run from the hard disk is the Windows Boot Manager (sometimes called the bootstrap loader). Its purpose is simple: It tells your system to launch other Windows preboot applications—utilities that Windows needs to get started. Next, the Boot Manager reads from hard disk a Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file. This file is essentially a “data store,” in that it functions as a container for all the files and processes used in the boot sequence. The Boot Manager also loads into memory a few other items, including the Windows kernel and the contents of the Windows Registry.
Note
The Windows Registry is a database of configuration settings for the operating system and for all Windows applications. Learn more about the Registry in Chapter 7, “Cleaning Up the Windows Registry.”
Next, the Boot Manager scans the Registry to determine which behind-the-scenes processes, applications, and device drivers to launch during the startup process—in most cases, items that Windows needs loaded to perform essential operations. For example, Windows might load a device driver to enable your printer to print, or maybe launch a process that speeds up the launching of the Adobe Reader program. These drivers, processes, and applications remain in memory, where they can quickly be called into action when needed. (Loading a process or program from hard disk takes a lot longer than it does to access that same process or program in memory.)
Note
Not all startup programs are launched from the Windows Registry. To determine which programs to load on startup, Windows looks both in the Registry and in a special Startup folder that you can access through the Windows Start menu.
When all these files and drivers have been loaded, Windows now displays the welcome screen and prompts you to select a user account (if the PC has multiple users). Once you log on as a specific user, Windows loads all the configuration and policy settings for that user from the Windows Registry. Windows then displays the XP or Vista desktop for that user—and the computer is now ready to use.
Note
If your PC runs Windows Vista, the startup process may seem to be faster than on an older Windows XP machine. That’s because Vista incorporates a new Fast Boot and Resume function that helps to get your computer up and running in less time. With Fast Boot and Resume, not all processes are loaded before the Windows desktop appears. Some processes are loaded in the background after the initial startup (and so you can see the desktop and start working faster than you could before).
And here’s where we get into one of the most common causes of a slow PC. The more processes and applications launched at startup, the more memory used—and the slower your system will start up and run. Not only do more programs take longer to load, one after another, but a system with overtaxed memory itself runs slower. So if your computer is taking longer to start up, even if it’s just a few seconds longer, it’s probably because you have too many programs or utilities loading automatically at launch—and why a simple speedup solution is to keep some of those programs from loading.
Why would your computer have more programs or utilities loading at startup? It’s simple: Just about every software program you install these days thinks that it’s so important that it must load whenever your computer starts. These programs typically install some sort of startup utility or process that loads into your system’s memory whenever Windows launches. You can view some of these utilities as icons in the Windows system tray, like the one shown in Figure 1.1.
For example, if you install Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, it installs a Photo Loader utility that loads automatically when Windows launches. It stays in the background, taking up a piece of system memory, waiting for you to connect a digital camera to your computer. When a camera is connected, the Photo Loader utility senses the camera and automatically downloads pictures from the camera to your hard drive. It seems useful enough, except that it’s just one more program slowing down your computer’s startup process and taking up system memory.
Multiply that one instance by all the different programs you have installed on your computer, and you see the issue. The more programs you have installed, the more processes that load automatically at startup, and the longer it takes for the startup process to complete. This is one of the prime reasons why a computer tends to get slower over time; you install more programs, and each program you install takes up more system resources.
Note
Not all programs, of course, automatically load processes into memory during the startup process. And of those that do, not all of these processes are necessary. Many of these autoloading programs can be safely deleted or configured not to load on startup, as you’ll learn in Chapter 4, “Cleaning Out Unnecessary Programs.”
So if you think your computer is taking longer to start up, you’re probably right—and now you know why.
Here’s another good sign that your computer is really slowing down: A task that used to take 30 seconds to complete now takes a minute or more.
The nice thing about this type of slowdown is that it’s easy enough to measure. Assuming you know the approximate amount of time it took to perform a particular task in the past, you can time the task today to see if it takes longer.
Suppose, for example, that you want to copy a large file from one folder to another on your hard drive. In the past, your computer took less than 20 seconds to copy the entire file, but today it takes 30 seconds or longer. That’s a definite slowdown (50% slower, in this instance).
And it could be anything. The slowdown could be in how long it takes to open a particular program, load a specific file, activate a given tool within a program (such as an editing tool in Photoshop), copy a file, delete a file, you name it. It’s especially noticeable when it’s an operation you perform often; you’ll know when something you do everyday takes longer to do.
So, yes, your computer is slowing down. But the question is, why?
The two most probable culprits in this instance are memory and hard disk space. Your computer uses both to run applications and perform basic operations. The less you have of either, the longer said operations will take to perform.
Let’s put it more directly: When your memory or hard disk space gets low, your computer slows down. If not enough free memory or hard disk space is available, it will take longer to open new applications, pull down menus, copy files, and the like.
Note
Learn more about upgrading system memory in Chapter 10, “Adding More Memory.” Learn more about upgrading hard disk storage in Chapter 11, “Adding More Disk Space.”
But why would your computer get less memory or hard disk space over time? The hard disk space issue is easy enough to comprehend: The more you use your PC, the more software programs you install and files you create, both of which take up hard disk space. And the less hard disk space you have, the less space programs can use to temporarily store data while you’re using them, causing your computer to slow down.
As to memory, this also has to do with the number of new programs you install. As you recall from the previous section on startup behavior, many programs automatically load utilities into memory when Windows launches. The more programs you install, the more memory that gets eaten up by these autoloading programs.
So if your computer’s sluggishness is caused by insufficient memory or hard disk space, the solution is simple—even if the execution is less so. The more and newer programs you install on your system, the more memory and hard disk space you need. This requires you to upgrade your computer’s memory or add more hard disk space. For the non-technical user, this might appear daunting, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds—and it may be necessary to get your computer back up to speed.
Know, however, that insufficient memory or hard disk space isn’t the only thing that can slow down your system in this manner. You may also have a fragmented or damaged hard disk, have too many programs running simultaneously, or have too many background processes automatically loaded into system memory, as discussed in the previous section. Unload some of those programs and processes, and you’ll be surprised at how speedy your computer now appears.
The bottom line is that when common tasks take longer to complete, your computer is slowing down. There might be a number of reasons for this, but the problem is real.
Here’s a related situation. Your computer runs fast enough when you have a single program open on your desktop, but when you open a second (or third or fourth) program, your computer gets very sluggish.
Some wags might respond to this issue by telling you that if your computer slows down when you open multiple windows, don’t open multiple windows. (Duh!) That’s fine and dandy in theory, but in the real world you sometimes need to run more than one application simultaneously; if this slows down your PC, you have a real problem.
The likely cause of this problem is similar to the most likely cause of the previous problem: You need more memory and/or disk space. That’s because every program, when launched, loads a portion of its program code into your computer’s memory. With two programs running, that’s twice as much memory space used.
Similarly, your computer uses space on your hard disk as “virtual” memory that augments the normal random access memory that it uses to run these programs. The less free space you have on your hard disk, the less virtual memory you have—and the slower your programs will run.
The interesting thing about insufficient memory or hard disk issues is that they can appear quite suddenly. For example, you may be able to open three windows or programs with no problem, but when you open the fourth your computer slows to a crawl. It’s kind of an all-or-nothing situation; you may have just enough memory for three programs, but there isn’t any to spare for that fourth one. It’s not a gradual slowdown, it’s an immediate one.
Even worse than your computer slowing down is when it seems to stop what it’s doing for long seconds or even minutes—or, even worse, completely freezes up. This can happen with no warning, or after a period of increasing sluggishness.
Most so-called freeze ups really don’t represent a frozen computer, but rather one that is taking excessively long to perform a specific task. That is, your computer isn’t frozen, it’s just “thinking” about what it’s supposed to be doing. If you wait long enough, the computer gets moving again and any pending tasks are eventually executed.
Not that you won’t occasionally get a frozen computer. It’s just your computer is more likely to crash (resulting in an onscreen error message or forced reboot) than it is to actually freeze. Of course, a really long pause looks and feels just like a freeze, so there may be no practical difference from your end. In fact, in many instances it’s quicker to reboot a paused computer than it is to wait for the slow process to finally be completed.
Why would your PC slow down to such a degree that you think it’s frozen? Again, there are multiple possible culprits, although low memory is always a favorite. If you get a lot of these frozen situations, try running fewer applications at the same time—or just bite the bullet and increase your system memory.
Whatever the cause, a frozen computer is a definite sign that something is slowing down your system—and should be addressed.
Not every computer that seems slow has actually slowed down. Sometimes the computer only seems slow; other times the computer is fast enough, but it’s something else in your system (such as your Internet or network connection) that is sluggish.
As an example, just this week I went into my wife’s office to look up some files she had stored on her laptop. Said laptop is about four years old (it’s one of my old machines that got handed down), and it took forever to do some simple file finding and opening. I couldn’t believe how slow it was, and immediately went to work trying some of the simple speedups I discuss later in this book. But I didn’t find anything wrong with the PC (and my wife said she didn’t think that the computer’s performance was any different from what it had been in the past).
What I had experienced, then, was a perceived sluggishness. That older computer seemed (and in fact was) slow in comparison to my own newer and faster computer. My wife’s computer hadn’t slowed down at all, but merely seemed slow compared to what I was used to. No real problem there.
A few days later I fielded a complaint from my stepdaughter about her computer acting slow. Her complaint was real, but she had misidentified the culprit. When I examined her PC, I found nothing that would compromise system performance. I did discover, however, that when she sensed her PC was running slow, what she was doing at the time was watching video over the Internet, and that video was stuttering and stopping at frequent intervals. A quick perusal led to the conclusion that her computer hadn’t slowed down, but her Internet connection had. The next day the cable company was out front repairing a bad cable, which had led to connection slowdowns for all the houses on our little cul de sac. When the repairs were completed, our Internet connection was back up to speed and nobody was complaining about anything being slow.
All this is just to illustrate that your computer can seem slow but not have any issues of its own. In other words, you can’t always blame your computer for what’s slowing down! Instead, look for outside causes that you may or may not be able to fix. At the very least, you need to learn how to deal with them intelligently.
That said, let’s take a look at some of the most common situations that you may think signal a slow computer but in fact have external causes.
Let’s say you purchased your computer two or three years ago, and it ran fine with the programs you had installed at the time—typically Microsoft Office, Quicken or Microsoft Money, and your web browser and email program. But three years down the road you’ve supplemented these initial programs with some newer applications, and your computer doesn’t run these new programs as snappily as it does your older ones. What’s the deal?
As much as you might want to believe otherwise, this situation does not indicate that your computer is slowing down. What’s happening is that you’re asking an old PC to run newer, more-demanding programs—and these programs don’t run all that fast on your older computer. Your computer is fast enough for your three-year-old programs, but not near fast enough for these newer programs.
Many newer applications are simply more power hungry than your older applications. First off, some types of applications are quite demanding of system resources; examples include photo-editing programs (such as Adobe Photoshop) and video-editing programs (such as Adobe Premier). An older computer might not have the juice, in terms of memory and processing power, required to efficiently run these challenging applications. The result is that your system seems sluggish when these applications are running.
In addition, newer versions of older applications often require more system resources than previous versions did. It’s not untypical to upgrade from an older version of a program to a newer version and then find that the newer version runs slower than the older one. So if you’ve recently upgraded from Office XP to Office 2007, for example, and find that your system all of a sudden seems slower, it’s the upgrade that’s the problem. Your system is just as fast as it ever was, but the upgraded application requires more memory and system resources than the older version did.
Bottom line: Your computer doesn’t slow down when you install new programs or upgrade to new versions. It just seems that way because these new and upgraded apps require additional system resources.
Similarly, the latest greatest computer games can make even a recent PC seem sluggish. That’s because today’s state-of-the-art computer games are the most demanding applications out there. They need lots of memory, processing power, and graphics power to display those detailed, fast-moving onscreen graphics. An older PC—or even a newer one that doesn’t have an adequate CPU or graphics card—can seem terribly slow when running one of these demanding games.
Again, trying to run a demanding PC game doesn’t make your computer any slower than it was before. It’s just that the game itself requires more power than your computer is capable of providing.
Here’s another upgrade that can make your computer feel like it’s slowing down. Upgrading your operating system from Windows XP to Windows Vista can display the sluggish side of any older system.
Windows Vista is a great upgrade. I like it and recommend it—if your system has enough oomph to make it work. Not all older systems do. In particular, Vista is quite demanding in terms of graphics capabilities; a PC with an older or lesser-powered graphics card can appear quite sluggish running Vista’s new Aero interface.
Right now you may be asking just how different Windows Vista really is compared to Windows XP. Windows is Windows, after all; it’s an operating system that you use to run programs and control your computer. To that end, Vista does pretty much the same things that Windows XP or the even older Windows 2000 did.
On closer inspection, however, there’s a world of difference between Vista and all older versions of Windows. Even the most jaded user can see that Vista looks different. Sure, there’s still a taskbar and Start menu at the bottom of the screen, but these items look cooler in Vista. That’s due to Vista’s new Aero user interface, which displays true 3D elements with a see-through, glass-like look. And everything else in Vista looks a bit different, too. Folder and file icons now show thumbnails of their contents, as do the program buttons on the Windows taskbar. The Start menu is a lot more streamlined, especially if you have a lot of programs installed. When you go to switch between open applications, the windows twist and turn to display in a three-dimensional stack. And the windows themselves are smoother and rounder and translucent, heightening the sense of depth when you view multiple windows onscreen.
These nifty graphic elements require more graphics horsepower to display. In fact, not all older computers can be easily upgraded to Vista. Processor- and memory-wise, most mid- to high-end PCs sold in the past few years will probably do the job. But unless your PC has a high-end 3D video card, it might not be able to display the new Aero glass interface and all those fancy visual elements. If your video card isn’t up to snuff, you’ll be limited to the Windows Vista Basic interface—which looks a little better than Windows XP does, but doesn’t offer all the neat translucent 3D effects.
So what are the system requirements for running Windows Vista? Let’s take a quick look, system component by system component:
Microprocessor: To run Windows Vista, Microsoft says that your PC must have a “modern CPU.” (CPU is short for central processing unit, which is another word for microprocessor—the brains of your computer.) For the Home Basic edition, that translates into a 32-bit or 64-bit microprocessor running at a minimum of 800MHz. For all other editions, you need at least a 1GHz microprocessor.
Memory: The more memory your PC has, the better. To run the Home Basic edition, you need at least 512MB RAM. For all other editions, Microsoft says you should go with a minimum of 1GB of memory—although 2GB will make things run much faster.
Hard disk: You need at least a 20GB hard drive with 15GB of free space to run Windows Vista Home Basic. For all other editions, Microsoft recommends a minimum 40GB hard drive. In reality, you need a much larger hard disk—100GB or more—if you want to install additional applications and store a fair number of files.
Graphics: Here’s the tough one. To display the Windows Vista Basic interface, you need a 3D video card that’s compatible with DirectX 9. To display the snazzier Aero interface, your PC’s video card must support DirectX 9 with Pixel Shader 2, have a minimum of 64MB graphics memory and 1280 x 1024 resolution, and offer 32 bits per pixel, Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) support. And not all older computers (especially older or lower-priced notebooks) have this type of graphics processing power.
So compare these specs with those of your PC. If you come up short in any instance, your system will run slower with Vista than it did with XP. Again, it’s not that your computer is any slower; it’s that the new operating system is more demanding.
Here’s a common situation. You think your computer is running slow because the Internet is running slow. In reality, it doesn’t take a lot of PC power to browse the Internet or download email; web surfing is one of the least demanding activities you can do with your computer. So if your surfing is getting sluggish, it’s probably not your computer.
When your surfing slows down, look instead to your Internet connection. Image-intensive web pages present a lot of data that need to be downloaded to your computer, as do web videos. If you have a slow Internet connection, even the simplest of Internet-based activities can take a painfully long time.
The solution here, of course, is to upgrade to a faster Internet connection. If you’re unfortunate enough to still have a dial-up connection, ditch it in favor of a faster broadband cable or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection, either of which can be 5 or 10 times faster than what you’re used to. In fact, if you’re still on dial-up, I recommend against watching web videos or anything similarly taxing; it’s just too painful.
But what if your connection used to be fast enough but appears to have slowed down in recent days or weeks? This very well could be the case; Internet connections can get slower, due to any number of factors. Whatever the cause, however, it’s not normal. If you think that your connection has gotten slower, contact your Internet service provider and have them check your lines. When you’re paying for a fast broadband connection, you want the speed that was promised.
Note
Learn more about sluggish Internet connections in Chapter 15, “Reconfiguring Your Internet Connection.”
Just remember, that in most instances, an Internet slowdown is not the fault of your computer; it’s your connection that’s slow, not your PC.
Note
Learn more about dealing with slow network connections in Chapter 16, “Speeding Up Your Home Network.”
If your PC is connected to a home network, a slow network connection can make it seem as if your computer is getting sluggish. This is particularly so on a wireless network, where maintaining a fast connection is sometimes problematic.
When your network connection is slow, everything you do on the network is similarly slow. Copying files from one PC to another may take forever, playing online games may be next-to-impossible due to excessive latency, and your connection to the Internet may be sluggish.
Again, a slow network connection has nothing to do with a slow PC. Even the fastest PC can’t work to its full potential if the data stream coming to it over the network is compromised. And, as you might suspect, a previously healthy network connection can slow down at times, due to a variety of factors.
So if your computer is on a network and network-related tasks appear sluggish (while local operations, such as opening a word processing or spreadsheet document, are still zippy), you have a network problem, not a computer problem.
Yes, this entire book is about how to speed up a slow PC. But if you don’t want to read the whole book or simply want the fastest and biggest bang for your buck, here are five quick steps you can take to improve your PC’s performance. (Don’t forget to read the rest of the book, however; there are lots of effective speedups you can do!)
When you open and close programs on your PC, doing so sometimes results in little bits of system memory not being freed up for future use, especially on machines running Windows XP. (Windows Vista is less prone to this type of problem.) The less memory available, the slower your system runs. The only way to free up these bits of lost memory is to shut down and then restart your computer—which is something you should do once a day. Leave your PC running for weeks at a time and you’ll notice a definite slowdown!
As noted earlier in this chapter, your computer uses space on your hard disk as “virtual” memory that augments your system’s normal random access memory. If you don’t have enough free space on your hard drive, there isn’t enough virtual memory for your programs to run properly. This is why you should periodically go through and delete all unnecessary files to free up hard disk space. You can do this automatically with Windows’ Disk Cleanup utility. Just click the Start menu and select All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup. The more files you delete, the more disk space you free up—and the faster your computer will run.
Along the same lines, removing unused programs from your system will free up lots of hard disk space. You use the Windows Add/Remove Programs utility (found in the Control Panel) to uninstall old programs. This utility will remove all traces of the old program—and even remove it from the Windows Start menu.
You can also stop unnecessary and unwanted programs from loading automatically when your computer launches. Many of these utilities and programs are launched from a special Startup menu. Examine the contents of this menu by clicking the Start button and selecting All Programs, Startup. Right-click and delete any unwanted programs from this menu, and they won’t launch the next time you reboot your PC.
File fragmentation is like taking the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and storing them in different boxes along with pieces from other puzzles; the more dispersed the pieces are, the longer it takes to put the puzzle together. You fix the problem when you put all the pieces of the puzzle back in the right boxes. Your computer’s hard drive can get fragmented every time you run a program or open or close a file, and can therefore cause your system to slow down over time. For that reason, you should defragment your hard disk at least once a month. This is accomplished with the Windows Disk Defragmenter utility. Just click the Start menu and select All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.
Many computer slowdowns are caused by insufficient system memory. Normally you solve this problem by physically adding more memory, in the form of new or additional memory chips, which can be a little daunting for the less technically inclined among us. But if your computer is running Windows Vista, you can add more memory without opening up the case; all you have to do is insert a low-cost USB memory drive.
You see, Windows Vista includes an instant memory-enhancing technology dubbed ReadyBoost. With ReadyBoost, you can use a USB flash memory device to temporarily increase the amount of RAM on your personal computer. Insert one of these devices into the appropriate slot on your PC, and your system’s memory is automatically increased—and your system’s performance is automatically improved.
Note
ReadyBoost works with USB flash memory devices, as well as CompactFlash (CF) and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. Unfortunately, ReadyBoost technology is not available in Windows XP or older Microsoft operating systems.
When you insert an external memory device into your Vista computer, you are prompted as to how you want to use that device. Select Speed Up My System, and your PC will automatically access available memory on the device. The result? An instant speed boost, just when you need it!
So what’s happening if you think your computer is slowing down? Here’s the bottom line:
If your computer takes longer to do the same tasks it used to do quicker, it’s slowing down.
If your computer is slow running new or upgraded software, it’s not slowing down—although it may not have enough power or memory to efficiently run the newer software.
If your computer is slow while browsing the Internet but fast enough when performing other tasks, it’s not slowing down. Blame your problems on a slow Internet connection.
If your computer is slow while accessing programs or files over a network, but is fast enough running its own programs, it’s not slowing down. You have a network problem, instead.
A number of things can cause your computer to slow down, including insufficient system memory, insufficient hard disk space, a fragmented or damaged hard disk, and too many unnecessary programs loaded into memory.
When you need a quick fix for a slow computer, consider these options: Reboot your computer, delete unnecessary files from your hard drive, remove unused programs from your system, defragment your hard disk, and—if you’re running Windows Vista—add more memory via a USB memory stick and the new ReadyBoost feature.