Why is my computer slow? - by Leo A Notenboom

The articles featured below from time to time is NOT my own work. They are ideas and information from authors whom I greatly respect.

1: Too Much Running Software

In my experience, this is perhaps the single most common cause of computers running slowly. There are simply too many programs actually running – so much so that they eat away at system resources to the point that the program you actually want to use is constantly competing with all these other programs and as a result appears slow.

2: Malware

Number two on the list is the conclusion that many people jump to, often rightfully.

Malware can absolutely slow down your machine. It can do a lot more, of course, but when it’s running correctly (for the malware author’s definition of “correct”) malware’s initial, or sometimes its only symptom can be a machine that has begun to slow down.

3: Too Much Anti-Malware

It’s ironic that the next item on my list is a direct result of the previous. It’s very common for me to encounter machines that have multiple anti-malware tools installed, along with a variety of other so-called security software, cleaning software, firewall software and more. Not only do all these installed packages add to the load of software that’s running on your computer and slowing it down, it’s extremely common for the tools to actually conflict and interfere with each other creating even more performance and other problems.

4: Insufficient RAM

Unlike hard disk space, RAM (Random Access Memory) is the memory that is used to hold all the programs that are running when you use your computer, including Windows itself. When you turn off your computer RAM is erased, and the boot process when you turn your computer back on is mostly about reloading Windows and all those running programs into RAM.

From: 10 Reasons your computer is slow (and what to do about it), V1.0, by Leo A. Notenboom, An Ask Leo!® Special Report, http://askleo.com