Computer slows down on Windows XP, what should I do? Computer slows down what to do Computer slows down what to do windows xp

The Windows XP operating system is undemanding and works great both on hardware with minimal parameters and on modern, more powerful hardware. This is a product from Microsoft Corporation that has won the trust of billions of people around the world due to its reliability and simplicity.

But there comes a time when certain problems appear and even Windows XP starts to crash.

Signs indicating inefficient operation of the OS:

• the system takes a long time to boot;
• programs stop responding or respond with a delay;
• sometimes the commands given by the mouse and keyboard stop being executed;
• screen freezes.

Why does this happen, what factors provoke it, and what should I do if Windows XP slows down my computer?

Main reasons

There is more than one reason why a computer can start to slow down and freeze. The matter can sometimes come down to individual problems for each computer. But first of all, it is necessary to consider the most common and important causes that disrupt the normal operation of the system.

Autoload Overflow

This is the first and most common reason why the system starts to boot and hang for a long time. The longer you work with a PC, the more different programs appear on it that you install. A considerable percentage of these programs are assigned to autoload by default without the knowledge of the user.

Users are not so often interested in what exactly they have at startup and how much it takes up system resources. Most often, most of these applications do not make sense to run along with the operating system, since they are very rarely used or never used at all and do not bring any benefit.

Dust

The second common reason when Windows XP slows down is the dust accumulated in the system unit. Dust constantly penetrates inside and falls on all the components of the case. Cooling coolers are especially susceptible to contamination, which for this reason may cease to fully perform their function.



In the absence of proper cooling, the hardware overheats, the overall performance of the processor decreases and, as a result, the operating system stops working efficiently.

Important! Dust accumulated in the case can cause overheating and completely damage the computer.

Viruses

Sometimes computer viruses can become the main factor in the loss of OS performance and cause many other problems.

How dangerous viruses can be:




Viruses seek to inject their malicious code into programs and disrupt their proper operation. They use the resources of the computer, thereby reducing its performance.

Important! If you do not have an antivirus program, then most likely your PC has viruses.

Registry Clutter

All parameters of installed programs, created accounts, and other modifiable functions are fixed in the system registry. In case of incorrect subsequent removal or change of certain programs or functions, all unnecessary entries continue to be in the database.



Gradually, thanks to such entries, the registry grows to a huge size, which slows down the speed of the OS when accessing the database.

Visual effects

Most attractive graphical effects, although pleasing to the user's eye, significantly load the processor, RAM and video card, thereby reducing the overall performance of the machine.

If the computer is weak and meets only the minimum or average requirements of the OS, you should consider turning off some visual effects.

Video: COMPUTER IS SLOW

Solutions

If your Windows XP slows down and it becomes unbearable to work on your computer, do not rush to contact the service for help or demolish the OS yourself. Repairing and setting up a computer can cost you a lot, and reinstalling the OS with all the necessary programs takes a lot of time.

In almost any situation, there are alternative solutions to contacting a service or reinstalling the operating system that will save you nerves, money and time.

Autoload

You don't need to have special programs or special programming knowledge to solve the problem with a crowded startup. Any user can figure it out.

All you need to do is run the "System Configuration" and remove the markers from useless programs in the "Startup" tab.

Let's analyze the procedure step by step:



Important! Do not turn off autoloading of the antivirus and firewall, this increases the vulnerability of the machine.

dust cleaning

Pay attention to the temperature of the processor, hard drive, motherboard and video card, they should always be within normal limits.

There are two ways to find out the temperature:

• use "BIOS";
• use special utilities.

Consider the analysis of machine overheating through "BIOS»:




This tab contains information about the current temperature of the hardware, the rotation speed of the coolers and other information.

You can also use one of the following utilities to analyze machine parts:



You can choose any of them, they do their job equally well.

Permissible temperature:

1. processor - 40-50 ° C;
2. video card - 60-65 ° C;
3. motherboard - 25-35 ° C;
4. hard drive - 35-40 ° C.

If the temperature of one or another component of the machine exceeds the permissible norm, it is necessary to check whether it is time to clean the dust inside the case.

To remove dust, a vacuum cleaner with an airflow function and a toothbrush are suitable.

Let's start cleaning:

Important! Pay attention to the amount of thermal paste under the cooler, add it if necessary.

Virus check

Be sure to install one of the antiviruses on your computer, this will not only protect your data, but also increase the performance of the OS.

On the Internet, you can find many antiviruses that differ both in price and in the degree of effectiveness of protection against malicious software.

Consider the best paid options that the market offers today:

• Kaspersky Internet Security;
• Norton 360;
• Avast! Internet Security;
• ESET NOD32 Smart Security;
• Dr. Web Security Space.

To decide which antivirus is right for you, you can go to the official websites of manufacturers and get acquainted with all the conditions.

The best free antivirus utilities:

• 360 Internet Security;
• Panda Free Antivirus;
• Avast Free Antivirus;
• AVG Antivirus Free;
• Comodo Internet Security Premium.

Each of these utilities has its pros and cons, the choice is yours.

We treat viruses:

1. using the antivirus of your choice, run the scanner to check the entire amount of data;
2. delete all detected threats or place them in quarantine, depending on the recommendations of the antivirus.

Tip: Set your firewall to only work with trusted utilities that use the Internet.

Cleaning the registry

You can't do without specialized software to clean the registry.

The best free registry utilities:

• CCleaner;
• Vit Registry Fix;
• Windows Cleaner;
• Registry Life.

The interface of these utilities is very simple, it takes just a few clicks to optimize and clean unnecessary registry entries.



Tip: To feel the difference before and after cleaning, restart your computer.

Setting up visual effects

Adjust visual effects to improve PC performance.

Consider how to turn off the graphic design options:



Increasing the paging file

Changing the paging file settings is another effective way to increase the performance of your PC. The swap file, or in other words virtual memory, serves to store certain information and helps the RAM to cope with the work.

• the size of the paging file should be one and a half to two times larger than the installed RAM;
• It is not recommended to install virtual memory on the same hard disk partition as the OS.

Increase the swap file size:

• right-click on "My Computer";
• select the line "Properties";
• go to the "Advanced" tab;
• in the "Performance" area, click on the "Settings" button;

  

• open the "Advanced" tab and select the "Virtual memory" section;
• click the "Change" button;
• select the least loaded disk partition;
• set the marker to "Custom size";

  

• set initial and maximum sizes;
• click the "Set" button;
• after that, you can disable paging files on other disk partitions (if any);
• to do this, put the marker "No paging file" and click "Set".

After restarting the PC, the changes will take effect.

Windows XP slows down after update

When booting Windows XP after updating, you may find that the PC is not stable. You can use System Restore to resolve this issue.

Troubleshooting after the update:




This method will allow you to roll back the OS to an earlier stable state.

As you can see, the unstable operation of Windows XP can be caused by more than one factor, but they all have their own simple solution. You yourself will be able to use the above methods and troubleshoot the problems that have arisen.

The old Windows XP is extremely democratic about the system requirements of computers, especially by modern standards. It will work successfully on hardware that was released a good ten years ago - several generations by computer standards. The computer she needs must have 64 megabytes of RAM and a 233 megahertz processor. However, there is an unpleasant feature behind it - the longer the user works with the operating system, the more it becomes cluttered and the more difficult everyday work with the computer becomes. Simply put, the system slows down, and this is especially pronounced when the computer starts. Windows XP starts to boot for several minutes, or even more.

Some users prefer not to do anything about it, perceiving the brakes at startup as a necessary evil that occurs after working with the system for a long time. Some rush to reinstall the system at the slightest hint that it slows down. So what to do in such a situation, and is there a way to quickly and painlessly solve such a problem?

The main reasons for slowing down a computer running Windows XP

Crowded autoload

Startup is where Windows XP puts programs that should be loaded at system startup. During the operation of the system, a huge number of programs accumulate in startup, many of which require very impressive system resources. When they all start running at the same time at system startup, it is not surprising that the computer slows down.

Dust inside the system unit

Inside the box, which is called the system unit, is the main stuffing of your computer. All of it radiates a huge amount of heat, and, of course, must somehow be cooled. Fans are usually used for this. If they get clogged with dust, they can't provide proper cooling, which causes your computer's main components to overheat and, as a result, your computer starts slower.

Viruses

If your computer does not have an antivirus installed, it is likely that it is already infected. Viruses interfere with the computer, occupy its useful resources, which, of course, leads to the fact that Windows XP slows down.

Clutter in the system registry

The system registry is the main place in the operating system where the settings and parameters of all programs and the system itself are stored. Over time, installing a large number of programs, the registry begins to clutter up and runs slower, which affects the overall performance of the computer.

Visual effects

If your computer is very slow (approximately matches the requirements of what is indicated at the beginning of the article), it may make sense for you to turn off numerous prettinesses and be content with the bare functionality of the system. Otherwise, there is nothing to do and you will have to endure serious brakes.

Troubleshooting

Autoload

In the first place, due to the slow loading of the computer at system startup, there is an overflowing startup deservedly. It is she who leads to the fact that the computer slows down every time it starts, forcing it to wait 10 minutes for Windows XP to load. Many of these programs are completely useless (like Sputnik.mail.ru), others you use no more than once a month, and are quite capable run them yourself if necessary. Be that as it may, it is better to exclude the heaviest programs from startup. Not everyone knows how to do it right, so we will tell you more.

As you can see, the list is quite impressive. Perhaps yours will be even bigger. The checkboxes mark those programs that run at the start of Windows XP and make the computer think about starting. Simply put, because of all these programs, the system slows down.

As a rule, by name it is not always possible to determine what kind of program it is and what can be done with it. Therefore, the best thing is to navigate by the folder to which the "Team" leads. You should not remove antiviruses, firewalls and system applications from Windows XP itself from startup. This may leave your computer more vulnerable. Usually, the need for a particular program can be determined experimentally, simply turning it off and on.

Dust inside the system unit

In second place due to the braking of the computer is the dust inside the case. This misfortune leads to the fact that the computer cannot cool properly and its components overheat. In order to protect against this, most system components include the so-called throttling mode - a decrease in frequency and, as a result, a decrease in performance. Therefore, it is recommended, at least once a year, to clean the insides of your computer from dust. If this is not done, the consequences may be, approximately, as follows:

To clean the computer from dust, it makes sense to use a vacuum cleaner with a blowing function or a powerful hair dryer. In addition, you will need a toothbrush. Open the computer case and gently blow through the insides. We advise you to do this procedure on the street or on the balcony, since there is a huge amount of dust in the computer. The main thing is not to bring the vacuum cleaner too close to the fan blades - they can break from too much air flow.

For a more thorough cleaning, it makes sense to unscrew the fixing screws holding the hard drives, video card and processor cooler, remove them and gently clean them with a brush. Do not forget to clean the RAM and the motherboard itself.

Computer viruses

As already mentioned, the presence of viruses has a very negative effect on computer performance. We advise you to use a full-fledged anti-virus program to eradicate them, but if this is not possible, then free anti-virus utilities like DR.Web Cureit may be suitable for you. Such programs can quickly scan your computer and cure it of known viruses and trojans. It is also possible to connect a hard drive from your computer to another one and scan the entire hard drive. Such a need, by the way, may also arise when viruses have completely captured your hard drive. In such cases, the computer slows down so much that any work loses its meaning.

Cleaning the registry

The Windows XP registry is where every program wants to poke its nose and record its data, settings, and preferences. Moreover, often, even after the removal of the program, they do not bother to delete the data recorded in the registry. However, as a result of their gradual accumulation, the computer slows down more and more. What can be done in such a situation?

Let's say right away that cleaning the system registry ourselves is useless. Where better to use special software for this. For example, a program such as Registry Life is an absolutely free and high-quality solution. The program is intuitive to use, however, during installation, we advise you to select "Custom" - to prevent the installation of the mail.ru toolbar. Inside the program itself, after installation, start cleaning the registry in turn, and then optimizing it.

Actually, this is where all the registry optimization will be completed, and after a mandatory reboot, you will already feel a noticeable increase in speed, of course, if your Windows XP is not just installed.

Visual effects

All sorts of decorations Windows XP look very impressive, but have a dramatic negative impact on the performance of older computers. You can turn them off by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties. There, go to the "Advanced system settings" tab, where in the "performance" part you need to select the "Settings" button. There, check the box "Ensure the best performance, or disable effects you do not need manually.

Although the system will dim dramatically, the performance of your computer will greatly increase. And to decorate the computer, you can put a different theme.

Many Windows XP users have encountered a situation where the system starts to slow down some time after installation. This is very unpleasant, because quite recently the computer was running at normal speed. But this trouble is easy to overcome when the reasons for its appearance are known. We will consider them further.

There are several reasons why a computer starts to slow down. They can be related both to the hardware and to the operation of the operating system itself. It also happens when the cause of slow operation is the impact of several factors at once. Therefore, in order to ensure the normal performance of your computer, you need to have at least a general idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat can lead to brakes.

Reason 1: Iron overheating

Hardware problems are one of the common causes of computer slowdowns. In particular, this leads to overheating of the motherboard, processor, or video card. The most common cause of overheating is dust.

Dust is the main enemy of computer hardware. It disrupts the normal operation of the computer and can lead to its breakdown.

To avoid this situation, it is necessary to clean the system unit from dust at least once every two to three months.

Laptops are even more prone to overheating. But in order to properly disassemble and assemble a laptop, certain skills are needed. Therefore, if there is no confidence in your knowledge, it is better to entrust it to a specialist to clean it from dust. In addition, proper use of the device involves placing it in such a way that proper ventilation of all its components is ensured.

But not only dust can cause overheating. Therefore, you need to periodically check the temperature of the processor and video card. If necessary, you need to change the thermal paste on the processor, check the contacts on the video card, or even replace these components if defects are found.

Reason 2: The system partition is full

The partition of the hard disk where the operating system is installed (by default, this is drive C) must have enough free space for its normal operation. For the NTFS file system, its volume must be at least 19% of the total capacity of the partition. Otherwise, the response time of the computer increases and the system starts much longer.

To check the availability of free space on the system partition, just open File Explorer by double-clicking on the icon "My computer". Depending on how information is presented in its window, data on the availability of free space on partitions can be displayed there in different ways. But they can be seen most clearly by opening the properties of the disk from the context menu, which is called using the RMB.

Here, the required information is provided both in textual and graphical form.

There are many ways to free up disk space. The easiest way is to use the tools provided by the system. For this you need:

For those who are not satisfied with the system tools, third-party programs can be used to clear space on the C drive. Their advantage is that, along with the ability to clean up free space, they usually have a number of functions to optimize the system.

Alternatively, you can also view the list of installed programs that are located by default at C: \ Program Files and remove those that are not used.

One of the reasons why the C drive is full and the system slows down is the addiction of many users to store their files on the desktop. The desktop is a system folder and in addition to slowing down, you can lose your information in the event of a system crash. Therefore, it is recommended to store all your documents, images, audio and video recordings on drive D.

Reason 3: Hard disk fragmentation

A feature of the NTFS file system used in Windows XP and later versions of Microsoft's operating system is that over time, files on a hard disk begin to split into many parts that can be located in different sectors at a considerable distance from each other. Thus, in order to read the contents of a file, the OS must read all its parts one by one, making more revolutions of the hard disk than in the case when the file is represented by one fragment. This phenomenon is called fragmentation and can significantly slow down your computer.

To avoid slowing down the system, it is necessary to periodically defragment the hard drive. As in the case of freeing up space, this is most easily done using system tools. To start the defragmentation process, you must:

Defragmentation is a very lengthy process, during which it is not recommended to use a computer. Therefore, it is optimal to run it at night.

As in the previous case, many users do not like the system defrag tool and use third-party software products. There are a great many of them. The choice depends only on personal preferences.

Reason 4: Garbage in the registry

The Windows Registry has a nasty property to grow excessively over time. Wrong keys and whole sections left from long-deleted applications accumulate there, fragmentation appears. All this is not the best way affects the performance of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the registry.

It should be noted right away that it is impossible to clean and optimize the registry using Windows XP system tools. You can only try to edit it manually, but for this you need to know exactly what needs to be deleted. Suppose we need to completely get rid of the traces of being in the Microsoft Office system. To do this, we do the following:

The scheme described above is very cumbersome and unacceptable for the vast majority of users. Therefore, there are many different utilities for cleaning and optimizing the registry created by third-party developers.

Regularly using one of these tools, you can ensure that the registry will never slow down your computer.

Reason 5: Large startup list

Often the reason that Windows XP starts to work slowly is too large a list of programs and services that should start at system startup. Most of them are registered there during the installation of various applications and monitor for updates, collect information about user preferences, or even be malicious software that tries to steal your confidential information.

One of the most pressing and probably eternal problems of all PC users is why does the computer slow down? After all, when you bought your brand new computer, he did not even show signs of a brake. There are a lot of reasons that provoke your computer to freeze, and that's what I'll write about today. And also, I will write methods for dealing with the most common problems. To begin with, let's rank the most common causes that cause your computer to freeze and slow down:

In fact, the reasons why your computer can slow down even more, if such a need arises, I will write the second part of the article. Now let's take a closer look at each of these points.

Computer slows down due to viruses

– Problem This is one of the main reasons why your computer has become noticeably slower. You may not think about the existence of viruses in your computer until you see the first prerequisites for their existence. These preconditions may be:

• Computer freezing
• Files or folders are not deleted
• Error messages appeared
• Intrusive ads appear while the browser is running
• Computer turn-on time slowed down significantly
• Individual programs do not start and folders do not open
• Task Manager won't open (ctrl+alt+del doesn't work)
• CPU usage up to 100% with closed applications

At the first symptoms of a computer infection, you should take a number of actions to protect yourself from viruses:

– Solution If you suspect that your computer is infected with viruses, you should follow the steps below:

check it for viruses with a scanner, for example, and do not forget to use . After checking with a scanner, it will show if there is malware and scanners on your computer, if there is, we treat / remove it, then install the stationary version of the antivirus. I can advise, a pretty good and free antivirus.

Enable the firewall (firewall) built into the operating system and configure it to work only with certain programs that use Internet access. A combination of antivirus and firewall will be strong enough protection against most threats.

Another very important tip! Most viruses and trojans can be picked up on porn sites. So, if for some reason you visit such sites, be careful and do not click on all the windows in a row that will appear. For example, an offer to update the flash player will most likely provoke the installation of a malicious program.

System disk is full

– Problem A very common situation is when the system disk of your computer (drive C: \) is full, and when you try to access the desired entry, the system waits for free memory on the hard disk.

The problem is relevant in those computers in which the system disk and the data disk are separated (on disk C and D, for example). In my experience, I often encountered a situation where too little hard disk space was allocated for the system disk, and as it filled up (installing updates, installing programs, temporary files), the space on drive C tended to zero.

– Solution To solve the problem with the volume of the system disk, you should perform the following steps:

• Clear the disk of temporary files. The program does this job well.
• Remove programs you don't use
• Clear the desktop (many do not even suspect that the desktop stores information on the C drive)
• Empty Recycle Bin (I encountered a situation when the size of the Recycle Bin reached 10 GB with the size of the C drive - 50 GB.)

Computer slows down due to overheating

– Problem Unfortunately, a very common and very dangerous problem for your computer. The state of the temperature of the components must be monitored! Especially if your computer is a repository of very important information. I think you will not be happy if your computer fails due to overheating and as a result of the failure you will lose all information from your PC.

How to determine that the computer slows down due to overheating? Very simple! If, when you turn on the computer, everything loads normally and quickly, and when you start programs or games, the computer starts to slow down and reboot, then in 95% of cases, the problem is with overheating

– Solution It is necessary to pay attention to the temperature of the processor, chipset, video card and hard disk. You can monitor the temperature of the components using special programs (for example, Aida or Everest).

Periodically clean the system unit from dust. Yes, it needs to be cleaned! In my memory, there were such instances in which not only the color of the motherboard was not visible, even the processor heatsink was not visible due to the dense “crust” of dust. Dust provokes the failure of coolers (fans), in connection with which heat transfer is disturbed and the temperature rises.

Periodically, you need to check the condition of the thermal paste between the active elements and their heatsinks. I recommend doing this every 2-3 years. But, if the sensors show that the temperature of your elements (processor, chipset, video card) is normal, then everything is in order with heat transfer and, therefore, there is no need to change the thermal paste.

Computer slows down due to hard drive problems

– Problem Few people know that hard drives tend to run out of resources. This is not about the size of the disk (I wrote about this above), but about its life cycle, which, unfortunately, is not as great as we would like.

The speed of the operating system and programs is 70% dependent on the quality of the hard drive. I myself did not understand before how a computer with 4 GB can slow down. RAM, 2x core processor 3.2 GHz., good graphics card? And during operation, significant slowdowns are noticeable. Only when replacing the hard drive, there was a significant increase in the speed of work.

The thing is that a hard disk consists of many layers of mirrored disks, all these disks are divided into sectors. If, when accessing a specific sector, the hard disk controller does not receive a response, it marks this sector as “broken”. The more bad sectors, the closer the end of your hard drive.

– Solution Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever! But life can be extended! Same with hard drives. If you follow the rules described below, you can significantly extend the life of the hard drive, and therefore the computer.

• Defragment disks periodically (at least once a month)
• If there is a suspicion that the hard drive is working, carry out a set of measures to check and restore the hard drive (there are good tools on)
• Eliminate any physical impact on the hard drive. Do not hit the system unit, do not knock on the table if there is a system unit or a laptop on it
• When cleaning the system unit from dust, thoroughly clean the hard drive, as it tends to heat up

Small amount of RAM

– Problem One of the most common reasons why a computer slows down a lot is a small amount of RAM. Progress does not stand still and new hardware comes out with new software that ensures the comfortable operation of these programs.

You can see the load of RAM in the task manager (ctrl + alt + del), in the “Performance” and “Processes” tabs

However, not everyone can afford to upgrade hardware, and in particular RAM. After all, to find memory for an old computer (DDR), you have to sweat. And the price for old memory sticks is much more expensive than for memory of the same size, but of a new type (for example, DDR2 or DDR3).

And to install a new memory modification, you need to change the motherboard and, in most cases, the processor.

- The most banal solution! Increase the amount of RAM. I also advise you to pay attention to running processes, perhaps most of the memory is “eaten up” by processes that you did not start (for example, viruses).

– Problem Just like RAM, the processor directly affects the speed of the computer. Most of all, insufficient processor power is noticeable when working with a browser and when running high-quality HD video.

The processor load can be seen in the task manager (ctrl + alt + del), in the “Performance” and “Processes” tabs

– Solution The solution is to install a new, more powerful processor.

There is a lot of extra stuff in autoload

– Problem In the course of working at the computer, you often have to install various kinds of programs, some of these programs are installed at startup to load when you turn on the computer.

I doubt that you often look into startup and remove unnecessary programs from there. And it would be worth it, because by cleaning the startup, you can significantly increase the speed of turning on the computer and starting the operating system.

– Solution You need to open “System Configuration” and in the “Startup” tab, uncheck the programs you don’t need.

To open "System Configuration" click "Start" - "Run", for Windows XP, or for windows 7, "Start" - and in the line "Search programs and files" write msconfig and press Enter.
Then go to the "Startup" tab
In my case, you can safely disable the items “Intel”, “Adobe Reader”, “Java”. You can have an office there, winamp, various messengers.

Cleaning the registry from garbage

– Problem The Registry is the most mysterious and little-studied area of ​​the Windows operating system for ordinary users. The registry contains the parameters of all installed applications. And in case of incorrect removal of applications, entries remain in the registry.

Over time, because of such entries, the registry grows to an indecent size. And when accessing it, the operating system spends more time than we would like.

- Solution Cleaning the registry with a special utility, for example, there are no other options.

Computer slows down while browsing

– The problem is also a very urgent problem. It occurs mainly when opening several dozen tabs at once, or when launching an HD quality video in the browser.

Also, do not forget that each open tab is a separately running process that “eats” part of the RAM and part of the processor.

– Solution If the computer freezes while browsing, check the task manager to see which process is using the most resources. Perhaps this is some kind of application running in a web page, or a hanging script. Do not forget that browser freezes can also occur due to an overflowing cache that you need.

If your computer slows down when watching a video on the Internet, the problem is an insufficient processor resource, only a replacement will help.

Let's summarize!

As you can see, there are a huge number of problems due to which your computer can freeze and slow down. If you did not find the answer to your question or tried everything but nothing helps, write your problem in the comments, we will try to help you. By the way, here are some tips

And now I propose to watch a video on the topic “What to do if the computer slows down”:

After using a Windows desktop or laptop for a long time, users may encounter a situation where the PC has become very slow and slow. There can be many reasons for PC slowdown.

In order to deal in detail with the problem of PC braking, we have prepared a material in which we will consider in detail the methods and methods that increase the speed of the PC. By following our guidelines, you can bring back the speed desktop computer or laptop with Windows OS. By returning the speed of your computer, you can enjoy various multimedia entertainment, computer games and work, while forgetting about braking and various PC glitches.

Cleaning the system in Windows operating systems

Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 operating systems have their own built-in system cleaners. The main disadvantage of such cleaners is that they clean up trash, which the system itself creates, and even then, not all.

To fulfill complete system cleanup from garbage, where the OS and many programs will be cleaned, you need to use third-party software. One of the best cleaning programs is CCleaner. This utility is released by Piriform LTD.

The utility is free and downloadable CCleaner on a PC, you can from the official website www.piriform.com. The utility has been holding up for years first in the ranking from well-known online publications such as The Guardian, PC World, CHIP Online and many others. The utility works on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 operating systems. After installation, we will run the utility on Windows 7.

To clean the system from garbage, use the Analyze button located at the bottom of the window.

The image shows how much garbage the system found. This is the explorer history when the user opens folders or copies folders. Also, this is the history of the browser and various garbage created by utilities.

After analysis remove the trash, which the utility found by clicking the Cleanup button.

In such a simple way, you can increase the speed of the system and its programs. The possibilities of the utility do not end there. The program can also delete unnecessary registry branches that were created by different software. To use this feature, we need to open the tab " Registry”and, by analogy with the previous example, click the Search for problems button.

After the search, click the Fix button and thereby remove unnecessary registry entries.

The functionality of the utility is not limited to this, but its coverage does not fit into the topic of the article, so we will move on. Having finished cleaning the system and registry, it's time to take on defragmentation which we will discuss in the following examples.

Defragmentation in Windows operating systems

The operating systems Windows XP, Vista, as well as newer Windows 7, 8, 10 have their own built-in tools that allow you to defragment. The only disadvantage of the built-in defragmenter in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 is its work speed and poor functionality.

Therefore, it is better to use a third-party defragmenter. The best defragmenter today is a free utility Defraggler. utility Defraggler developed by the same company CCleaner Piriform Ltd. Download Defraggler to the PC folder, you can also from its official website www.piriform.com, as well as CCleaner.

Installing Defraggler is quite simple and comes down to a couple of clicks, so any PC user can handle it. Except Defraggler, there are many more high-quality defragmenters, but we chose this one as it will help us solve another problem that can cause your PC to slow down and run slowly.

Defraggler works with all current Windows operating systems from XP to Windows 10. Therefore, feel free to install and run it on any Windows. In our case, we ran Defraggler on Windows 7.

To start defragmentation, click the Defragmentation button at the bottom of the window. Next to this button there is a button that can start analyzing the disk for the need for defragmentation. After the start of defragmentation, it can be observed on the disk map.

This process can take a long time and depends on the size of the disk and the degree of disk fragmentation.

Utility Defraggler can defragment both the entire disk and a separate folder and files. Its functionality does not end there. The utility can also:

• Do a quick defragmentation;
• Make the program work according to the schedule;
• Defragment free disk space;
• Turn off PC after defragmentation;
• Defragment the registry.

Of all the functions described, the last one is the most significant. Using registry defragmentation, you can also increase the speed of your desktop computer or laptop. To use this feature, go to the " Settings» and activate defragmenting the registry on PC startup, as shown in the image.

By enabling this option, in your PC at system startup Defraggler will do registry defragmentation:

Now let's talk about the features of the program that we mentioned earlier. Defraggler can monitor the status of your hard drive, namely S.M.A.R.T..

S.M.A.R.T. is a built-in subroutine that can determine the status of a hard drive. Let's go to the " State».

The image above shows the parameters of a good hard drive. The following image shows a hard drive with broken sectors:

If you have just such a situation, then the culprit in braking the system is Winchester. Based on this, hard drive needs to be replaced. In addition, the hard drive will not last long in this state, and you may suddenly lose a lot of important information. Probably all.

It can be seen from the example that with Defraggler you can do:

• Disk defragmentation long or fast;
• Registry defragmentation;
• Check the condition of the hard drive.

It should also be noted that if you have an SDD disk type installed in your PC, then do not defragment it, as this may shorten its life.

Solving problems with RAM

Very often, the culprit of braking and freezing the PC is RAM. Operating systems from Windows 7 to Windows 10 have built-in memory checkers. For example, let's run a tool to check the RAM for errors in Windows 10. To do this, use the search in the top ten and enter the phrase " Memory Checker».

Now let's run the found utility.

In the window that opens, select the first item, after which the computer will restart and RAM diagnostics will start.

After a long check, the computer will boot up and the result of the check will be displayed to the user. If the test result is negative, this means that the RAM must be replaced with a new one.

Older OSes like Windows XP do not have a built-in memory check. It follows that on Windows XP, to check the memory, you should use third party software. One of the most popular utilities can do a RAM check Memtest86.

Speed ​​up with ReadyBoost

Sometimes even all the steps taken to eliminate braking and glitches in the PC do not help properly. This is due to the fact that on your PC weak hardware. To solve this problem in OS, starting with Windows 7 and ending with Windows 10, the user has the opportunity to use the technology ReadyBoost.

The essence of the technology ReadyBoost is to use fast USB drives for data caching. That is, using ReadyBoost, you can replace default swap file on a screw, on a fast USB flash drive.

For example, we will use a PC with Windows 10 and a flash drive with an interface USB 3.0. You ask why exactly USB 3.0 The answer is simple, this interface very fast and best suited to our task. Insert the flash drive into the PC and go to it properties to the tab " ReadyBoost».

Now let's select the item in the window to speed up our system as shown in the image above and click the Apply button. The same is true for Windows 7 and 8.

After these actions, the system should noticeably accelerate, the long launch of programs and braking should disappear.

If you want to use the described technology on Windows XP then use a third party program eBoostr.

Other ways to speed up a desktop computer or laptop and remove the brakes

If the above examples did not help, then the following methods will help solve the problem with brakes and glitches:

• Changing the antivirus program;
• Disabling visual effects;
• Stopping unnecessary services;
• Reinstalling the operating system;
• Upgrade seven to ten.

If you have a good anti-virus program installed on your desktop or laptop, then you are securely protected on a modern PC and this does not affect the performance of the system. But if you have a weak laptop or desktop computer, it will be noticeable how Antivirus slows down the system.

To remedy this situation, Panda Security SL has developed an antivirus Panda Cloud Antivirus, which practically does not waste system resources of a weak PC. The secret of this antivirus is that everything complex operations in it are performed in the cloud.

In addition to antivirus, the performance of a weak laptop or desktop computer can be affected by OS visual effects. Starting with Vista, the Windows operating system uses various visual effects that slow down the PC. To disable visual effects, for example, in Windows 10, you need to go to the system properties. For this, the program Run let's type the command "sysdm.cpl".

Go to the system properties, open the tab " Additionally". In the performance text box, click on the Options button.

A window should open before us where we can disable and enable visual effects in Windows 10.

In the same way, visual effects are configured in Windows 7 and 8. If we talk about Windows XP, then turning off its visual effects does not make sense, since they already consume few resources.

You need to be careful with disabling services, as this may lead to incorrect operation of the operating system. To stop unnecessary services, for example, in Windows 7, you need to go to the snap-in responsible for services. For this, the program Run let's type the command "services.msc". Once executed, the snap-in will open Services».

You can disable any service in this snap-in. Before disabling an unnecessary service, make sure that disabling this service is absolutely safe for the system. For example, you can stop the service " Print Manager" if your PC does not use a printer.

Another way is complete system reinstall. After reinstalling Windows, you will immediately notice how fast your laptop or all-in-one works. This happens because the OS is new and has a clean registry and no junk. In many cases, reinstalling the OS helps to revive a laptop or desktop PC and get rid of the brakes.

In addition to reinstallation, there are times when a user of the seven upgrades the system to Windows 7 and after that it works slowly. The slow operation of the system is related to the way updates are distributed and to the hardware. In the first case, slow operation is associated with a new type of update delivery in the P2P network. That is, updates come from user to user. In the second case, slow work is associated with old hardware. In this case, only updating the components or buying a new laptop will help.

Summing up

We hope that all the material presented in the article will help our readers and you will not have questions about why the PC began to slow down or why the laptop or monoblock began to freeze. I would also like to give a couple of tips to our readers.

If you have problems with slowdowns and freezes in the system, then malware may be the culprit of your problem. In this case, you should perform a full system scan for viruses and remove them from the found folder.

In addition, if you own a PC with Windows XP, then it's time for you to think about changing the OS to a more secure one. Support for XP has long ended and new antiviruses do not support it for a long time. This means that the system is very insecure and if you give such a system access to the Internet, then you can face real problems due to viruses. Due to viruses, you may encounter both system brakes and theft and damage to personal information.

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