Slow Computer Overall
Answer a couple of questions and get the exact fix.
When is your computer slow?
Why does this happen?
A computer that's slow at everything is usually low disk space, too many running apps, or a slow hard drive. The fixer below matches your pattern — always slow, slow at startup, or slow after updates — to the right fix.
Common causes
- A nearly full system drive.
- Too many apps running in the background.
- A mechanical hard drive instead of an SSD.
- Background work from a recent Windows update.
Symptoms
- Everything takes a long time to open.
- Boot is slow but things improve later.
- The PC got slow right after an update.
- It's been slow since it was new.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a computer slow?
The big three: a full drive, too many background apps, and a slow hard drive. Fixing all three covers most cases.
Is my hard drive making my PC slow?
If your system drive is an HDD, it's likely the bottleneck. An SSD upgrade is the single biggest speedup for an old PC.