While I do not consider myself a “computer professional,” I often find myself poking around my clients’ computers. Since productivity is so closely tied to technology, I’m often investigating the little hiccups that are costing business executives big money.
Sooner or later, I hear some form of this question: “Why has my computer been running slow?”
This is not an insignificant issue. If computer slowdowns rob you of just 2% of your overall work time, and you work 40 hours per week, then you are losing an entire work week (41.5 hours) every year just twiddling your thumbs waiting for your web browser to start up!
There are many potential problems that can make your computer have a case of the doldrums. However, here are the top five culprits for you to examine:
- Too many programs running in the background at startup– If you are running Windows, look on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. If you see lots of little icons there, then you have a lot of programs running in the background. Personally, I only have two background programs running. (The easiest way to shut down programs from automatically starting is using a little program called msconfig.For a simple tutorial on how to use msconfig, visit http://www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/)
- Bloated virus scanner– Unfortunately, the big name virus scanners such as Norton or MacAfee also have a big reputation for slowing down your computer. This is because nearly every file you want to look at gets passed through the anti-virus program before appearing on your screen. When virus protection is a must, I’ve found Nod32 to be a consistent option. It protects your computer from viruses and has little impact on computer speed.
- Too little RAM– For the unfamiliar, RAM is the virtual workspace for all your programs. The number of programs you can run effectively at the same time is limited by how much RAM you have. Too little RAM, and pretty soon everything will begin slowing down. Anything under 1 GB is too little these days. With RAM upgrades so cheap, I recommend you shoot for having 2 GB of RAM installed. Many would call this overkill, but I call this planning for the future.
- The computer is just plain old– For business purposes, plan on retiring your computer every 2-3 years. While it is possible to stretch out the life of any computer to up to 5 years, the cost of doing so (when lost time and productivity are considered) is far greater than simply budgeting for regular replacements. Consider a computer leasing program or having an outsourced IT provider set you up on a replacement and upgrade schedule.
- Confusing “internet speed” with “computer speed”– Occasionally I see people complaining their computer is slow, but really it is the internet that is the problem. In some instances, your internet connection will slow down as more and more users are added to the local network. This is especially true when using a cable internet connection, which “pools” the resources in a local area. It may be time to upgrade your service or switch to a new service provider.
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