
PC Desktop Consulting Services
I'm often asked: "Why does
my computer run so slow?"
Click
here to review possible reasons for a slow running
computer
In my
business I do the following:
- Repairs and Upgrades
-
Troubleshooting
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Repairs to Windows, all versions
-
Board Replacements
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Motherboard upgrades
-
Power Supplies
-
Computer Recycling and Custom Built
machines
-
1
year Parts & Labor for all computers if they are
returned to me for repairs.
-
Software installations, Configurations,
Upgrades
-
Troubleshooting
-
Word Processors
-
E-Mail
-
Office Products
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Most software programs installed
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Hardware installations
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New Computer installations
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Custom built PC's to your specifications
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New Motherboards
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Modems
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Hard drives
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Floppy Drives
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DVD Drives
-
CDRom Drives
-
Help Desk services
Phone and site support
3-4
basic reasons for slow running computers:
(1) Answer: Basic speed of the
computer. Old computers may be running at less than 1000
MHz per second, today's modern computers run at 2-3000
MHz per second. Typically, a computer 5 years old will
run around 5-800 MHz, 8 years old around 2-400 MHz. It
will usually take a new motherboard and a new CPU chip to
solve this problem.
(2) Answer: Speed of the Harddrives
purchased about 10 years ago ranged from about 3600
revolutions per minute (rpm) to about 4900 rpm. Today’s
modern drives run nearly twice as fast, typically about
7200 rpm; however, the data transfer rates of these
harddrives are doubling and tripling over the data
transfer rates of the older drives. Modern Caching
techniques also improves the performance of newer
harddrives.
(3) Answer: Insufficient random access
memory (RAM) installed in the computer (this is temporary
storage during data processing). This causes the
operating system to have to write data to the harddrive
for later retrieval and processing, then rewriting it
back to the drive only to retrieve it etc... If the
harddrive is an older slower model, this write and
rewrite process causes the computer to run slowly and
seem to hang at times.
(4) Answer: Viruses and Spyware that
has infected your computer. If the computer used to run
relatively fast but has slowed up recently, this may be
the cause.
Options for
repairing the above:
(1) Above:
Replace the Motherboard and Central Processing Unit chip
with modern faster models.
(2) Above: Change the current
harddrive to a faster model, usually larger, and move the
data and programs to the new harddrive. You may also
need to upgrade your operating system from Windows
95-98/ME to Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Vista. I don't
recommend using the "Home" editions of these operating
systems; I recommend the "Professional" editions for more
functionality and compatibility with modern software.
Except for NEW computers that are made and tuned to
Windows Vista, I don't recommend this operating system be
installed on older machines due to incompatibility
problems with hardware and older software. Typically,
Microsoft's first editions of their operating systems
don't run well on older machines until they have put out
several "fixes" and "enhancements". When Vista is about
1-2 years old it may be ok to install it on older
machines, but it might be best, if you need its
functionality, to either buy a new machine or rebuild it
with Vista compatible hardware.
(3) Above: Purchase and install
additional RAM memory chips. With today’s software
requirements for memory, you should install approximately
1 GB of RAM. Many new computers are being sold with only
256kb and 512kb. Older machines may have 128kb or less.
It's not difficult to add additional memory; there are
usually extra memory slots available.
(4) Above: Obtain Anti-Virus and
Anti-Spyware software, keep it updated, and run it at
least once per week to eliminate infections. To prevent
these infections from happening, I recommend Symantec's
Norton Internet Security and related software.
If your computer is not running as fast as you would
like, contact me and I'll stop by and take a look. From my
visit we can discuss your computer in more detail and
explore your options. This initial visit to the
Reno/Sparks area is free.
I do
make weekly trips to Carson City, NV so it may be
possible to do a no cost visit to Carson as well.
Alternative is to bring me your computer (less monitor,
keyboard & Mouse).
