5 Things That Are Slowing Your PC Down

Best Practices, Data Security, Data Storage, disk cleanup, Hacking, IT Efficiency, Ophtek, PC Tips, PC Tools, Speed, , , ,
29
Sep 2020

We live in a high speed age which allows us to be more productive than ever, but if anything can throw a wrench in the works it’s a slow PC.

The experience of a slow and sluggish PC is one that everyone is familiar with. And dealing with this frustration never gets easier. In fact, a PC which regularly slows down can have a serious impact on your job productivity. The complexities of the inner workings of a PC mean that identifying the exact cause is difficult. But this doesn’t mean you need to continue struggling.
It’s possible, with relative ease, to employ a number of methods and practices that will help restore your PCs speed.

5 Steps Towards a Faster PC

If you want to start ramping your productivity back up then make sure you look at the following:

  1. Defragment Your Hard Drive: A PC is, essentially, a data storage device. But the data stored on a PC needs to be retrieved every time it’s required. And the more data you store on your PC the more uneven this data distribution is. The end result is fragmented data that becomes increasingly harder to piece together. Naturally, this means that processes take longer to complete. Performing a disk defragmentation will help to reorganize your data and can easily be achieved with the Microsoft Drive Optimizer app.
  2. Browser Add-Ons: Installing add-ons to your web browser can help to maximize your online productivity, but too many can start to slow down your browsing experience. It’s common, however, to install add-ons that soon fall into disuse and no longer serve any purpose. Therefore, if your speed issues are only apparent when you’re using your browser, it may be worth evaluating your active add-ons and disabling any you don’t need.
  3. Start-up Programs: When a PC loads up it will automatically load up a long list of programs that are listed in your System Configuration. The more programs that are listed in System Configuration then the longer your PC will take to load up. Many of these programs, though, are not necessary during the start-up process e.g. a messaging app that you don’t use regularly. To avoid a bloated start-up experience just head into MSConfig and check what’s included in your start-up.
  4. Hard Drive Space: Your hard drive may, for example, have a capacity of 500GB but it’s not recommended to fill it to breaking point. The operating system on your PC needs a certain amount of hard drive space to carry out essential tasks such as creating temporary files. And if this space isn’t available then your PC will struggle to operate correctly. Regularly evaluating what is on your PC and what can be removed is crucial to avoid this.
  5. Malware: Hackers are keen to take control of PCs through the use of resource-heavy malware. Depending on the nature of the malware, such as a DDoS attack, your PCs memory can soon become overloaded and grind to a halt. Accordingly, you need to maintain good security practices to prevent the impact of malware.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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How to Choose the Right Cloud Storage Provider

Cloud, Cloud Backup, Data Volume, Security, Speed, Uptime, , , , ,
19
Jun 2018

Storing files in the cloud is becoming increasingly popular for businesses, but how do you choose the right cloud storage provider when there are so many?

There are a wide range of factors to consider when choosing a cloud storage provider, so it’s no surprise that settling on one is difficult. All providers will offer different options and plans, but the good news is that there are set basics which will apply to your business. The first step is making sure you can find a provider who can satisfy your basic needs..

To help you get started, we’re going to look at what these foundations of cloud storage are and how they apply to your organization.

Data Volume

The amount of data that your organization processes is important when it comes to choosing a cloud storage provider. After all, different providers are going to have different capabilities when it comes to storing data. The basic plan available through Dropbox, for example, is 2GB and while that may be fine for an individual running their own business, an organization with 250 employees is going to need a little more. Obviously, numerous pricing plans are available for different providers depending on your storage needs, so it makes sense to calculate your storage needs (and future needs) and compare prices.

Uptime

Cloud servers are not infallible and they can fail just as easily as your own servers can. However, certain service providers’ networks fail more than others. And this can present a serious problem for your operations if your data is unavailable when you need it most. Therefore, you should always ask cloud storage providers to demonstrate their contingency plans in the case of server failure and, more importantly, statistics which show the reliability of their servers in terms of uptime.

Speed

Download speeds are one of the most essential elements of cloud storage for you to consider. The speed at which you can download your data can have a significant impact on your ability to do business. Say, for example, you’ve suffered a data disaster and need your data restored as soon as possible, if your cloud storage provider has a cap on their download speed then it’s going to take longer to get back up and running. That’s why you need to make sure you understand the download speeds that are available from your cloud storage provider.

Security

If your data becomes compromised then cloud storage provides a useful backup. However, there’s no guarantee that your cloud storage provider is safe from security breaches. And, if they are compromised, then the safety net of their backup is suddenly removed. This leaves you in a precarious situation whereby the safety of your data is significantly reduced. Therefore, understanding your cloud storage provider’s security measures are paramount. The main factors to consider are the provider’s physical security of their servers and the level of encryption they apply to stored data.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Speed Up Your PC Boot Time

Office IT,
19
Feb 2017

how-to-increase-computer-speed-3-660x375

The quicker your PC boots up, the quicker you can get started on business. Wouldn’t it be amazing, though, if you could boot Windows up even quicker?

Well, there’s actually a number of ways you can save precious time in getting your PC up and running. The methods involved are a mixture of software and hardware changes that any PC user can instigate, so let’s take a look at how to reduce your Windows boot times.

Install More RAM

memory-ram.800

The simplest hardware solution to startup times is to install more RAM. The absolute minimum that any modern PC should be running with is 4GB of RAM, but if you can increase your RAM to 8GB then you’ll notice a significant increase in boot speed. And, with the price of memory getting cheaper and cheaper, this is an easy and attractive fix.

Reduce Your Startup Programs

One of the biggest factors in boot times is the number of programs that load at startup. You only need to load programs at startup which are essential for your PC to run. However, software manufacturers are keen to have their programs at your disposal as soon as possible, regardless of whether they’re needed or not.

To check what’s loading up at startup, you just need to run MSConfig and click on the Startup tab where you’ll be presented with a long list of programs. As a rule of thumb, you only need to have programs enabled which are manufactured by Microsoft and Intel. All other programs can be loaded later on when you need them.

Adjust Your BIOS Settings

You may not be aware of your BIOS, but it’s the piece of software which is responsible for loading your operating system. And, as you can imagine, this is quite a large task, so there’s plenty of potential for reducing your boot time by tinkering with the BIOS.

Not all PCs will allow you to access your BIOS settings, but the most common way is by pressing F2 during the initial stages of startup. And, once in, the most important change to make is to enable the ‘quick boot’ option which skips all the non-essential hardware checks during the startup process.

However, the BIOS is a very important piece of software, so you should only alter its  settings if you know exactly what you’re doing.

Invest in a Solid State Drive

01_ssd_hdd

The most sure fire way of making your boot time faster than ever is to invest in a solid state drive (SSD). A relatively new breakthrough in hard drives, an SSD relies on Flash memory rather than moving parts and, as a result, can shave a significant number of seconds off your boot time.

And buying an SSD has never been more affordable with prices reducing every year whilst their capacity rapidly rises. Not only will it increase your boot speed, it will also speed up your Windows programs, so it’s an option which can’t be ignored.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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4 Tips to Maintain Your Hard Drive and Its Performance

Office IT, ,
07
Feb 2017

hard-drive-failure

The hard drive is one of the most vital parts of your PC as it contains all your valuable data, so maintaining it correctly is crucial for your performance.

By maintaining your hard drive you’re ensuring two things which can make a real difference to your business:

  1. Your data is housed safely and is available when necessary
  2. A well maintained hard drive allows you to access your data quickly

Hard drives, though, can easily fall into a state of disrepair and this can have a real impact on the accessibility on your data. And that’s why I want to show you 4 tips to maintain your hard drive and its performance.

  1. Defragment Your Hard Drive

You may think that files on your hard drive are just one big piece of data, but this is only true in the very early life of the file. Over time, these files fragment into different sections and are spread across your entire hard drive.

Although this won’t cause any major damage to the hard drive, it does mean that it has to use up a little more power and performance in locating all these fragments when the file is requested. And this means longer load times for files.

The simple answer is to run a defragmentation tool which pieces all these individual file fragments together and provide quicker load times. This should only be done once your drive hits the 10% fragmentation threshold, most defragmentation tools can advise on the current level of fragmentation.

Uninterruptable power supply

  1. Use Surge Protectors

It’s not just the data on hard drives that can be classed as sensitive, the hard drives themselves are particularly sensitive components and need a steady, constant electricity supply. And, even if there’s a slight surge in electricity for even the briefest of moments, it can fry your hard drive and render it beyond repair.

Surge protectors cost less than $10, so it’s a tiny investment and there’s no excuse for not equipping all your PCs with them. After all, it’s going to cost a lot more in terms of time and labor when it comes to retrieving or even re-entering all the lost data.

  1. Embrace Power Saving Modes

Sure, it can be irritating when your PC slips into sleep mode or hibernation mode as you need to wait a few seconds for it to spring back into life. However, these power saving modes stop your hard drive from running when it’s unnecessary. And by saving even just a minute or two’s running time several times throughout a day, you’re going to significantly increase the lifespan of your hard drive.

  1. Protect Your PC

One of the most sure fire ways to damage a hard drive is through physical trauma, so you need to make sure your PC is well protected.

First off, only ever remove your hard drive if you have to and make sure it’s well packaged and cushioned once it’s out of the case as they’re very fragile. Likewise, ensure that your PCs cases are well out of the way of your employees’ walkways as all it takes is one mistimed kick to a PC to damage the hard drive.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Does the Speed of your Computer Matter?

hardware,
08
Jul 2015

fast-computer

Computer processor speed helps determine how fast your system performs. We’ll help you answer: does the speed of your computer really matter?

We’ll be providing you with a guide, along with example scenarios for the different processor speeds available today. However, let’s first look at what processor speed is.

What is Processor Speed?

The speed of a processor is measured in hertz, which relates to how many cycles they run per second.  Nowadays processors are measured in Ghz (gigahertz), which means billions of cycles are processed per second.

Not all computers are designed to respond to tasks as quickly as you may be led to believe when a store sales rep tries to sell you a computer. Even with a decent processor, such as a quad core, one needs to be wary of dwarfed speeds that will limit how fast a processor carries out tasks.

It’s no use having a multi core processor that responds to tasks slowly, when one can purchase a cheaper quad core with higher speed capacity. For instance, a 2 Ghz quad core is slower than a 3 Ghz dual core.

Processor Speed Scenarios

website-speed

Below 2.0 Ghz:

Processors with this speed will only manage to cope with basic email and web browsing activities. It’ll also be able to process light document writing. However any other types of demanding software, such as for graphic editing and video creation, will make it struggle and fall flat on its face. Here are some budget systems on Amazon.

2.0-3.0 Ghz:

This range of speed will cope well with web browsing, working with emails, running business programs such as patient management systems and general multi-tasking.  This category works well for the average office computer.

Above 3.0 Ghz:

If you need to run demanding graphic and video systems, then you’ll need to have a computer that comes with a processor of at least this speed. This range is also very good for heavy multi-tasking and creating multimedia such as high resolution graphics and videos.  This category also works well for running many programs, documents, and browser tabs at once.

Having considered all of the above scenarios, a higher speed processor will only work to its potential if it’s supported with enough computer memory. You’ll also need to consider purchasing at least a dual core processor to get speedier and decent PC performance.

For more ways to optimize your business systems systems, contact your local IT professionals.

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