Page 23 - July 2024 News On 7

TECH TALK

Dr. Jim's Computer Repair
Jim Sanders

This time of the month when I review the repairs over the last month and talk about the most relevant repair for the month
and or tips on usage. Causes of a slow computer, why do computers get slower over time. There are many reasons this
happens but let’s try to outline some of the major ones that may help keep your system running faster longer.
One of the main reasons computers slowdowns is TSR’s (terminate and stay resident). These are programs you install on
your computer that that start up when you turn your computer on and stay running in the background. You may not even
know they are running; these can take up valuable resources on your system, taxing RAM (random access memory), ROM
(read only memory), CPU (central processing unit) as well as hard drive resources. One way to prevent programs from
starting up with your system has to do with how they are installed; during the software install there may be a check box
that says allow software to run at startup. You can uncheck this box unless its an antivirus program that should start with
the system. When installing software most just click through all the boxes without reading what they are allowing the
software to do. Take note and slow down the clicks this can help you immensely and can even help you with unwanted
software being installed (most freeware software you download from the internet comes with other applications within the
install that you may not want at all). Again, these load your startup applications and slow your system down and may also
contribute to viruses and malware infections on your computer. Leading to another reason for slower systems, a computer
with viruses and malware will slow your system down to a crawl. You can run a few different applications to try and rid
your system of these. Keep in mind free antivirus applications do not always find the culprits. But they are better than
nothing at all. Windows has Windows defender built in which for a standard user is sufficient while for the power user or
gamer you will want something a bit more robust. Those with older systems that have gone through thorough tune-ups
and still have a computer running slow may have a hard drive that is coming to the end of its life cycle and may want to look
at having a new drive installed or upgrading their computer. Hard drives have come along way over the last ten years, one
from 10 years ago had moving parts in them, while the new drives contain no moving parts. This makes for faster start ups
and a faster running system overall. If you find yourself with a computer that you ant to throw out the window literally due
to it running slow, bring it in and we can start with a tune-up and cleaning and get you back in the game.
We can be reached at Dr. Jim’s Computer Repair at 392 Front St in Downtown Belleville.
Until next time. Dr. Jim