Why Is My PC So Slow All of a Sudden: A Complete List of Reasons

Why is my PC so slow all of a sudden is a question you might be asking yourself if you have been dealing with low network speeds or the usual performance lags in your PC. Since PC problems are very common nowadays, from when you boot up your computer to when you turn it off, we have compiled this detailed guide with some excellent tips on getting your PC performance speed back to normal when it is running slow!

You can usually trace the lack of performance speed down to a particular issue, and It is quite possible to fix this issue without having to take your computer to a technician.

Read on to find all the top reasons you might be facing this issue and how you can get rid of them the right way!

Why Is My PC So Slow All of a Sudden?

The PC can start performing slowly because of virus/malware issues, hardware issues, connection issues, or even misplaced wires. Most PCs in poor health showcase errors from the time they boot, and it is essential to understand the cause of your PC’s weak performance before you take any steps regarding fixes.

– Virus/Malware Concerns For Your PC

While there are certainly many different types of viruses and malware for computers, many of them qualify as potholes in your CPU’s performance, leading to it running slow. Most of these viruses leave their marks by making your PC lag and slowing its performance.

Suppose you suspect that your computer might have a malware problem. In that case, you can start protecting yourself by looking for telltale virus signs like weird pop-ups, browser redirects during surfing, or even system changes you do not remember making. A better technique to thoroughly analyze your computer’s effect after it slows down for no reason is checking the performance monitor to explore what’s eating up all the available system resources.

You can do this by opening the Task Manager by pressing shift + ctrl + ESC. Once you have that open, you must shift your focus to the “Performance” tab. The most common culprits, in this case, are usually insufficient memory or slow computer drives, which means you should check them first.

When you use the Performance Monitor, you will get a glance at the aspect that is causing issues. However, you can get detailed information in the Resource Monitor to better look at it.

All you need to do to get there is click on “Open Resource Monitor,” which is at the bottom of the “Performance” tab.

Once you reach the Monitor, you can see what software is slowing down the different hardware pieces, like the hard disk drive, on your computer. It is easy to find the culprit software here, and you can get more detailed information about which processes are more of your hardware’s power. Try to use an antivirus to save your computer in the future.

– A Corrupted Operating System

One of the more common reasons for a slow computer is a corrupt operating system, and it can cause your device to run slowly without giving a warning. Corruption in the OS can be caused by any number of issues, from improper drivers to bad updates, but the most likely reason is a forced shutdown.

While most people suspect that a broken OS means the window screen will become blue, this is not always the case, as it can start very slowly. Sometimes it manifests as a simple lag in a standard program, and people don’t even begin to acknowledge the issue until it has reached great difficulty. You can try certain things if you suspect this is the issue with your PC’s performance.

Start by opening up a command window by looking it up in the start menu and running it as an administrator, so you have the privileges to implement the required changes on your PC.

When the command window is open on your computer, you need to enter the following command and press Enter:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

To clarify the meaning of DISM, it stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management, and with the online switch, we can use Windows updates to repair specific files. After this, you need to improve the corruption by running this command:

SFC /scannow

The command will take time to implement all the repairs, so patience is essential.

– Scanning by Your Antivirus Software

Antivirus software is essential to any healthy PC as it acts as a soldier against digital enemies. However, this same software can also take control of your device to an unnecessary point with all the permissions granted to them, making your device a slow PC. This enables them to hog resources, especially at the time they are scanning your computer for viruses.

Most AV software is designed to carry out automatic checks and scans on your drive at unspecified times to scan for malware. However, all this real-time monitoring can make your computer lag more than it needs to.

Now, if you are noticing a slow-down on your computer and you suspect it is because of your antivirus software, you need to get things in order, and by that, we mean the scan schedule of your AV software. Start by opening up the Task Manager on your PC and go to the section where you can analyze the total disk usage distribution. You must click on the “Disk” column in the “Processes” tab. In this section, you will see which programs are hogging disk usage. You need to identify if your AV software occupies an extensive area in the overall percentage of this section during the time your PC goes slow.

If you see it, it probably means that the software is scanning your computer for viruses and malware and taking up processing power. Since canning is essential to your PC’s ultimate health, we cannot discontinue routine scans.

The solution, in this scenario, is to adjust your PC’s scan schedule and set it to a time when you’re not using your computer.

– Low Disk Space on Your Disk

One thing that can slow your computer’s performance is when the drive space on your disk goes too low. You might also notice other issues like crashing or freezing.

A computer or any other technical device needs its storage to function smoothly. If you see that your computer seems to fill up, you need to start by removing any unnecessary files by deleting them. One thing you can start with is the recycle bin and the downloads folder. We often leave files here and forget about them, and the collective data is unnecessary and strains our storage capacity.

If you are using Windows 11 and have cleared out every obvious file you can handle, you can further improve your storage limit by using Windows 11’s built-in tool known as Storage Sense.

This tool finds other unnecessary files hidden in deep directories like temporary files. Since they take up a lot of space, we recommend you delete temp folders and temp files. If you want to use another professional tool to clean up your storage, we recommend the CCleaner software developed by Piriform.

– Extra Background Programs and Services Slowing Performance

When you have granted startup permissions or automatic launch permissions to different processes and services on your computer, you will notice a lot of software will open up as soon as you get your laptop running, while others will launch at will. While most of these programs have a negligible effect on your PC, the collective load often gets too big when they add up, and you don’t stop the clutter.

However, if the problem happens suddenly, an app may be the main culprit in this scenario. If you suspect that one program is eating up on your PC’s performing abilities, it is best to uninstall all the recent ones and test your PC after each installation to see when it returns to its average speed.

If you think the heavy programs running are essential, just remove it from auto launch privileges. This means the software will still be there to use when needed. This will ensure that the software only runs when you need to use it, but it will not consume any resources in the background.

You can check startup programs by going to the task manager and clicking on the “Startup” tab. Now, you need to click on the “Status” column heading. This will show you the programs that have the privilege to start as the computer boots and which don’t. You can disable programs you wish to stop by changing their status from enabled to disabled, and they will no longer start automatically.

– A Failing Hard Drive

As we have already discussed, hard drives and their health are significant in evaluating your PC’s overall health. Whether your hard drive is a mechanical type or even solid state, it is bound to fail at some point, just like any other machine. It is possible to diagnose a drive’s errors if it is new, but sometimes the wiring in different sectors of a device just gives away, and it is beyond any hope of repair.

Your OS can be stuck even on minor errors like trying to access all or services from a damaged drive sector. However, there is a technique you can use to check for mistakes in your disk. You can do this by using the Check Disk utility. To do this, open up the command tool once more and type out the following command:

chkdsk c: /r

It is necessary to use the drive letter where your Windows is installed on your device, so if it is installed on another volume, use that letter instead of C. Once you run the command, Command Prompt will ask your permission to run Check Disk after the next boot since the OS will be in use at that time.

If you wish to do this, press y and remember to be patient since the more significant your drive, the more time it will take for the drive check to complete.

With the /r switch, you tell Check Disk to “repair” any errors it encounters, but most of the reporting is just identifying the ad sectors of your drive. You can also do disk checking with other diagnostic tools.

– Device’s Overheating Issues

As machines that use a lot of energy, computers generate a lot of heat, and an average CPU can go anywhere between 100°F to 150° F. When you run a system with other factors like GPUs (graphic processor units), the stress and the heat increase.

This is not a problem if your PC can manage the heat and get rid of it as it is generated. However, you can have some issues if there is any problem with the hardware settings or the fans. Some advanced chipsets can instruct parts of your computer to manage their performance during overheating, so they are not damaged.

However, the issue causes performance issues. Now, since your CPU is the riskiest component in this situation, it is possible to get an idea of its temperature by looking at the processor temps. You can use tools like the free HWMonitor tool, developed by CPUID, to monitor the temperature of your CPU.

Start by downloading and installing the application from the official website. After this, could you open it and locate your processor in it? Now, click on the + sign, which will expand the information, and you will see a section with a list of temperatures. While any temp above 150°F should indicate overheating issues for your computer, you never want your device to cross 200°F.

If your PC reaches a very high temperature, it is possible that your vents are clogged, or your device may be experiencing fan failure. It is also possible that the issue can be because of thermal paste. The best solution is to use free utility software to measure fan speeds or clear out your CPU’s clogged dust with a can of compressed air.

– Core Hardware Issues

While challenging drive issues are the most crucial reason for sluggish computer performance, other hardware components also factor in, especially if they are in bad condition. Some features you should look out for are the GPU, CPU, RAM, and the motherboard itself.

When it comes to RAM sticks, even issues with a few can cause adverse performance issues for your device. They can lead to sudden reboots, shutdowns, or blue screen errors.

Since hardware issues are not as easy to spot as their software counterparts, it is a good idea to check with a diagnostic tool. The Memtest86 software that can work with ARM chips and x86 architecture is an excellent choice to test memory. To use the software, you need to download and extract its files.

Inside the folder, you will see an exe file that any user can use to create a bootable USB drive. It is essential to boot your computer with this drive so it can have full access to the memory. If your issues are with your GPU, you can try to remove it from your PC and see if the problem persists.

On the other hand, if you suffer from motherboard issues, they can be harder to pinpoint since they are consistent with most OS issues. An OS reinstall might be able to save your computer from some problems.

– Corrupted or Old Drivers

Missing drivers can cause a lot of errors in your computer system. While network drivers are often outdated, other troublesome places for drivers include chipsets, hard drives, and drive controllers. If you feel your computer is suffering from driver issues, you need to start by looking at the device manager.

Start by pressing both the Windows key and the “R” key together to open a run dialog box. After it pops up, you need to press Enter after typing in devmgmt.msc.

Once you get to the Device Manager, look for any sections with an exclamation point. This icon is a signal that a driver is missing or malfunctioning. Some devices might be running with just the basic versions, and it is wise to update them.

The best way to update the driver is to visit your computer manufacturer’s official website. Download your device’s official set of drivers from there and install it into your system following the instructions.

– Connection and Network Issues

If your computer has performance issues when you are doing something online, it is possible that the problems you are facing could be related to your internet connection. If you have a slow Wifi connection, your computer’s performance will feel sluggish even if other components are of excellent quality since our everyday workload almost always relates to the internet in some way.

To confirm whether the performance issues are related to your internet issues, you need to start by testing some software that runs without the internet. A simple activity would be playing some music on an offline mp3 player or just looking at some pictures or videos in the VLC media player.

If all these activities can run normally, then the problem is most likely with your network. Now you need to find out if the issue is external or internal. Switching networks or moving your computer to another location might be essential to better test your speed and connection.

To measure your internet speed, look at the averages in different locations after measuring them with speedest.net. Look at the changes in the rate and remember that anything under 25 Mbps will feel slow on average.

If your issue is external, contact your internet provider to solve your problem for you. If the issue is internal, it is probably related to some outdated driver, and you can solve the issue in this case by visiting the official manufacturer’s website and downloading the latest version.

Since some issues are related to specific browsers, it can help to try out a different web browser before you try a fix that is too complicated.

Conclusion

As we reach the end of our article, we are sure you have a few ideas on what might be causing performance issues for your computer and how you can fix it with the right solution from this guide. We have also taken the liberty of compiling a series of different bullet points to act as your summary for the article:

• If your OS is corrupted with bad updates and multiple virus and malware issues, you might face many problems, including core performance issues.
• It is essential to plan your hardware purchases according to your performance requirements because a weaker PC will not be able to handle heavy performance.
• Your PC’s Task Manager can help you eliminate background services and extra programs that are eating up your PC’s performing abilities.
• It is essential to constantly update any failing parts of your hardware as a failing hard drive/motherboard cannot support heavy performance expectations.

We understand how frustrating it can be to see performance issues in your computer out of the blue, especially when working on a substantial project. Such problems often appear at the most unexpected and impractical times. However, you no longer need to worry because as long as you heed this guide’s instructions, no performance issues can stop your system anymore!