A machine that’s “just” slow shouldn’t have problems with pop-ups or persistent trojan and malware infections, and it shouldn’t be unstable.
A slow PC may thrash the hard drive if you ask it to open too many browser tabs simultaneously, but there should be a reasonable and predictable (to you) relationship between how much work you are asking your PC to do and how quickly it can do it. You should have a feel for how long it’ll take to open a webpage or launch a game, and you shouldn’t see any unexplained variation in those times or particular instability when performing them. How Do I Tell If My PC Is “Just” Slow?Ī PC that’s “just slow” shouldn’t have any other real problems apart from the lack of performance. The answers to these questions are as important as the baseline specs of the system, especially if you’re trying to save money.
If the machine is smooth and responsive in Safe Mode but lags badly when booted to a normal desktop, check and see what applications automatically start when you boot up Windows 10. The answers to these questions will help you understand where the problem is likely to be.
Whether you are doing this for someone else or for yourself, here are a few “big picture” questions to consider: Specifically, it walks through the process of determining whether your problem is more likely to be caused by software, hardware, or simply the age of the machine. This article is designed to help you troubleshoot a slow machine.