Common PC Problems And Their Solutions

Your system might be too old / is not powerful enough for the OS. Firstly, look at your system specs - they play a huge part in performance. Here's a list on what's necessary for minimum lag for the listed common OS's, estimated as so from my tests and from what other people said.

Vista: Preferably a single or dual core running at a speed at 1.83 GHz or more, 1 GB of RAM, 100 GB hard drive, 128 MB of dedicated graphics memory. (If you have integrated graphics, get 1.5 GB of RAM or more to dedicate system RAM to the graphics and the rest for programs.)

XP: Single or dual core running at 1.2 GHz or more, 512 MB of RAM, 80 GB hard drive, 64 MB of dedicated graphics memory. (If you have integrated graphics, you'll need around 768 MB or more of RAM to dedicate system RAM to the graphics and the rest for programs.)

If your computer doesn't achieve these stats it's highly likely your PC will be suspect to more lag, so if you can, fix it up, or downgrade to an older OS.

* Run Disk Defragmenter. Go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter. In Vista, search for "Defrag" or anything like that. Then analyze the startup disk (C drive) and if the analysis says to defrag, defrag. If not, then don't and move on to the next solution.

* Disable startup entries or any running programs that might be draining RAM. Download a trusty startup manager for your computer - you can use the built-in one if you like, but it's much more complicated and hard to understand, and you can accidentally disable something important. Anyways, check around places like tucows or cnet's Download.com. I know for a fact that TuneUp Utilities has a startup manager but the program isn't free.

* Delete some programs. Low hard disk space can slow down a computer badly. Delete programs and files you don't need until you have at least 15% hard drive space remaining. If you have lots of hard disk space, then move on to the other solutions.

* Scan for spyware/viruses. Those usually cause the OS and programs to slow down. Quarantine anything you find, and tracking cookies are alright to delete.

* Run a disk check. Go to Start, then Run, and type down Chkdsk. Check all boxes that appear and when it prompts to reboot, click Yes. Then wait for the check to finish.

* Send it to your manufacturer and have them check it out. (For those who bought their own PC's only) If your computer is still under warranty then call up the PC manufacturer and have them check it out. If they send it back and say there's nothing wrong...

* Replace the hard drive/RAM sticks. (For those who built their own PC's only. You're gonna have to invest a crapload for this. You might have corrupt RAM/hard drive, and that's probably why it's so slow. Otherwise...