One of the biggest inconveniences in life is when technology doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. So, here’s some troubleshooting advice to help you fix your computer issues yourself before going to war with customer service. (Disclaimer: I don’t mess with Macs, so these are tips for Windows systems)

First thing’s first, restart your computer. It may seem like an obvious first step, but sometimes all your computer need is to refresh all the components. Also, a go to check is to make sure your operating system is up to date. Systems get finicky the longer you push back that update, and they take up more time since you’re building up the number of updates to be installed. So, do your system and yourself a favor, and just do the update the first time they ask.

Slow Computers

First thing first, is make sure your broadband connection is not slow. Without a decent broadband connection, your computer will seem slow online. Use speedtest.net to tests your connection and ensure that your connection isn’t the problem!

After that, look at how full the hard drive is, which is labelled as Local Disk, typically in your C drive (C:). If the bar is in the red, looks like it’s time to clear out some space, and hopefully speed up your computer as well.

If that doesn’t do the trick, let’s dive a little deeper and work with Microsoft’s System Configuration Tool to lighten the load when the computer starts up. To access this, press W + R and then type msconfig, and hit enter. Go to the startup tab and disable programs you don’t need to boot up when you start your computer. Spotify, Steam, AdobeAMMUpdater, and Google Update are usually good bets. This being so, don’t go crazy, if you don’t know what the program is/does, don’t disable it.

Slow Downloads

I’ll reiterate, check your broadband connection with speedtest.net! Ideal speeds are about 50% of what your provider advertises and a ping below 100ms. If you don’t have a decent connection, downloads will take time. You can also try resetting your router and modem to see if it increases speed.

Also, make sure that there isn’t anything else clogging up your computer’s CPU. This being, don’t download too many things at once or try uploading something while downloading.

An uncommon issue would be that your network hardware will need an update, so check out that your network card doesn’t have a new driver.

Continuous Restarts

The first matter of business check that you’re not in the middle of an update! Your computer restarts multiple times throughout a Windows update.

Next, let’s go through and check that all the crucial hardware on the computer, graphics card, motherboard, and network cards, are updated.

If your system is making weird noises, it probably means that your system just needs to be cleaned. Turn if off, open it up, and get rid of all the dust that’s built up. The dust allows heat to build up, make the system overheat, and consequently shut down as a safeguard.

 

These are some common problems that people run into with their systems. Hopefully, you can save yourself a phone call and fix it yourself! Nevertheless, don’t be afraid to contact customer support or have a visit with the Geek Squad when you can’t figure it out right away. Do these tips help? Let me know some of your quick fixes down in the comments below!