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Desktop computers slowly degenerate with use for several reasons:
Normal operation
As you use your computer, the operating system and programs
slowly accumulate with file fragments, unused programs, used update
files and a plethora of other 'software dirt' that slowly builds up and
over time, slows your computer down. Here are some mechanisms for this
behaviour.
- broken links and shortcuts from programs that may have been
removed and/or upgraded but haven't cleaned up after themselves
properly,
- temporary files created but not always deleted by users,
programs and the operating system, this can happen when the computer
freezes or is turned off incorrectly.
- file fragmentation where files are broken into parts and
distributed across a hard disk as a natural consequence of deleting and
creating new files,
- updates and patches to operating systems and programs that leave old files behind,
- updates and patches to application software that leave previous versions installed and sometimes running,
- operating system & application software services that are
"by default" installed and running even though the user never uses it's
facilities. Blue tooth drives for example are usually on by default,
even if the computer does not support blue tooth natively.
- Slow and inefficient application software that through bad
design needlessly consume huge amounts of your computers resources all
the time. Some well respected antivirus programs have been guilty of
this.
These normal operating conditions are easily managed through
judicious and regular use of maintenance software such as defrag,
temporary file removal, uninstalling unused programs, registry cleaning
and other such tools.
When new programs and add-ons are installed.
All programs use computer resources such as RAM, disk and CPU.
Some programs use resource even when you are not using them, for
example some program run a small program to manage updates all the
time, others sense your use of CD ROM's etc. and launch an appropriate
program to deal with the insertion of a disk. Many 'name brand' PC
vendors provide a barage of ultimately useless, but resource hungry
programs as part of the 'deal'. In reality they are doing you a
disservice in order to make their offering more attractive. If you
don't use the facilities provided, uninstall the programs provided, as
they just slow your computer down. Other causes of add-ons and rubbish
on your computer include:
- users rarely remove programs they no longer use, nor do they
uninstall components or programs that have been upgraded (leaving the
original installation in tact, but unused).
- tool bars and add-ons to browsers and media players that improve the functionality but consume computer resources
- some programs (particularly 'free' trials etc.) when installed
add advertising and other unwanted components that also consume
computer resources above and beyond the advertised added functionality
- badly designed programs that do not clear memory, file locks etc. after they have exited.
- some bugs found in legitimate software that consume large
amounts of computer resources - these are usually quickly found and
fixed by manufacturers who offer a patch to fix the bug or a workaround
to overcome the impact of the bug in their software.
Remove unused programs, clean the registry and removing temporary
and unwanted files on a regular basis. This will manage this
accumulation of junk on your computer and help keep it's performance
high. Remove any toolbars, add-ons etc. you don't really use or need.
If you make it a habit, you will help maintain your computers
performance over the long term.
Malicious and unwanted software - collectively know as malware.
We've all heard of viruses and spyware - this whole category of
malicious software is called malware. Most of us run antivirus software
and perhaps antispyware software too - but few run all the anti-malware
tools required to keep a computer system clean. Keeping this software
up to date is all important too. Some people believe that expired
registrations on antivirus programs still provides some protection, but
this is a falacy. Anti-malware software fights malware that is
constantly evolving - old or unregisted anti-malware software has no
protection against the new attacks being created every minute of every
day. These attacks almost invariably target your antivirus software,
and eventually they will win. Like the dripping water torture!
- Viruses usually attack antivirus software if they find it to
ensure they (or their brethren) are not detected and removed by
antivirus software. This activity as well as the activity of the virus
consumes your computers resources. Usually virus programs do not want
to be found, so your computer will appear to be functioning normally -
as is intended. To compound this problem, some computers acquire dozens
of viruses with the owner unaware that they are supporting so many
freeloaders. The result is a very slow and listless computer.
- Spyware installs itself through your browser and performs
several functions for it's owner - watching which web sites you visit,
controlling which websites you actually get, sometimes they pop up
messages telling you you have a virus and other times to prepare your
computer for a virus attack.
- Adware is software a user installs usually through the
installation of "free" programs or by responding to an ad on a website.
Adware attempts to provide revenue for it's owner by selling an
advertising 'channel' to their clients. Ofcourse, you are the target of
the annoying ads!
What you need to do to guard against malware is two things:
- Keep your antimalware software up to date. If you prefer to
purchase your protection software, then make sure you keep the
registration current and you update it immediately updates are
available.
- Run deep scans of your hard drives in safe mode with a
different vendors anti malware package or suite. If your main
anti-malware software has been compromised, then using the same
software in safe mode for deep scans is pretty useless! It must be
another vendors software, and you should make sure it is updated before
you run deep scans. Be prepared, proper deep scans for malware takes a
long, long time.
Heat & Wear
Over time moving parts in computers slow down due to wear and
tear. This generally means more heat and increased errors. Computers
are relatively tolerant of errors through mechanisms known as 'error
correction' and other facilities such as reducing the speed of the CPU
when the CPU gets too hot. This translates to delayed failure, slower
response and, when complete failure does occur it is catastrophic.
- CPU's generally have a fan that blows cooler air over the
heatsink attached to the CPU to keep it cool. Dust gets caught in the
heatsink and fan and slowly the cooling effect of the fan reduces. The
CPU in response slows down to avoid being permanently damaged.
- Fans throughout the computer slowly wear and in doing so
become slower and generally noisier. As they do, the temperature inside
the computer increases and many components, like the CPU, reduce their
performance to compensate for the higher temperatures.
- Disk drives are mechanical devices and so wear out too. As
they do the internal 'platters' and 'heads' that store your files
become misaligned and so the number of errors when reading or writing
occur increase. The disk drive compensates for errors by re-reading or
re-writing the data found to be erroneous and so this causes a slow
degeneration of the performance of the disk drive as errors increase.
- Disk drives also sometimes have a 'head crash' where the read
heads (not that different to a tape recorder) accidentally hit the
surface of the platters that are rotating at several thousand
revolutions per minute. this can occur when a drive is dropped, or as a
consequence of a drive whose platter and head bearings are worn (in a
sense they become 'rattly'). When this happens, a small fragment of
metal from the platter or head is dislodged and flies around the inside
of the disk freely. This fragment will eventually be caught between a
platter and the heads which will cause another fragment to be broken
off. Eventually this cascade, first one broken fragment, then two, then
four, then eight, a little like an atomic bomb, will destroy your disk.
In the mean time, your experience will be of slowing system, followed
by corrupted files followed by a blue screen of death.
There is nothing much you can do to guard against normal wear, but
you can open your PC and check for dust build up, replace noisy fans
and listen for strange clicking sounds from your hard disk. Your
computer will eventually fail however, so make sure you have everything
that is important to you backed up. This includes your files and data
as well as copies of software you have purchased. Make sure you retain
software serial numbers and regisration keys in a safe, accessable
place - not on your hard disk!
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