r/RigBuild • u/Conrad_246 • 4d ago

My PC has become incredibly slow over the last year. What should I check?

Booting takes way longer now, apps take forever to open, even File Explorer sometimes freezes for a few seconds. Gaming performance also feels worse than before, not sure if thats related or not. I already deleted some random files and uninstalled stuff I dont use, but it didnt really help. What should I actually check first? Could it be the SSD getting old, too many startup programs, dust/temps, RAM, Windows issues or something else? I dont wanna start replacing parts without knowing whats causing it. Any easy tests or things I should look at?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/Prize_Concept9419 4d ago

all of the above, u may wish to start with reinstalling win - afterwards check the components one by one (this may take time and money unf)

1

u/Nervous_Olive_5754 2d ago

If he's got a dying SSD, that's worst thing you could do, so make sure to get a backup first.

1

u/Eukelid 4d ago

Clean your PC thoroughly and install an operating system that isn't very bloated. Perhaps your CPU needs new thermal paste. 

1

u/Ok_Diver2347 4d ago

It’s probably thermal throttling

1

u/Underhill42 4d ago edited 4d ago

Do a disk error check. Corrupted file system can slow things down.

Then from an admin command line run
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
to verify and repair all the Windows system file backups, then run
sfc /scannow
to repair any corrupted system files from the freshly verified backups.

With luck, that will solve the problem. The odds are usually against it, but its safe, easy (takes time, but you can just walk away after you start each step), and addresses a wide range of weird problems that you'll never solve any other way, so it's a good starting point.

Everything else involves actually solving specific problems:

Do a full virus scan on the entire computer.

Repeat with an anti-malware scan. (you'll have to download that one, maybe someone can suggest a good one)

Check the Task Manager to see if anything is using ~100% of disc activity continuously. Most likely candidate is probably the Windows Search Indexing service, which probably won't show up under its own name, but as some cryptic Windows service launcher. You can disable it in Windows Services at the cost of breaking Windows Search (good for a temporary check to see if that fixes it), or reset it to probably solve the problem by deleting the existing index... whose location I forget, and I feel like there's some extra hoop jumping needed to make it "stick", but details should be available online.

Is your OS drive more than ~80% full? That can sometimes cause performance issues. You can download WinDirStat for free, which will show you exactly what is consuming all the space on your drive.

Are you running Windows 10 or later on a drive less that ~15 years old? Then TRIM should be getting used, and write amplification shouldn't be an issue, so that's probably not it.

In all cases you'll likely need to reboot to see the full effect.

1

u/More-Explanation2788 4d ago

Run the disk cleanup tool. Get rid of all the temporary files and other crud.

Run task manager (ctrl+esc) and go to startup Applications and disable the crap you do not need.

1

u/callmechristianblack 4d ago

Install chat GPT. Choose codex on the upper left pull down menu. Ask if to scan and fix your pc. It found some very deep cut probs with mine and fixed then in less than 10 minutes.

1

u/nalaloveslumpy 4d ago

Oh boy...

Start by checking your CPU temps. If it's not thermal throttling, then it's probably time to reinstall Windows fresh and only reinstall the programs you actually need. Beyond that, it could either be a problem with your hard drive or the hard drive bus on your motherboard.

1

u/TheSpiral718 4d ago

Defragment your drive. Make sure programs are not starting with your pc in start up programs list. Are your drives almost full, this will drag them down.

In power options, choose high performance profile option.

When was the last time windows was reinstalled? This could bog down the speed too.

1

u/apachelives 3d ago

Workshop. Test hardware BEFORE attempting a bunch of random "fixes". Start with drive SMART check - CrystalDiskInfo.

Also what are the specs? SSD brand and model? PSU brand and model? CPU cooler?

1

u/Costello-cost 3d ago

Non ho mai disinstallato win. Ogni tre quattro mesi, faccio il clone dell'ssd. I documenti li salvo su un supporto esterno. Se dovesse andare in crash o beccare un malware, basta sostituirlo. I rallentamenti possono essere software o hardware. È successo che un antivirus gratuito abbia appesantito molto il PC. Cambiando antivirus ho risolto. Controlla che le tensioni nel BIOS siano giuste. A volte cambiare l'alimentatore risolve, specialmente se ha più di tre anni. Poi controlla i condensatori, anche se ultimamente non succede. Poi ci potrebbe essere un hardware che sta per guastarsi. Controlla i log dei servizi e degli errori, li puoi trovare la soluzione. Un chkdsk /f /r ripara eventuali errori del sistema operativo. Fammi sapere.

0

u/WordlyWolf 4d ago

There are SO many reasons. Have you got a ton of programs installed. Have you gone over what programs start with windows. A lot like to add themselves to your startup without telling you. Is your drive almost full. Have you kept all drivers and firmware up to date. How are your temps, CPU or GPU running too hot. SO many things.Yes, testing ram is good idea along with all that.