Why Does My Computer Run So Slow?

Windows operating systems are constructed in such a way they are able accommodate and control computer files when they need to. The problem is the mechanism that makes Windows so accommodating also puts a strain on your computer’s speed. The results in such a situation, is a slow computer. This article shows you how to counteract the strain slowing down your PC.

The part of the operating system that makes it possible for so many features to be used in a computer with a Windows operating system is the registry. The registry is a data base structure that lives inside all Windows operating systems.

Installing hardware and software

Whenever a piece of software or hardware is installed, the registry takes note of where the device or software is, how to address it and make it possible for the computer user to access it.

From the user’s standpoint, it is easy to use the software or hardware because the operating system’s registry is able to smoothly transfer the flow of information between Windows’ inner core and the HAL, which is where the inside of the operating system talks to the outside world.

We Just Click!

While this is all very complicated and has taken years to develop, as far as we users are concerned, everything happens with just a click of the mouse!
So, what we have established so far is Windows is a great operating system and its registry is an amazing piece of software. However, there is a downside!
When new software is installed, it writes entries into the registry. When hardware is installed, it is accompanied by a software program known as a device driver. So, when hardware is installed, the device driver writes entries into the registry.

Uninstalling What We No Longer Use

Whenever programs or hardware is uninstalled these entries should also be uninstalled in their entirety. However, this doesn’t usually happen. Most times, device drivers uninstall partially. This is because most times a device driver shares some of its duties with more than one device.

So, it is easy to see how the device driver uninstall process could potentially be a perilous bit of maneuvering! More than this, there is one more complicating factor:

Upgrades

Whenever software or device drivers upgrade, they actually perform an uninstall and an install as a part of the upgrade process. Of course, it is the uninstall we are most concerned with.

Over time the registry builds up unwanted and inaccurate entries, or junk because of this. This junk will make the operating system have to work harder and harder to do what it used to do in a snap.

What to Do?

So, what does this mean to computer users like you and me? It means we got to clean that registry out once in a while.

Registry cleaning, as the term implies, gets the junk out of the registry and allows the transfer of information to be smooth all the way from the inner core of Windows right out to the program or hardware we are controlling with the clicks of our mouse buttons!

So, to the registry, registry cleaning means no more junk. To us it means no more slow computer!