Is your PC running slower than normal? Barring any physical damage or errors, the following tips might help bring your PC back up to speed.
First delete any temporary files or any files you no longer need. Then you will run scandisk to fix any non-physical errors on the disk.
| Clean up and delete any leftover temp files. |
| 1) The free version of CCleaner is excellent at cleaning up temporary files and can also cleanup
the Windows Registry. I highly recommend installing the free "slim" version, if available. (When a new version is released, it takes a
few days before the "slim" version is available, so if the slim version is not shown, just install the regular "installer" version.) Another simple and easy cleanup tool is the freeware utility by Steven Gould called CleanUp!. If you have multiple users on the same PC, this tool can cleanup temp files from all users, not just the currently logged on user. You can get it here. After running it, you may be asked to reboot your PC. You can do so or wait until after you finish setting up Scandisk (step 5 below). |
| 2) To manually delete temp files, you will need to look in a few folders that Windows uses by default. In Windows 7, 8, 10:
The folders listed above as "hidden folder" are not normally viewable unless you can view hidden files. To make hidden files and folders viewable follow these instructions: In Windows 7, 8, 10:
Make sure to close any open programs so that you don't delete anything you have open or want to keep. Unless you recognise any of the files, you should be able to delete anything in these folders. To select all the files, and subfolders if they exist, in the temp folder, click on a file and press and hold the >Ctrl< key and then press the A key. (Or go to the Edit menu and click on Select All.) Now hold down the Shift key and press the Del(Delete) key or right-click on the selected files, press and hold the Shift key and click on Delete. (TIP: Holding down the shift key while deleting files actually deletes the file(s) instead of just moving them to the Recycle Bin.) You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the file(s), just click Yes to delete them. You may get a warning saying that certain files cannot be deleted and the deletion stops. If so, just unselect the specific file(s) and try again. |
| For WINDOWS 7. Run Scandisk to correct any problems with the File System. For Win 8 or 10, click here | |
| 1) Start Explorer, the file manager, not Internet Explorer, the browser. If the "My Computer" or "Computer" icon is on your desktop, right-click on it and choose Explore. Or, press and hold the Windows key (between the Ctrl and Alt keys on either side of the Space Bar) and the E key. Explorer should popup. |  |
| 2) Right-click on the C: drive and click on Properties. |  |
| 3) You should see the Properties window. Click on the Tools tab near the top. |  |
| 4) Click on the Check Now button and the window for scandisk options will popup. Select both options and click on Ok. |  |
| 5) A warning should popup about not being able to perform the disk check and asking to schedule the check after rebooting.
Click the Schedule disk check button. You can then close all the open windows by clicking the Ok buttons. Since the disk check might take a long time, you
do not have to reboot yet. Just be sure to reboot the PC when there is time to leave it for an hour or more before you need to use it again. Skip down to "Step #6 |
The warning window in WIndows Vista/7: |
| For WINDOWS 8 or 10. Run Scandisk to correct any problems with the File System. | |
| 1)Click on the Start button or press the <Windows> key. |  |
| 2) Start typing in "command" and you should see something similar to the image on the right. |  |
| 3) Right-click on the Command Prompt under Programs and choose Run as Administrator... |  |
| 4) With the command Prompt window open, type in: chkdsk /r c: Then press enter. |
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| 5) You will get a warning that a reboot is necessary. Type in Y and press the <Enter> key. Since the disk check might take a long time, you do not have to reboot yet. Just be sure to reboot the PC when there is time to leave it for an hour or more before you need to use it again. Reboot the PC. |
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| 6) After the computer starts to boot, you should see one of the following screens depending on wich version of Windows you are running. The full scan can take several minutes to an hour or more. The larger your hard drive, the longer it takes. So you can leave this to run overnight and when you return in the morning, it should be done. If not, then there may be some other major problem. A full scan disk should have 5 stages. If the scan completes without major errors, Windows should boot as normal. If there are major errors found on the hard disk, then you should see a warning about it below the text from the screenshot and Windows might not boot up properly. |
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Windows Vista/7: |
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Windows 8/8.1/10: |
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| 7) After the scandisk is finished, you will want to view the results, do the following: Go to the Start Menu and click on Run... (or press the <Windows> + <R> keys) and type in: eventvwr.msc (In Windows 7/8/8.1/10, open Windows Logs by clicking on the + symbol next to it.) Click on the Application node. In Windows 7/8/10, look for an entry called Check Disk (Wininit) Look through the summary. Near the bottom, you should find an entry for: 0 bad sectors or there is no entry for bad sectors, then the hard disk is fine. If, however, the number before bad sectors is greater than 0, then you have a failing hard disk which needs to be replaced. If so, then shutdown your system and call for more detailed help. |
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The above steps usually help speed up any PC. If not, and there is no physical damage/errors on the hard disk, then you might try scanning your PC for malware/viruses.