The spinning color wheel on a computer screen is an unwelcome sight. Despite that, it’s a frustration familiar to millions of computer users across the globe and indicative of a device that’s overwhelmed.
Though there’s never a good time to see the spinning color wheel, it tends to appear at those moments when users are particularly busy or staring down important deadlines. Some computers experience diminished performance due to age, but oftentimes users have options other than replacement when their devices aren’t running smoothly.
•Turn off automatic startups. The more applications that are running at a given time, the slower a computer is likely to perform. And users may not realize just how many apps are running on their computers at one time. Many apps may be starting automatically whenever a user restarts his or her computer, and these programs could be running in the background. Individuals who suspect this might be why their devices are operating inefficiently can go into their application settings and turn off automatic startups, particularly with apps they rarely use.
•Uninstall apps that aren’t used. Device performance also can improve when users uninstall apps they don’t use. New com-puters come with a variety of programs that are preinstalled. These programs take up space and memory and adversely affect performance, which makes them prime targets for removal.
•Save files to cloud storage and/or a backup hard drive. Inadequate storage space on a hard drive also affects device performance in a negative way. Users with lots of files, be it documents or photos or both, on their computers are urged to utilize cloud storage and delete those files once they’re successfully uploaded. Files that users prefer to keep on their computer hard drives can be compressed to free up memory and thus improve speed and performance.
•Utilize the cleanup function on the computer. A cleanup function can help to improve performance by deleting temporary files that are created whenever a computer is rebooted or an application is opened after being shut down. These temporary files can take up a lot of storage but the cleanup function will delete them, thus improving the speed of the device.
•Update the operating system. An outdated operated system also can adversely affect device performance. Access the settings of the device to determine if a new OS is available. Some people may be utilizing an OS that is several updates behind, and in such instances the performance of the device can be quite poor.
No one wants to see a spinning color wheel on their computer screen. But that wheel might be a byproduct of a host of variables that can be easily and quickly addressed to improve computer performance.
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