Question: Why Do Windows PC's Get Slower Over Time?

[@BeckyBoop]

I found you through your issues with KZbin and as a tech professional myself I've been going through your videos since. I have to say you've done a great job educating the public at no cost. Keep up the great work, you're doing the community a service for anyone who wants to learn.

[@acronus]

Also, if your computer is running slow, try cleaning it......literally. Fuzz and dust builds up on the fans, the ventilation holes, and the heat sinks. Excessive heat can slow a computer down, or damage it entirely.

[@BogdanSerban]

As a Linux user it amuses me when I hear about defragmentation, registry, ad-ware and malware. But then I realize I still have to use Windows for some specific tasks because, and I hate that it still dominates the market.

[@Salad360]

Also, CCleaner ironically adds itself to the startup routine and by default runs in the background "scanning" you PC 24/7 hogging resources. ==Edit-== Yes, I know I can disable it, I just found it a tad annoying that it behaves this way by default.

[@InformaticageNJP]

Taylor Pinkham So? You decided to install CCleaner and u can disable it any time. It's not a malware... Any operating system does the same things, runs after bootstrap and runs the whole time. Malware = malicius software, not software with autorun and a background daemon (Like... guess what? antivirus)

[@tom5243]

Taylor Pinkham thats why it gives you the options to disable launch on startup.. or you could just be like me and set windows to only launch essential processes on startup

[@InformaticageNJP]

JustaTree Exactly! I did not know that conspiracy theories existed for Ccleaner too xD

[@Salad360]

Informaticage NJP Such features didn't exist in earlier versions, and it's just a little annoying that it wants to act like typical bloatware by default. That's all.

[@edymasta]

Taylor Pinkham just disable the option they give you to start it after the or load

[@dbpooper7512]

One of my recent Windows 10 updates was huge - like multiple gigs. I don't think it's just sloppy programming, I think they're intentionally trying to bog down people's PCs so we'll buy a new one ever five or so years.

[@phantomwhite7972]

If they wanted to force people into buying a new PC every five years or so, Microsoft would just do what Apple does - bring out a new operating system every 9 months and make sure there is no more than a couple of versions' worth of backward compatibility.

[@BilisNegra]

Do you really think you're sounding smart by saying that? Look, a 10 year old PC is usable today, at least for basic stuff. In 2006, a 1996 computer was absolutely unusable for present day tasks.

[@JamSparing]

.... that was a full OS update, though. OF COURSE that's gigs of data. What a smartass, honestly.

[@dbpooper7512]

Jam Sparing It was an update for Windows 10, not Windows 10 itself.

[@JamSparing]

Yes? It's an update to the OS. Not a security one. Like an SP.

[@thefinder8087]

If you use a little common sense and educate yourself a small amount on the software you use, you can go years and years on a Windows install. Most of the time people need to reload windows it's because they downloaded everything they could and clicked on a thousand shady porn ads.

[@JuanMorales-bv7qr]

+Nathaniel Graham BUT MY WIENER! IT WILL GROW INTO THE 10 INCHES IF I SIMPLY CLICK THIS LINK!!

[@thefinder8087]

+juan fernando morales well of course THAT one is legit, I've done it 5 times now and let me tell you IT WORKS. I have to wear two pairs of pants now if you know what I mean. It's the other ads, the less legitimate ones I'm worried about.

[@IvanOoze1990]

windows does not require antivirus at all if you don't click on flashing porn gifs on all those overseas shady porn sites, and NOOOOO do not download exe.s and exucute them thinking your gonna get porn passwords..... if you download an exe that looks shady, its gonna be shadyyyyyyy. simple as that. windows can run indefinitely without a reinstall its the user not the software.

[@JuanMorales-bv7qr]

Nathaniel Graham yes, like the ones on the google page, underneath the search bar. they are all scams.

[@dwightehowell6062]

+Joshua Pierre A lot of malware is currently being stuck in adds that may be run on just about any web site.

[@kevnar]

I've also found that the computer slows down the more full your hard drive gets. As you begin to run out of free space on your HD, the computer has to do more juggling to find places to save things. And since Windows uses the hard drive for back-up RAM space, and pretty much every large piece of software uses temporary files, this can slow down your machine significantly. Defragging helps, but only if you also defrag the empty space on your hard drive. Space Sniffer is a good free program to find out what's using up all your hard drive space. The best idea is to delete unused junk to free up space, or get a larger hard drive. They're dirt cheap now a days. Also, buying more RAM saves the computer having to use HD space for RAM as well. If you've only got 4GB of RAM, double it to 8 or 16 if you can. You'll notice a huge difference in speed and response time right away.

[@tarstarkusz]

I have over 25 years of experience and this is one of the few people who actually know what they are talking about. Listen to this guy. I just wish he would have mentioned all the reasons you should NEVER defrag your hard disk.

[@dreadhawk123]

I used to be that 14-year-old wannabe hacker..

[@dreadhawk123]

+KWorker Same. Currently a year away from graduating with a BS-CS. Not quite sure I'll get 80k that quickly, but still not bad considering I'm 19.

[@Geryboy666]

+dreadhawk123 I hope somebody hit you in the face for being like that!

[@dreadhawk123]

Really don't need compensation. In fact, I plan to donate a portion of my paycheck to a good cause or two. Probably fighting childhood obesity or tobacco addiction.

[@peeterboiko2525]

dreadhawk123 Thats's cute:)

[@Micropoint.]

+dreadhawk123 did it too in 2002 using optixpro... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Get connected into a computer and the guy was playing counter strike, its was funny... I took control of his mouse, i let you imagine how gun it was..

[@instaminox]

This video still answers the questions! Legit! Thanks brah!

[@TotalJustinGaming]

why would windows improve this? they wil sell new windows pc's because people think there pc is getting old and go and buy a new one

[@tylerhoban]

SSD Squad!

[@bri6985]

Just make sure you have TRIM enabled :) and don't forget they wear out after a certain amount of writes... although I have yet to see the end of any of mine yet :)

[@TheMrRuttazzo]

As long as you keep all programs the same. They also make sure those things break deliberately after a specific ammount of time or usages, post-warranty of course. However, you'll need to get some new hardware along with newer software or games which require much more performance.

[@TotalJustinGaming]

you know that I meant microsoft ................ like you never make a mistake :D

[@spirit469]

"I won't name any names" COUGH COUGH MCAFEE

[@grigoriyefimovichrasputin7897]

Mcaffee made my computer explode im not kidding.

[@aquate9637]

McExplosive

[@aedradaedra5054]

I've been using Arch Linux in my computer since like 3.5 years and I've never had any problem with it being slow, neither I have to reboot it after each update, the only and last time I remember of having to reboot my laptop was when I complete the installation of Arch.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

1:56 Linux systems don’t tend to need defragmenting. But then, they don’t have a “Registry”, either. The problem with Windows is that it is so complicated inside, nobody at Microsoft understands how all the parts interact any more. Why else would it need to reboot 5 times during a system install?

[@xhunter91]

That's funny 🤣🤣

[@JohnDavidDunlap]

You can say that Windows is complicated if you want but.... The Linux kernel is 30 million lines of code.

[@juliuseskola1281]

This doesn't only happen overtime, it can happen in 5 min on an old crap(but win image is fresh). I start PC, RAM consumption 1024mb, I start Minecraft RAM consumption 3072mb, I stop Minecraft, RAM consumption 1536mb, I open google chrome, ram used 3072mb, I use chrome for a while then close , ram in use 2048mb, I open avg zen(I don't use it anymore so don't start to bully about that :) ) ram used 3584mb, I run a scan after that I close it. RAM used 3072mb, after this it doesn't usually go higher, even if I would start and close another program. This computer (I have other, more powerful ones as well) has 4GB RAM and browsing experience sucks after this.

[@Draco_Alpha]

Julius Eskola Things like this make me think the memory optimizations that Windows uses needs work.

[@juliuseskola1281]

Iagi Flamevictor Yes, i have dual boot to 64-bit Ubuntu and it does everything waaaayyyy better than Windows, when comparing performance. Though this is also because the Ubuntu system is on an SSD and Windows is on an HDD. Speaking of Windows memory optimization, changing from 64 to 32-bit Windows helps a lot on an old system. At the of writing this comment i was using 64, now my Windows is 32-bit.

[@EffendiChung]

As a family go to guy for basic computer problems, I found out that even when older person uses computer only for browsing and document making, problem is they often fall victim to freakware - that when they click on a link in a website, a fake warnings say their computers are infected and under critical error, and they got freaked out. They install the questionable softwares and voilla, their computer suffers slowdowns even worse than before. And reinstalling is an hour process (provided all drivers are ready) compared to hours of process to try eliminate, clean up and other maintaining process.

[@MsHUGSaLOT]

it's not so much that other OSes (OS X, Linux) have better so-called built in "clean up" software, those OSes simply lack a registry, And when you install software on those OSes, all the files for that application are stored in once place. Unlike windows what scatters files all over the place, DLLs, .net updates, bla bla bla, and updates to the registry I find it easier to just zap all my partitions and reinstall windows every 12-18 months and start clean. That way i have no remnants of old drivers, old software i don't have, remnants old windows installs, and a fresh registry.

[@IgnaziusBalthazar]

Yeah, unixes use another kind of technology. But in the end the package managment software is the reason you don't have the mess on a unixoid system. Software like dpkg (on debian for example) analysing dependencies and loading other needed packages.If a package isn't needed any more it will be deletet by this software, too. Especially in the the Unix-World these dependencies could be really complex. But the the package manager are really good and the most time they resolve that properly. So this package manager software is the reason the system will not get rubbished. So I would say, he is not wrong.

[@xTheSlenderx]

+HUGSaLOT Valkyrie The strugle of laptops that they did not even took the time for to slam the windows key on the bottom... pulled it from registry anyways proofs once more they are trying to screw people over.

[@goldenboy5500]

+HUGSaLOT Valkyrie you left out windows swap files

[@goldenboy5500]

+J M Archer Not really some distro like in the gnome distro like getting apps on iPhone or the google store, KDE is a bit more complicated and thats a matter of desktop preference

[@randalaltemus6691]

With 40 years of experience as a software developer, network administrator, and observing the industry as a whole I will tell you that Microsoft has reached it's pinnacle as the leader in the software industry. It is the IBM of the 1950's. Like IBM, Microsoft's growth can be mainly attributed to great marketing and dubious business and legal practice. It was never really strong in technical development. Look at how many bad releases of software it put out. Since Windows 7 it has repackaged the same garbage without addressing the real problems with their operating system.

[@tahilaci2976]

+Randal Altemus That's the stupidest comment I've heard in a long, especially as there's no support. For them to get pushed out like IBM, they would need some competition with a chance of replacing them. Practically nothing runs on Linux because no one uses it. For that to change they would have to offer some significant benefit first, to still make it worthwhile to buy it, which is quite hard at this point. Even assuming MS pissed off a lot of people with annoying software that spies on them, they could easily change that if their market share plummeted. Yes, it's true that as a result of effectively no competition they can be complacent and don't have to make large improvements, but even so it's going to be a long time till the second best comes close. If something already works best out of the available options, the lack of improvements is not a large issue. It's also true that large companies spend money on marketing because it works. However one to be out of business, they have to less effective than their competition. Btw I don't see evidence of MS spending much on marketing compared to other companies. You could have meant that computers will be used less at the expense of mobile devices, but you haven't made that clear.

[@randalaltemus6691]

+tahi laci Just my observation from a technical and marketplace point of view. Obviously, with near 100 billion in revenues it will be around for a while. IBM is still around because it has found its niche. The big question is where Microsoft will find it's place. Microsoft's revenues were down 12% in the 1st qtr of fiscal 2016. I believe this is the beginning of a trend unless Microsoft restructures itself. Unlike IBM, which failed to see the emerging PC market, Microsoft has weakened itself by diversifying to much and not keeping it's flagship, Windows, competitive. Microsoft is not any more guilty of spying on customer activity than Google or Apple. We all live in a bubble in this communication age and might as well get used to it. I look for the customer loyalty to Microsoft to continue to fade. I recently went to a Android notepad with detachable keyboard for less than half the cost of a Microsoft laptop. It weighs half as much too. I have all my office apps and have speech to text capability. You have to purchase all that and virus protection for a Windows laptop.

[@tahilaci2976]

Randal Altemus I'm sorry I was a bit rude as I made incorrect inferences about the reasoning behind your idea. Yes PCs are used less due to to such devices, but I expect they will remain the most widely used platform, because it's the best for gaming and offices don't like to change much as they don't have to, and often need backward compatibility. And so far I can't see windows phones or tablets are not very good. It's also interesting that even the simplest smartphones can perform most basic tasks, so many people might not need home computers in the intermediate future. And even a simple OS like Android is capable of most tasks the average (non-gamer) person needs. And I can definitely see what you mean by diversifying too much. I do think Windows became worse since W8 due to trying to make it work on many platforms. Personally I don't want to change from W7. However I think they learned from this and later upgrades will be better. I also think that as long as their OS is at least OK even if not the best, MS will be the market leader simply because most people have windows, thus most software is made for it, thus most people need it. Decades ago it was possible to completely change the most commonly used software as a large amount of computers were sold each year, compared to those in use, which is not the case any more. I think it makes sense if MS had one niche, it would be gaming. And yes, I expect if they "failed" they would find some niche like IBM.

[@randalaltemus6691]

+tahi laci Good observations on your part. I would like to see Microsoft release a completely new and secure OS for the business market. I believe someone will. Gaming and phones is getting to be saturated market. It's been great sharing our views. Have a great day!

[@JohnDavidDunlap]

@@tahilaci2976 "For them to get pushed out like IBM, they would need some competition with a chance of replacing them." Microsoft, the company, isn't going anywhere anytime soon(but then neither did IBM). However, the Windows market share is slowly eroding and it's only going to get worse. Most people don't buy PC's for their homes anymore because of smart devices, phones, tablets, and gaming consoles. PC's are expensive, cumbersome, and annoying by comparison. Windows servers have been utterly defeated by Linux servers, Windows phones and tablets have been utterly defeated by Google/Apple, and corporations are increasingly deploying Linux/Mac desktops. Microsoft saw this coming and that's why they've made the transition from Windows being their core product to Office365(Web based office suite which doesn't need Windows) and Azure(which mostly hosts Linux servers). Even within Windows itself you're starting to see the cracks developing. As the Windows market share shrinks, Microsoft will look for ways to lower Windows development and maintenance costs. That's why Microsoft is moving away from writing their own web browser rendering engine and that's also why they're developing WSL. At some point in the future, the decision will be made to switch from a Linux subsystem running on top of a Windows kernel to a Windows subsystem running on top of a Linux kernel. The average user won't even notice a difference but, at that point, Windows will literally be a Linux distro. Linux isn't going to replace Windows. Linux is going to assimilate Windows.

[@jimothyhurst]

Traditionally, the biggest factor in PC's slowing down, for me, has been down to hard drive deterioration which happens to all spindle disks over time. No amount of PC tuning or cleanup is going to improve that. Now that we are in the age of solid state drives things have improved greatly. When my friends and family approach me about their slow PC's these days, the first and usually only thing I need to do for them is to rip out their spindle drive, and put in a new SSD. I agree with most the points you made though Eli and it is a good video. If you are sure your hard drive health is good, then doing a cleanup and tuneup is definitely the next port of call.

[@doanster]

Windows 10 seems to have alleviated many of these problems (but introduced a number of new ones). I have changed the motherboard and other hardware on one of my Windows 10 PCs multiple times and it miraculously still hums along without issue.

[@dashcamandy2242]

Ah, I remember the days of XP SP3 slowing every computer in the household down to an absolute crawl, even with 2 GB RAM... I also have a Win7 box that SP1 broke Windows Updates, so I had to turn off all updates. Hope Mom doesn't click any bad things! I have a one-year-old 8.1 box, 64-bit, 8 GB RAM, that acts like a 386 running Windows '95, speed-wise... Win 8.1 likes to move icons around on the desktop, randomly redraw the desktop and QuickLaunch bars, background Windows processes steal focus from what I'm doing (always helpful when typing!), and then the secret download of 10 taking up hard drive space... The stupid Window Manager often goes to 80-90% CPU use with only one folder open, and lag out displaying the contents... After every major update that requires a reboot, I lose my USB mouse right at the load screen, it turns off (optical mouse), but all other USB devices work (and port-swapping won't reactivate the mouse). I have to do multiple reboots until Win8.1 decides to let my mouse work again. MS Tech Support says to update the mouse driver... Which they themselves haven't done since 2006! It's MICROSOFT'S DRIVER in use! Now that the warranty is up, I'm saving money for a Win7 license so I can make this thing run like the new-ish computer that it is! Right before I clicked "Post," the "Windows Driver Foundation - Usermode Framework" process stole focus from the browser window. At least Windows title bars dim when they lose focus... Man, I miss Macintosh System 6, 7, 7.5... Talk about a solid OS...

[@uni4rm]

+DashCamAndy I have never had these issues and have had every windows version since xp. Stop trying to run OS software on a potato.

[@TheDancing0wind]

+1SLUGGO1 W8 had different UI - yes W8 had stuff in werd and annoyinbg places - YES W8 is an unstable buggy OS - NO. Heres a thought that will blow your mind - the hardware problems you are describing is most likely caused by faulty hardware. And believe me complex hardware can have some bizarre behavior. i have been working with PC repairs for 8yrs professionally and Windows have been rock steady since Vista completely revamped driver model (and ofcourse the subsequent hardware vendor failure to write working drivers ... though that allowed to experience the goodness of the new system when for example your graphics driver would crap out but unlike when in the old days it would bring down the wole OS all it did is crash the program wile OS restarts the driver). You want some crashy os - get w98 :) ah the good old days. A day without crash was something special. But hey - at least whey would boot up fast

[@bradyrose]

Ran a computer repair shop, fixed thousands of windows machines, and man do I find these opinions incomplete.

[@robinbaker464]

+Brady Rose Tell us! Tell us all! Please!

[@bradyrose]

***** I hope you are being sarcastic, as I wouldn't really think of it as being an interesting aspect of my earlier life.

[@bradyrose]

Robin Baker Frankly there is no broad-spectrum preventative or repairing options for windows, not even a comprehensive combination of high profile applications or personal ability can claim to fix all things. The silver bullet in such a vast ocean filled with endless waves of new problems, yet to be discovered and understood, says to me either hubris or naivete. In many cases, windows machines are riddled with problems that run ahead of discovery curve, which renders enough of a percentage of the problems unresolveable from an economic perspective of the hardwear cost vs the cost of the tech's hours. There certainly will be a tech willing to charge you by the hour to run utilities and fiddle with solutions to the results it spits back. But really, that stuff should sit in the domain of the user within a degree. It makes more sense to become more effective at communicating best practices and prudent computer use philosophy to users to be prepared to fluidly migrate systems and migitate harm than to try to double down on ones time investment on problems that so often are unlikely to be resolved quickly and easily. I'm not saying that it isn't good sense to run the common applications for maintaining the health of one's system. Preventative software basically manditory for windows, but pretending that one can honestly believe that they can keep a windows system clean for very long just tells me they don't understand how bad the ecology of these systems has been over the years.

[@damjandjordjevic1994]

+Robin Baker its rather simple: if you don't have sensitive data on your pc, than just reinstall windows when it gets sluggish, also since there is no data that you need to keep safe, you don't rly need any anti-virus software since they slow down a pc... I often find it easier to just reinstall windows when some problem occurs than to find and fix the problem..

[@Hellsong89]

+Damjan Djordjevic Should this be taken as "you really dont need any anti-vir software".., just use good firewall and learn not to click "you won 100 000$" or "how to get 25cm dong in two weeks" adds in shady website?

[@klooger28]

Ive noticed my parents laptop used to be pretty quick, but is horrifingly slow now, but my computer which hasnt had a windows reinstall in 2 years is still running just as fast as ever.

[@PuffyRainbowCloud]

Honestly, I found that after running my mid-2013 13" MacBook Air (which I'm currently typing on) from when I purchased it in early 2014 to maybe autumn 2016 it was really starting to slow down. It didn't matter that I freed up storage space or tried to limit the amount of apps I used simultaneously, it just wasn't as smooth as it used to be. I decided to do a clean install--and what do you know! Blazing fast again. So while my Mac lasted longer on a single install than any Windows PC has ever done, it definitely needed a clean install after a while.

[@Horny_Fruit_Flies]

You look like Vsauce with the voice of the Cinema Snob.

[@sparrowhawk81]

This is why I am not a windows fan. Sure, it's fine for the most part. It "works", but I do tech support as well as some outside work for people who ask about it. Most of what I do? Stupid shit like this, even to computers that live in a pretty tightly controlled environment (the machines at work that I support). A machine can go for a while without any major new apps being installed, the user doesn't have admin rights, all it gets is Windows Updates and any updates we push out for flash and stuff like that. The hard drive speed doesn't degrade...Windows just bloats over time somehow to the point where everyday people who don't do much are frustrated enough that they just give me their laptop for a night while I decide whether or not to reload windows onto it or run anti-malware stuff, then charge them for a few hours work. The way Windows works under the hood feels like a huge, bloated, nasty untended weed-filled garden that's just been untended for far too long.

[@0Agvilar0]

+Sparrowhawk U just didn't see what they do with those laptops, trust me whatever you give to the user he will break it apart, it's just what they do :)

[@sparrowhawk81]

+Roman Dudar *break

[@0Agvilar0]

Sparrowhawk yeah, well you got the idea anyway, right? :) p.s. thanks

[@sparrowhawk81]

+Roman Dudar Yeah I got your stereotypical tech response when someone points out problems with Windows. Must be the dumb ol users. Yeah, some of them are dumb, but Windows is a fucking disaster? Wanna know the last time I got a call from one of my users who I know owns a mac at home, for outside techwork? Never.

[@0Agvilar0]

Sparrowhawk Because it's true, windows allows dumb users while with *nix you must know much and more and be smart or will end up having headaches. p.s. I like macs, so don't get me wrong, but when I got my first mac the sound was broken (soft issue), had to fix laptop worth 1700$ that I have just unpacked and started.., there is nothing perfect I just have enough statistics thought my experience to make a statement you should consider.

[@codebeat4192]

Another problem is: Mutiple temp directories and Temp files and directories on the same partition. It can be huge after an amount of time. What I did is to point all environment variables to the same directory on another partion. Wrote a little batch file that clean up this directory every time the computer restarts. This is also a perfect way to eliminate virusses to use the temp directory for dependent files.

[@alvarotorres1486]

This video was really helpful. That Ccleaner worked very well in my good ole Vista.

[@MeanGrain]

I died laughing at "Defragment the Registry" and "self-cleaning functionality"...

[@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii]

It's a bit misguided for sure.. however defragmenting in general wheter it is a platter hard disk, the registry or whatever piece of data will help cache locality. There are some tangible gains to be had when that data is cached in RAM like the registry is.

[@DRourk]

+MeanGrain Right? This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

[@MeanGrain]

***** Hard drives can be defragmented. And OS X doesn't use a registry.

[@MeanGrain]

Steve Barron. You defragment a drive. You can update or clean a registry by removing unused entries. Two completely different things.

[@260846]

+MeanGrain What does Auslogics Registry Defrag do then?

[@PowerCertAnimatedVideos]

I'll name names. McAfee is worst anti-virus as far as slowing down your PC. It protects well, but it really slows your PC down.

[@hdbdbzgdhdhdjd5092]

I know I’m late but should I delete it?

[@philipslighting8240]

@@hdbdbzgdhdhdjd5092 yes

[@jjcoolaus]

The best anti virus in the market is already built into windows 10. People who always do the wrong things: clicking on links in email, clicking on web page ads, installing things you don't recognise or didn't ask for, etc these people need a paid anti virus. People who use a bit of common sense don't need it

[@existence.5806]

@@jjcoolaus 100%

[@AlbanianGladiator]

i dont use any antivirus i also never install apps and the pc still slowed down

[@Gregk123]

QUESTION ON STARTUPS - Thanks so much for the very best computer-related (and even general philosophy) videos on the planet and all the generosity on your part. REGARDING DEFAULT STARTUPS, why must Windows come with all the redundant startups automatically enabled? Why are they not originally disabled and whenever there's a need for a startup program, etc., then it could simply become available by way of a "yes" or "no" prompt message query? And then when the particular startup program is not in use, it could automatically/by default become disabled once again...until there's a need for it in the future...?

[@MrInside20]

Working in a computer shop for over 5 years I've seen that Hard Drives are often overlooked as a potential slow down. Some drives get slower in terms of their data output over time and drives with bad sectors will make a PC very slow. If your machine is slow do a benchmark on your drive or just get an SSD.

[@BrickTsar]

I literally am trying to watch this right now and my windows machine is too slow. Ironic.

[@missionpupa]

I'm not sure if you understand irony - 2019

[@livingchaosmatrix]

They do it on pourpose... just so you get a new pc often.

[@soljachy]

its all about the money money money they just want your money money money

[@djjesus.hediedforyourspins3154]

+solja chy if you're not a moron, and take care of your computer you can keep the same windows for 5 years

[@1pcfred]

+DJ Jesus.He Died for your spins There are Linux machines that have run without being rebooted for more than 5 years.

[@djjesus.hediedforyourspins3154]

Paul Frederick most likely servers. Also, I don't believe there hasn't been a power outage in 5 years...

[@1pcfred]

DJ Jesus.He Died for your spins Some sites have backup power generation facilities. I built a data center for the NYC financial district, and believe me when I say they were not taking any chances. Their battery room is the size of a basketball court, and that is just to tide them over until their 3 diesel generators the size of freight locomotives kick in. Although Google Maps will tell you that place is a "law Office" today. So it is a rather sensitive facility. Like I said, they're not taking any chances. heh

[@danshepard6851]

Merry Christmas Eli! Thanks for all your help!!

[@vanillagirlca]

If you have loaded a DBMS (oracle or sql server express, for example), the database services are often set to start automatically when the computer boots. That really slows down the startup.

[@tayyabrashid-tr]

Okay shifting to Windows XP SP 1

[@johnb6723]

That's asking to get malware. Windows 5 (XP), 6 (Vista) and 7 do not get security updates, and hasn't done for some time. Windows 8 soon won't get them. Best to use Windows 9 (aka 8.1) or 10.

[@MartijnPotman]

Most Windows PC's and especialy laptops still run with hard disk drives. These just become pretty slow after use. I cant agree with the registry slowing down a modern PC, nor should temporary files. Also it's not true mac doesnt get slow, i often see mac's that are horrible slow. All the issues you note might have been relevant back in the days but nowadays pc's have more then enough bandwith to handle all these extra i/o's that bogus registry entry's, startup program's etc. require. A quick look at almost every PC's resource manager will show you that the hdd just can't keep up with the rest of the system, with abominable access times and read/write speeds. So sure your point are valid as in mac would have a bigger lifespan because of the cleaner OS build as you stated, however in a modern day computer with SSD your storage will be so quick that those i/o's are instant and would only have to wait for a very short period to be handled by the rest of the system. The resource use on cpu or hdd by anti virus isnt even close to the crippling effect the windows update's installer process has on a simple hdd. This is easily explained by HDD's terrible r/w speeds on small files of which windows updates often concist. I've helped alot of people by fitting their system's with an SSD, even old single core, 2gb laptops benefit greatly from such an upgrade and will give the user a smooth experience next to obvious processor limitations. So my advice: get that HDD replaced for a decent SSD and your troubles are over most of the time. Having said all of this it should be obvious that program's like ccleaner have a very limited use and might even have the undesired effect of slowing down the system if installed and added as startup proces. Remember that every file (or even parts of files) is located on a different part of the HDD which makes it very hard for the system to multi task and load in several programs at a time. If we compare this to the SSD that uses a fixed adres on which it places data, that works with a register so that it knows were to find its data, we can see why the SSD would be fastly superior in performing these tasks.

[@jasonlisonbee]

+Martijn Potman Linux handles memory and i/o so well, you wouldn't notice the difference between a HDD and an SDD other than time to boot, or if you operate a high i/o workload server with thousands of simultaneous users, or edit or record UHD video. Even if you installed years ago and kept it up to date. Perhaps you can get a noticeable boost by disabling last access time updates. It takes a few minutes to tune settings to boost I/O or reduce the load. Much cheaper than spending 20x per gigabyte on storage. Though for a laptop, I'd prefer an SSD purely for better shock resistance. Not to mention a little extra battery life span per charge.

[@MartijnPotman]

+OptimisticPessimist im sorry but you need to do some research.

[@jasonlisonbee]

Martijn Potman Try decades of personal experience, and research. Including reading email posts of developers and tuning according to their revelations. I installed Ubuntu 12.04 on this computer over two years ago, been running on a nearly full HDD for more than a year, keeping it up to date (including upgrade to 14.04), still runs like a fresh install. I used Windows 3.11, 95, 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP Pro, Vista and 8. Switching to a "Linux" desktop was a huge upgrade from any of them.

[@1pcfred]

+OptimisticPessimist So far my record is 8 years on a Linux install. Finally the PSU in that system went tits up, and it took the mobo out with it, when it died. But I was able to pop the HDD out of that box, and put it into another one that I built out of spare parts and it ran again. It was a bit choppy. It still ran though. But by then that distro was so old I could not update it anymore. So I decided at that point to upgrade.

[@jasonlisonbee]

Paul Frederick My first install was in '08 on a machine I originally built in '01 with Windows XP Pro. A few years later I Installed Linux for dual boot. Eventually wiped off XP to give Linux more room. Ran until the cpu (which I had replaced in '03 with the best one release for the socket) burned out. That was replaced with this computer in 2012. It could use a better cooler. Running full tilt puts it ~40C above ambient with stock. There are two things that very much bothered me about Linux distros I used. I couldn't get a printer to work properly and audio mixing. Pulse Audio is easy to handle now for normal use, but it's just not good for mixing. But there are solutions for that, including distributions built for media editing and creating; which likely could be used as a standard desktop as well.

[@roadrunneronbekend7723]

Also don't forget the fact that the energy in the capacitors takes off over time, which basicly means your computer isn't able to come to the same speeds as when it where brand new. Compare it to a car when you bought it brand new, after 20 years it's lost some of it's horsepowers an torques too. I had a lot of laptops on my desk that where slow as hell because of that, while they should basicly run fine since there wasn't anything big running on it and just had a fresh install of the OS.

[@DrRChandra]

To my knowledge, there is no timeout to see if something exists or not. It either does and proceeds, or it doesn't and fails immediately. The OS doesn't wait around (a timeout) for something to spring into existence, for some background process to create it, not even a millisecond. It will take time, however, to go read pieces of the disk (much less time if it's an SSD) to figure out the file or registry entry does not exist, and THAT will certainly slow things down. It could also take time to log the failure.

[@youtubkeeper]

Modern versions of Windows (7 and above) DO have built in optimisations. They regularly defrag the hard drive and extra keys building up in the registry does not slow it down. It's all of the crapware that people install and the other half of the battle is the browsers and software they use also need to be optimised separately. Your comments are generally correct for older versions of Windows (XP and below) but not so much 7.

[@nopenopetheknight7519]

yeah win10 is pretty great

[@Goremeister100]

first time I heard that. I heard it sucks ass.

[@chesterolson9242]

Windows 10 was slow within a week of install. Windows is crap ware

[@Sharpless2]

@@chesterolson9242 thats what you get for installing all the latest drivers and AiO packages n all that .net shit directly after first OS boot. There is no need to do that at all. The *only* thing you should do after first boot is updating the graphics driver, and you do that manually without any extra driver updater software. Buying a cheap 120GB ssd for 40 bucks (Kingston A400?) and installing the OS on it also helps immensely.

[@MichaelFlatman]

all this time i actually thought that Ccleaner was CC-Leaner!

[@suxcesss]

+Michael Flatman omg... now it all makes sense C:/

[@HomercidalOne]

+Michael Flatman It's original name was Crap Cleaner. Popularity and money led to it's current name.

[@MichaelFlatman]

oh!

[@Atlessa]

+Michael Flatman I know way too many people that call it C-C-Cleaner XD

[@mika2666]

+Pyrrha Nikos i do because it's easier :) i know how to write it, but when i say it i say CC Cleaner

[@LANTSUK]

You did not mention Page Files or Shadow copies, which in my experience, is where almost ALL of your system space will disappear to, if your doing regular tune ups. Some times the only solution to a clogged up machine is a clean start. Wiping a machine is actually a quicker and easier than spending hours trying to fix something that will still be working slower. If you've created your self a disc image with your ideal machine build, you can let the computer re-build and have a faster, cleaner machine, and you've had little to nothing to do apart from waiting for the build.

[@James-ke5sx]

My 7 year old computer runs exactly the same today as it did 7-8 years ago. I use a program called DeepFreeze Standard. Each reboot returns the computer back to previous state. I only unfreeze the computer once a month. I never scan or defrag etc anymore. I sandbox Firefox which has security addons and the contents of the sandbox are erased using a DOD 3 pass random wipe with a secondary program called 'Eraser'. I beta tested a 12 engine cloud Antivirus called 'SecureAPlus' years ago. MetaScan used 32 antiviruses and HerdProtect had 60+ scanners years ago. I just use a lifetime Malwarebytes subscription.

[@popacap21]

the AV he is talking about is Norton,, never use that piece of crap.. Avast is superior Windows is like that 1980's Chevy Silverado with the 350 V8 and carb, requires much TLC to upkeep but you love it too much to part with lol

[@InformaticageNJP]

popacap21 Not true at all, the new version of norton is one of the lightest av software.

[@InformaticageNJP]

***** I know it really used to be this kind of software. I do test av software, i dont like norton at all, but i have to say that it got much better in both weight and uninstallation.www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/avc_per_201304_en.pdf

[@InformaticageNJP]

Simon WoodburyForget That's true, Norton is great now! But u dont need linux or mac not get infected even because u can get infected there as well.. Just need a brain not to get infected.

[@InformaticageNJP]

Simon WoodburyForget I know what you mean and i agree as a developer and a linux user, I actually used arch linux as well. But malware exists for that platform (u can still open executables), many exploit do work and you can hack into those gnu/linux operating sistems. It's not as likely as win machine but there are malware and antimalware (not only to scan the other partitions). And non exe compiled windows malware can run on linux, if i code a malware in python it's going to work just with few problems but the payload is going to work. blogs.sophos.com/2015/03/26/dont-believe-these-four-myths-about-linux-security/

[@paulallen579]

***** You know what I did once I got fed up with fixing my father in law's computer? I told him to get a Mac or I wouldn't show up again. He's never called since he got it, three years of peace and quiet. For all the hate Mac gets, it's really good at being literally fool proof.

[@doge_bunny_gamer2100]

Macs do slow down I can't upgrade my ram most of the time and macs do get viruses

[@kristentheron6841]

People might not know the necessity of preventive software. In order to perform secure browsing and have an error free network connection, an Antivirus and Firewall connection are very essential. To have secure browsing experience you can opt for Comodo free antivirus and firewall protection. I found that it provides very good security for my system.

[@swedensy]

tip to all. install Windows 7 home pre 86 install drivers manually. disable all windows updates when you need an update, for example for graphic card, do it manually. my still works like this.

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

Title is misleading, like Mac os does not get slower, or like Linux does not get slower. They all do for the exact same reason, to much garbage downloaded to your computer.

[@EliComputerGuyLive]

+marlb0r015 no... just no... to a degree all systems get "slower', but Windows does to a ridiculous extent...

[@nygamery]

+Eli the Computer Guy Live Yep,I have a 13in 2013 macbook pro.Its still extremely fast and runs my animation and editing software quick and perfectly.Its only slowed down a little (like 8%) due to fragmentation and that can be solved in two ways.Buying software that keeps applications from getting fragmented or backing everything up on my external hard drive,go to the apple store and have them uninstall and reinstall the OS.And thats free.

[@treimar]

+Eli the Computer Guy Live With an SSD it stays pretty much the same speed.

[@GarthPhilpot]

+Eli the Computer Guy Live Yup, not an issue, or negligible on mac/linux.

[@EvilWiffles]

+Eli the Computer Guy Live I think it has to do with HFS+ vs NTFS, if that hasn't already been talked about in the video which I'm too lazy to watch through. NFS is just better structured and it's faster by technical stand point.

[@frankind6634]

you should start making your videos short....not this long.....your are videos are good..but it's too long to watch completely... Eli the Computer Guy

[@KaniFuker-Sir]

Frank IND Well no one's forcing you to sit and watch a SHORT ten minute video to which your comment makes you the No.1 culprit for the one dislike. By the way, if you're going to try and write the Queens English then learn to write and type it properly.

[@duasasala8416]

Kani Fuker

[@frankind6634]

Kani Fuker Christ sake, it's just a suggestion...it's his wish whether to make it short or not...and it's my wish whether to watch or not.

[@nexus1g]

Next to too many startup processes, the biggest reason for Windows slowdowns I've found is the paging file management system. It fragments a hard drive to oblivion, the paging file cannot be defragged by normal means and so the hard drive cannot ever be fully organized and optimized. This should be less of an issue with SSD's becoming more common since they access memory like RAM, rather than a spinning platter with an arm that functions best when the data must be logically organized for that system for optimization.

[@holymonk293]

I agree with this video, I mean I had a laptop before that has Windows Vista built-in. The original one, no service packs, run's really fast. Fast forward today, installing Vista SP2 causes the PC to slow down a lot. Firefox starts up a minute later and there is this constant disk usage that really affects almost everything you do. So I concluded that probably the hardware of that laptop was never meant to run Vista at its latest service pack and so I installed Haiku instead and Im now happy with the device

[@kaitsith3081]

I am losing hair now... 0.o Going linux.

[@TheColonel_]

+Kait Sith .... No you're not.

[@MrMrfeenstra]

+Kait Sith went UBUNTU ten years ago. Never looked back.

[@koohikoo]

+Kait Sith my school uses UBINTU computers, ABSULUTLY HATE IT. (dosnt even have CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

[@turkyandgravy]

+koohikoo I guess the developers never saw a reason to have a CTRL+ALT+DEL button.

[@TamerlanRespawn]

+koohikoo Well uhm... Because it doesn't need it? lol

[@sinephase]

because people don't know how to manage their OS

[@1pcfred]

+sinephase To a point people should not need to know how to manage their OS. The OS should know how to manage itself. You can run a live Linux session in RAM now and if you are happy with the defaults, then Bob is you uncle too. My best uptime for a live session to date is 96 days before I needed that flash drive for something else. All I did was boot it up and it ran. This application must give Microsoft nightmares unetbootin.github.io because all you need to do is point, click, and shoot.

[@sinephase]

Paul Frederick running from RAM isn't so much of a "solution" as it is a bandaid fix. I've run windows for years without slowdowns while installing whatever I want. You can't just install things and forget about them, and you certainly can't install conflicting programs without bad things happening (which people do all the time). It isn't just the OS that's the problem, it's also the shoddy programming that doesn't use best practices and proper cleanup when uninstalling. Pretty hard for any OS designer to account for that.

[@1pcfred]

sinephase With so many conflicting versions of shared libraries I am amazed Windows works at all. With Linux each distribution builds the distributed binaries for that particular distribution. So everything works together. With Windows the binary executables come from all over the place, so that option really is not available. Some distributions even take it a step further and the end user can tune all of their binaries for their specific machine. So in about a day you can have a full system with every binary built optimized to your particular CPU. Windows has to cater to the lowest common denominator though.

[@sinephase]

Paul Frederick yeah. massive range of hardware support and even virtualized compatibility layers for legacy apps even going back to the old DOS kernel makes windows powerful but more bloated. Even with that windows has managed to be quite reasonably fast.

[@1pcfred]

sinephase Out of the mouths of ignorants. Massive range of hardware support? Are you joking? Windows runs on Intel, and like one ARM chip. Linux runs on dozens of hardware architectures. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux-supported_computer_architectures I can compile, and run code on Linux that was written in the 1960s. Although honestly the oldest software I've ever personally ran on a modern Linux system was written in 1985. It was a nice clone of the Battlezone game though.

[@dsr0116]

Especially now with SSDs, you don't need to defragment a HD (it can actually be detrimental on a SSD). There are some programs for keeping your computer optimized (IE completely uninstalls, does registry scans, walks you through which tasks that will boot). I have used them in the past. Honestly, with my current setup, I don't do that and my computer is just as fast now as when I first got it (Windows 10 seems well optimized, even though I don't like it's default system configuration interface). I do fully uninstall programs and run malware scanners. I've helped friends with their Macs, and have found Macs can be pretty problematic with complete uninstalls.

[@jlumley]

Subscribed, god bless a man who can explain things clearly.

[@tiggfigg]

It's because software gets slower faster than computers get faster.

[@heimegut6133]

+tiggfigg that made no sense lol

[@tiggfigg]

+dilux Wirth's law is a computing adage which states that software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster. That is worded better.

[@tuanoful]

AND THIS video is why I recommend mac for people that are not tech savy

[@chandrashekard.7543]

JustThaor yeah I would too but Macs are absurdly overpriced in my opinion. Linux is what I am leaning towards.

[@tuanoful]

chandra D mac is still easier. Asuming you have the cash.

[@KSATechnology]

And it's a waste of cash, considering getting a mac for X means you could get a normal pc for the same X having far better performance.

[@tuanoful]

Stop saying that crap about performance dude. Use a mac vs a pc, even a better one. Mac has a very stable and optimized OS, it works well, unlike Windows that sucks (Even though it has gotten better since previous itterations) Before you say even more crap, I have a monster PC and a macbook pro.

[@KSATechnology]

It isn't about raw performance, but about performance per value. It isn't about Windows or MacOS being better or worse. It's about you getting a Mac for $X and comparing to a normal PC you build with the same $X but installing MacOS on it. The built pc will be far faster, with better hardware. Apple (and mac) fanboys always ignore the overpricing, and it's the main issue with Apple. Not to mention the whole set of other things that come with it, but those aren't part of the point.

[@glitchwalker5422]

TueUp Utilities, System Mechanic, CCleaner, Advanced Systemcare, Glary Utilities/Clean Master... Install one of these and most of the problems will go away. Also, I find having an independent uninstall program is a huge help.

[@Ichibuns]

I built mine 2 years ago and have had zero issues. Being educated about PCs is a glorious thing

[@alicoolman1xx]

A good software i recommend that will help with this is C-Cleaner It cleans junk files. It cleans the register keys. It can disable stuff at start up. It can uninstall software. It can disable browser addons witch can slow down your computer It can find Duplicator Files. Also use a good antivirus software that uses less resource. Also I recommend don't download stuff you don't trust.

[@HenryTheBoilermaker3rdYear]

Muhammad Ali yeah c-cleaner really works. I used it on my old laptop and it transformed.haha

[@chesterolson9242]

Waste of system resources

[@kuklamatunes0706]

CCleaner anyone?

[@WebVManReturns]

That's what I've used for years.

[@chesterolson9242]

Waste of system resources

[@BattleSnails]

Super succinct, yet thorough synopsis. Nice work, dude. Instant Sub!

[@AramAzhari]

I haven't reinstalled my windows over the last 10 years, with the exception of upgrading to newer versions such as windows 8 and windows 10 and even then, I did not clean install but merely upgraded. It has never slowed down. I count the startup time and I have a note file to compare what happens. The reality for me is that it is getting faster (comparing to Vista and Windows 7). But then again, I have an SSD and I know what I'm doing with my computer. I also have an Internet security software so I'm happy to say (knock on wood!) I haven't had any virus/trojan troubles after year 2000. I do periodically use CCleaner (once every other month) but I don't see any performance gain out of it, but I do it anyways. What you state about windows pcs getting slower is not a rule that's written in the stone, but I have tons of friends who always complained about windows and mentioning a similar reason.

[@jacobparker6460]

Quick answer = They don't.

[@Mic_Glow]

+Jacob Parker yeah, ur Dual Core 2ghz PC getting slow because of viruses and 200gb of accidentally installed junkware? Get an i7, 32 gb of ram and clone the hard drive into an SSD! Boom. ^^

[@PieEatinSuicideGrunt]

+McGlow (darthblade) So what are you going to do about the viruses? And why would you get an i7 for a daily tasks? You could get an i5 with much better performance at daily tasks for the same price. And 32 gb of ram for daily tasks? I don't even know how you would go a lot farther than 12gb usage.

[@McManMinecraft]

+PieEatinSuicideGrunt my father built a super high end computer last year. All he basically does is use internet explorer.

[@PieEatinSuicideGrunt]

FatalicGamer Lol if you're going to do that you could afford a mac

[@McManMinecraft]

PieEatinSuicideGrunt screws macs. :)

[@goldenboy5500]

moral of the story use Linux

[@letsgoBrandon204]

Using Linux would be even worse for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

[@goldenboy5500]

+Pul5ar I did not know what I was doing at first, I learned I'm still learning but most of all it has a program manager and a much better and much easier filling system there are all kinds of tutorials on linux it not as hard as you think it is the thing is with windows and mac you will pa and keep on paying and paying and paying I will admit there are a couple of windows programs I use so right next to my Linux is a windows 7 I don't surf on it I just use it for 3 programs I happen to like, if you ever used a chromebook or android phone, tablet you halfway there there both a Linux kernel

[@JoseJavierFlores]

+Richard Golden I'll gladly move over to a Linux Distro, like Mint, Ubuntu, or even Sabayon whenever GTA V works under Linux.

[@m1aws]

+Nick Newman Moral of the story, use an SSD. With Linux.

[@goldenboy5500]

+m1aws just make sure it's compatible with the mother board

[@DavidTurnell]

Defragmenting the registry? Wow, you learn something every day!

[@SyphistPrime]

My PC is like 3 to 4 years old now, and runs on a HDD. All my other PCs are either newer installs that have not gone through such vigorous use, or boot off of something like an SSD. Honestly I think the reason my PC is getting slower is because the hardware is starting to age, and I now realize HDDs are slow af. (I even notice my laptop being slow at times when it needs to access the HDD) EDIT: To add to that I also autostart an IRC client (probably my biggest slowdown) and dropbox on my PC. Not to mention I have some drivers that should not be auto starting because I have since removed the hardware from my use. The biggest reason linux probably doesn't slow down is because it does a good job removing programs. (And I have noticed I care more about keeping my linux installs clean than Windows)

[@cd78]

In a nut shell. PC are shit.

[@unvergebeneid]

Equating "PC" with "Windows" is shit.

[@SonicMastr500s]

you don't even know what "PC" is. you're basically using a "PC". Almost everything today is a " PC"

[@cd78]

Windows PC you fool.

[@SonicMastr500s]

+C Dorman then fucking say Windows. It's like saying fuck the television set. Which television set? There are thousands you random comment maker who acts like everybody was already having a conversation with you.

[@deathangel523]

Maybe your pc is shit mine is awesome! Built it myself.

[@kevinselwa8883]

I remember that robot arm in the background. I bought one at Radio Shack sometime in the early 80's. Never thought I would see it again!

[@Lexyvil]

Thank you for being informative and on point. Subscribed~

[@JustinGehring]

I'll add in that particularly on laptops, if you don't have an SSD, the mechanical drive error rate will increase over time, and it will slow down the machine significantly. Programs like spin right can help, but ultimately, this is why I can't wait for everything to be an SSD anyway.

[@Andrei-rp3dz]

windows sometimes tries to find missing files too I swear, that's why when you sometimes move the original exe, the shortcut still works, so indexing and searching could take time too...

[@dgerdi]

Great explaination. I knew this happens to a windows system, but you explain it in a way, I learned about the "why". I use Windows and Mac's. The Problem with Macs is, that you normaly don't know WHAT is wrong, when it slows down or don't do, what you want him to do. And Macs are getting slower over the time too. Not that much, but we all use Tools like Ccleaner and especially Onyx to clean the Mac from time to time. And don't forget: The service from MS for a Windows-Version is way longer than the Service from Apple for their OS's. Apple are providing new OSX every year, what is a big fun, if you are using 3rd Party software, what does not run on the new System. After two years, Apple kicks the support for the old OS, so you have to choose. Pay for a new version of your Software every two years or get stuck with an unsupported OS. Modern Apps don't start anymore and it gets unsave to use it for things like online Banking. That's why I use Windows again on my main-PC.

[@Snowwie88]

A good boost for your older computer is getting an SSD and using a ramdisk for your temp files.

[@dichebach]

I've been using ESET Nod32 security suite for several years now and I recommend it. Least number of problems I've had in decades and it is not very intrusive/heavy at all. It is written in Assembly and has been in existence for like 30 years so, yeah, arguably "the best."

[@seanfoster671]

I have had this issue a number of times with updates and older Computers. Some times you get clients that just do not want to give up their old PC, it is not doing what they need it to do, it is running slow. you remove the issues, then update it because their original issue of it not playing their pogo games was due to outdated updates. It is now running slower, and they are pissed at you because you "broke it". But they will never admit that they need an upgraded pc because the fridge they bought back in 1951 is still running so logically, their computer should also have a 60 year lifespan.......ugh

[@stephenmohos3287]

This idea would be good for people who have a good degree of computer literacy or know somebody who does and can follow what is in the third paragraph after this one every 3 months while visiting. One compromise is to save all data in a different NTFS partition. Point all default paths for data (documents, videos, pictures, etc.) and any path you can adjust in any program to the separate partition. Install any Windows software that you will need, if you will not install anything else after that this is good enough. Make sure you are not connected to the internet in the Windows partition and immediately backup the partition where the Windows operating system is installed when it is working as well as possible using one of several Linux distros. If your computer gets too slow or is compromised by a virus back up any data that the programs you use will not allow you to store outside of the operating system's partition, download any security software and then restore the backup and update the software starting with using windows update and installing a fresh up to date copy of any security software while offline. Updates to Windows can be downloaded and there are tools for installing them while offline. After updating the software in Windows is complete after restoring the backup immediately back up the partition again. If you have several programs you want to keep installed after the backup, well...do the same as the last paragraph but this time after restoring the backup install the software you desire to keep on the freshly restored partition before you back up the partition again. I would say doing that once every 3 months should be adequate and not require much work on your part if you save the installation programs for software you want to keep from your downloadsbackup and restore . folder to a subfolder and may only result in a few minutes of work and a total of one hour of downtime during restoration followed by backup. Why go through that trouble? This will ensure that your Windows operating system will still be in the best state possible when you really need to restore it. OK, not the most ideal solution, but it is far less of a pain in the arse than formatting the drive and reinstalling the operating system and all programs. This method can ensure that you will not be spending several hours installing Windows and all of the programs you want to keep.

[@systemizedcorp8900]

1: Defragment your HDD, 2: Clean with ccleaner professional pro or free etc, 3:Scan with your anti virus and schedule a chkdsk, 4: Wait till the chkdsk is done and then do ccleaner etc, Also do ccleaner 2 times a day.

[@mattthompson6281]

There's tons of people I know that have Windows, and do a factory install every 3-6 months...yet all my macs still run like they did when I first brought them home.

[@ferriveiro3101]

All the information in this video is so useful. I'll definitely check out your tune up guide! Thank you so much for making this video and sharing your knowledge.

[@nunyabiznez6381]

I had Norton 360 on my Windows 7 computer for a few years. It worked fine for a while but by the end it used so much resources that it caused my computer to crash. I bought that computer for high end graphics editing (editing wall size high res photographs) and as long as it was not connected to the internet I could use it for the original purpose. The problem is now I can't email those files. Instead I have to put it on a zip drive and then up load it to another computer and use that to transfer the file via the internet to a friend's computer. But I can't open the file on that computer because of the size. I took the first computer to Geek Squad (they were the ones to originally install 360 when I bought the computer) and I asked them why and they told me that I had to buy a new computer because mine could no longer handle Norton 360 since my definition files take 600 times as long to erase the old files and down load new files on my daily definition updates and that is why my computer kept crashing. So I asked them if there was a different malware protection subscription/program that didn't do that and they said no. But then a friend told me all I had to do was uninstall 360 and re install it and that actually worked for a few months but then the same thing happen only it took less time to happen. So now I'm back to only using that computer off the internet. So I have no virus or malware protection on that computer but its not connected to the internet so it doesn't matter. The only input is from my scanner and all the output is via zip drives. I'm not buying a new computer because that one cost me $4000 9 years ago and I can't do that every few years. I'm using a $500 laptop to transfer those giant files to the internet and I'm using McAfee and so far after 3 years I have no problems. I can't buy new expensive equipment every few years. My scanner cost me over a $1000 and that has been my biggest investment in about 5 years. I think the bottom line is that most issues seem to come from internet use. I have no problem editing 500 megapixel files on my nearly decade old computer using 8 year old software but I can't surf the internet without fear of some Russian or North Korean hacker trying to steal my banking pins or extorting money by planting malware on my hard drive holding it for ransom.

[@JohnDavidDunlap]

I've never understood why Microsoft decided to store the registry in a single binary file and then built a tool for representing its contents as a file structure.... Why not just store the registry entries on the file system to start with?

[@trooper2708]

This was really something I did not know. Great video

[@basbas63]

Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and windows 10 seems to do a lot better than vista and earlier though. I don't wipe and re-install it anymore.

[@Jefff72]

I am on my first Mac after 4 PCs. I like it a lot. I bought ordered it CTO so I got 13" with 16GB RAM i7 but with only 256 SSD. I ordered it to edit RAW photos in Lightroom and Photoshop. I do have a couple small complaints which might be just related to Maverick, not sure if it's better in Sierra, but I can't access my files on my iPhone going through like an external which I can on Windows 7 (I use at work). I like to move directly from my iPhone to the external. Also, renaming a bunch of photos at once. This seams easier on a PC. I know I can do it but the steps are longer on my Mac. I just want to highlight all the photos and rename one and the rest are followed by a number. all your photos at once, that seams easier on a PC. Again, maybe Sierra is better. Besides that, I love the Mac. Now I love the track pad, battery life, start up and just overall reliability.

[@shernaj255]

i am making my way into an IT career, i believe i am decent. and hate to answer anyone with, "your computer is just getting old, may wanna delete some unused files to help the problem" ill look into the registry but dont really think it should be a problem for the average user with an average computer. AVG i've found to help optimize my PC more than slow it down, start up is faster with it installed for about 25%, i dont know why a lot of people that supposedly know about the computer industry tell their costumers to avoid them . great video, i have a long way to go and appreciate every piece of free information.

[@jennyt011]

Thanks, I'm not very good with computers but I will be following ur advice.

[@scottrussell6873]

Thanks, Eli, that was interesting. I haven't used any version of Windows for five or six years - a MacBook (Mavrics), and some Linux boxes (Kubuntu, Puppy, Arch) - but I'm still interested in what makes it (not) run (very well). (I will never go back to Windows.)

[@joecucuzza4573]

As far as the registry, I thought I read somewhere that the registry needing cleanup is a myth. That there is no evidence that cleaning old or unused keys actually makes any improvements on the system. Theoretically, I guess yes, when a program doesn't have to look at one more line of a registry it can be a bit speedier, but in terms of real world speed, the difference is almost unnoticeable from what I understand.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Yes registrys should be cleaned and defraged once in blue moon but the biggest problem is unwanted startup programs. Just try starting the compter in safe mode and see how much faster it is wih out all the crap.

[@reki353]

I have a computer made 2000 and it still runs windows 7 extremely fast. It was an HP proliant ml330 g3 originaly made for windows 2000. I did make some minor upgrades.

[@AtheerAl]

used to have such issues with windows.. now i moved to mac.. i never have to spring-clean anymore.. will never look back again

[@__teles__]

I've observed this for many years and in my experience, the slowdown is the huge number of files on drive C:. A new PC is great, yes. Then when you have copied gigs of music, video and pictures the sheer number of files slows it down. Nothing to do with defrag or uninstalling software. Move you logons' folders to another partition or drive and the PC is fast again.

[@CasiodorusRex]

Tell them the truth Eli. There are tons of things that can make a PC run slow. Shitty processor, not enough RAM, Too many programs in the start up menu, not enough bandwidth, malware, not enough disk space. There is a huge list. My recommendation is that if you're going to have the PC for 5 year kick in a few extra hundred for that Quad-core and RAM.

[@letsgoBrandon204]

At the last place I worked we had customers continually bringing their PCs back to us loaded with malware. One in particular was very good at this. I would be surprised if he didn't come back every 2 weeks. The worst thing was that he relied on this PC for his taxi business! I just don't understand how this happens so fast.

[@SB-hs4yn]

I built my PC, over the year that i have had it nothing bad has ever happen to it, i have not gotten 1 virus (That i know of). You see, it is all about how good you take care of your computer, i have also upgraded the hardware on my computer through out time (CPU, GPU, Cooling, etc) The point being if you take good care of your machine, it will take care of you back!

[@SB-hs4yn]

EDIT: I am no hardware wiz, this may not apply to you but this is from my experience!!!!!

[@hrhbucket4268]

Great video. Just discovered your channel. I will continue to watch. I recently got rid of a 2003 Windows XP machine. It has never gone wrong. I have fairly regularly performed basic housekeeping on it and followed most of the things you mentioned in this video. I only used Admin access when I really needed to and I have had no viruses. It seems a shame to replace a working machine but the fan is a bit noisy and it takes up a bit too much space on my desk.

[@cristianovalois]

Yes, but you are stuck in the 90s, many new ttols do not exist for XP, for instance, say you want to download your whole collection of photos from icloud. Today, no one should write on doc files but opt for epub format, is there sigil for XP? I doubt... I use lots of ocrs, the one by abbyy which maybe would run on XP is 9.0 we are heading for 13... So the number of languages has more than doubled. You can convert a pdf to a doc or to an epub. Is there Kindle for XP? And which version of adobe runs in XP? CC3?

[@jennifercase9306]

Yes CCleaner also Defraggler from them too. also another good program is Advanced Uninstaller though its a bloatware installer so never use the express install always use Custom. These are very useful, glad to hear someone actually talk about CCleaner

[@adampowles2628]

Very well explained. Confirmed I haven't been deluded for the past 15 years! Good job