Why Is My Laptop or Desktop Slow?

Why is my computer running so slow?

Why am I constantly crashing or getting bluescreens?
Should I just invest in a new one? Or should I upgrade?

Do you ask yourself these questions?

If so, before you run to the store and drain your bank account on a new expensive computer, here are some ideas to help speed up your system and extend the life of your slow machine.

First, run update on the system to bring it to the latest version. Of course, this should always be followed by a good old REBOOT. Once complete you may be seeing new features and new settings. Sometimes a reboot can fix problems caused by updates and system changes that may require a reboot to fully apply.

Now let’s get into the details of why your computer is still being slow. A good place to start is “Task Manager” in Windows or “Activity Monitor” on Apple devices. Once in there, click on the “Performance” tab to see your CPU, MEMORY, DISK, ETHERNET, and GPU utilizations. If you see a high percentage being used on any of these, you may want to consider upgrading that particular hardware. If all seems good, the problem could end up being software related. Misconfigured drivers and or malware could be the cause. In most cases we recommend that you backup and do a fresh install of your operating system. This typically cleaned out bad registries, malware, spyware, and any other software that could be causing the problem.

Replace an Old Hard Drive

If you have an older computer, you have an older hard drive. Hard drive technology has drastically changed in the last few years. New SSD drives can make things 10-50X faster and is a relatively cheap upgrade to do. This is a go to upgrade that we recommend to everyone running on rotating media drives. Not just is it so much faster but it also much more reliable technology. SSD drives have no moving components making them less susceptible to failure due to vibrations or drops.

When you visit us at EZETech we offer free assessments to see what specifications your computer has and compare them to what today’s minimum standards are for smooth operations. We then determine if you need a new hard drive by running benchmarks and seeing what the health of the drive is. We do offer onsite virus scans and virus removal. Our team of educated technicians are here to guide you through the entire process of upgrading or purchasing new equipment.

Upgrade your RAM /Processor

Running sluggish due to low memory? Optimize your machine by freeing up applications that maybe running in the background taking up RAM. Also doing an assessment on your processor and RAM will clearly identify the trouble programs causing systems to underperform. In some cases your browser may be the culprit. We today recommend people to switch to Microsoft Edge because of its seamless integration to Windows, its security and performance improvements and its overall ease of use. Unlike other browsers Edge today is breaking out new features to keep your data synced, secure and the browser running faster with less hardware utilization.

Overheating

Does your computer make a lot of noise and even shut down randomly? Bring it into EZETech and we can perform a thorough cleaning. If you have an older computer and never had it taken apart, chances are there is dirt, dust, and pet hair physically making your computers fans clog up causing the system to overheat and slow down or crash. This overheating can actually damage your device permanently and should be addressed as soon as possible. A good cleaning typically solves this, but sometimes it’s too late and fans may need to be replaced to get the system ventilation working properly again.

Viruses and Malware

Here at EZETech, we take security very seriously. We want to protect our clients and make sure their data is always safe. We perform a virus and malware scan with all computers that come through our doors. Our team will make sure your hard drive is clean before installing hardware or migrating your data. We have specialized antivirus product that not just protects you on all levels but will also notify our technicians when you have been attacked so we can proactively be there to stop it from spreading to other devices or stealing your information.

Background Programs

Any programs or plugins constantly running in the background can make your computer slower and could potentially be spying on you. We always recommend that you try to limit the number of random programs you download from the web. Downloading adware, spyware and viruses is becoming far too common today and everything to prevent them should be taken into serious consideration. Thieves sometimes remain dormant in your computers for months just watching and analyzing your every move, your passwords, your websites, and everything you do. Preventing unknown and unsafe apps from ever entering your machine is our number one priority to protect you and your data.

We Are Your One-Stop Shop for Any and All IT Needs!

EZETech at its core is a Managed Service Provider (MSP). We provide proactive and reactive support for your business. Our Team works with state-of-the-art technology solutions to help enhance your company’s operations. We believe business owners have enough to worry about which is why, from start to finish, our experts provide you with the solutions needed to function securely and efficiently in today’s technological world.

Our service stacks cover the entirety of your IT needs from day one to get you 100% operational and running the way that works best for your business. Thanks to our great team and wonderful partners, we not only provide you with the best service, but the best hardware at discounted pricing. When EZETech configures your services, we are always looking out for your security and will enable features to protect you and your assets. At the end of the day, we’ve got your back and work to be your one stop shop for any and all of your tech needs!

Contact EZETech today for more information on our IT services.

(772) 237-7732

[email protected]

1597 SE Port St Lucie Blvd, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952

Back That Thing Up

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DATA BACKUP

We all have data, some of us have a lot of data, some of us have way too much data. No matter who you are, your data is stored somewhere. This data could be family pictures, videos, personal information, contact information, patient health information, banking information or literally anything. The fact that it’s stored somewhere, unfortunately means that it’s vulnerable to be lost or stolen. To avoid your data being lost, it is important to complete data backups regularly.

DATA LOSS PREVENTION

If your information is important to you it needs to be protected, if it’s important to someone else like a client or customer, it needs to be backed up and backed up correctly. Oops! You just accidentally deleted that folder you needed? Oh no! Even worse, you have overwritten that important document and it’s gone! Well, luckily, you’re about to meet your first line of defense. Your system administrator can setup volume shadow services through Windows that can ‘instantly’ restore a file, a folder or even a whole drive. This data is typically stored locally on your machine, so there’s not much fuss to getting it back, it’s a feature within Windows Server that your IT administrator can make use of and can be a hassle saver. While that sure is convenient, it’s far from comprehensive, let’s talk more about the big-league solutions.

SERIOUS BACKUP SOLUTIONS

In the IT world, great measures must be taken to ensure that you have the ability to have your data ready to be recalled quickly and efficiently. Your data should be being synchronized with a server somewhere in your office in real-time. If you have a computer that goes offline, or has a major hardware failure, is that data gone? What if the hard drive has crashed and needs to be replaced? That’s what that big blinking server rack in the closet is for right? What if the servers disk experiences a head crash? A head crash happens to be a frighteningly common occurrence. Well if your infrastructure has been setup correctly there should be a second failsafe onsite that all your data is synchronized with, and in just a few short moments it can be recovered via failover by you or your network administrator.

SECOND FAILSAFES

Okay, so now you’re all set, right? Well, not quite. Many businesses have sadly suffered irreversible data loss due to disaster. What if your building floods from a hurricane, gets struck by lightning or has a fire in the server room? Scary stuff. What if your network has been breached and suddenly some person or persons from far across the world have locked you out of all of your precious data? They’ve used crypto malware to lock you out of everything your business needs to make money and are holding your livelihood ransom. This, of course, includes your onsite synchronized backup.

If you’re following the standard protocol (which I will get into below) that data is ‘still’ safe. Offsite backup through the cloud has you covered. It may take a bit of effort on your I.T. guys part (remember them come the holidays) but soon enough everything that was lost or stolen can be restored as it was, and those pesky hackers will be left without a leg to stand on.

IT’S NOT JUST OBVIOUS BEST PRACTICES, IT’S THE LAW

By following what’s called the 3-2-1 rule of data backup, you not only make sure you’re not left regretfully data-less, but you will be following many compliancy laws such as HIPAA for example. Compliancy laws like HIPAA require that your data be secured through backups and the best practice is 3 total copies of your data, 2 backup copies stored on different storage medias and at least 1 of them located offsite. In order to be compliant this data must be encrypted, not only at rest on your servers or anywhere it’s stored, but also in transit between devices.

CALLING FOR BACKUP WITH BACKUPS

There is clearly a lot that you not only ‘should’ be doing to protect your data, but if you are required to adhere to certain compliancy laws and standards, you ‘have’ to prevent data loss by law. While this stuff can get very complicated, very quickly, this is just the kind of thing a seasoned IT company or MSP like EZETech can handle for you with ease, helping you maintain compliancy and prevent a potential hard stop to your day to day operations.

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