A slow PC is the most common thing we get calls about, and the good news is it's almost always fixable. Work through these in order — a lot of people solve it before they get to the bottom.
1. Restart it (really)
Not sleep — a full restart. Machines that run for weeks accumulate memory leaks and stuck processes. A reboot clears them. Do this first, every time.
2. Check what starts with Windows
Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) → Startup tab. Disable anything you don't need launching at boot — Spotify, Adobe updaters, game launchers. This alone can cut your boot time in half.
3. Free up disk space
A drive that's more than ~90% full slows the whole system down. Aim to keep at least 10–15% free. Empty the Recycle Bin and run Disk Cleanup.
4. Scan for malware
Hidden malware is a classic cause of a slow machine. Run a full Windows Defender scan. If something turns up that won't go away, that's worth a proper cleanup.
5. Close the browser tab graveyard
Each Chrome tab and extension eats memory. If you live with 40 tabs open, that's likely your problem. Trim extensions too.
6. Check for a failing or old hard drive
If your PC still has a spinning hard drive (HDD) instead of an SSD, that's the single biggest speed bottleneck. A failing drive also causes slowdowns and freezes — see our guide on spotting a failing drive.
7. See if you're low on RAM
In Task Manager → Performance → Memory. If you're constantly near 100%, you may need more. We cover this in RAM and upgrades.
If you've tried these and it's still crawling, a tune-up finds the real cause — usually a dying drive, leftover malware, or a Windows install that needs a refresh.
Still stuck? We can help.
We're in Dawsonville and we fix computers for people all over North Georgia — Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, Canton, Jasper and beyond, plus remote support anywhere. Diagnostics are a flat $24.99, credited toward the repair if we fix it, and free if we can't. (706) 203-2563 or start a repair request.