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If you're on this page, then your device most likely does work, to a certain extent - it simply doesn't work very well and runs extremely slow. Why does it take so long? Let's find out!
If you're on this page, then your device most likely does work, to a certain extent - it simply doesn't work very well and runs extremely slow. Why does it take so long? Let's find out!
Determine if it's the Internet or the Device: Most rarely distinguish the difference between the speed of their device and their internet connection, so make sure to do that first. Check by visiting a website such as www.fast.com or www.speedtest.net with your device, and test your Internet speeds there. For example, the following is normal speeds from a Speed Test running a DSL service:
Download: 2 to 3 Mbps
Upload: 0.3 to 0.5 Mbps
Ping: 0-150ms
Using this example, if you run a speed test and are getting 1.28 mbps in download speeds, that's less than half of the normal speed and so it's pretty bad. When the same service dips below 1.8, you’ll start to see pages freezing up, and taking a while to come up. The ping is high as well, since 200ms is where it starts to mean that the connection is slow.
While, in this example, the device would not be the issue, there is still a problem to resolve and that problem is the Internet connection that the device is using. Are the speeds the device is getting proper for the tier of the connection? If yes, upgrade the service with the ISP providing the connection. If no, then troubleshoot the slow speeds issue - this site has a great section in its knowledge base regarding poor Internet connections, and that includes slow speeds.
Determine if it's a hardware issue or a software issue: Again, very few make the distinction, but it's an important one. Take a quick look at the specific hardware that you're dealing with, and compare it to modern standards to determine viability.
For example, take a look at the PC specifications below:
CPU Name: Intel Pentium 4
CPU Clock: 2992 MHz
CPU Usage: 36%
Memory: 1,022.07 MB
In this example, a single-core Pentium 4 processor may have been fast a decade ago, but even a dual-core Intel core I7 processor will be capable of a lot more work. With only 1 GB of RAM, a processor that isn't up-to-date will mean that processes will eat up valuable CPU resources doing rudimentary tasks such as word processing or web browsing. This activity should be visible from the Task Manager in Windows or the Activity Monitor in Mac OS X.
It shouldn't be a surprise to anybody that technology progresses very quickly. We all know how fast technology moves and, that being said, it should be expected that older hardware and operating systems will be found left in the dust.
To resolve this issue, it might simply be time to let go and get a new computer for today’s modern web and desktop applications. For the purposes of diagnosing this issue, knowing your computer hardware is a good way to tell if a device has something high end, low end, or obsolete altogether.
For comparison, you can click here for a taste of what is considered high-end for a computer in 2019, courtesy of Tom's Hardware.
Make your verdict on what will make the device faster: Has the device or operating system had its day? Then get a new device or upgrade the current operating system. Is the device still good? Then diagnose and optimize it using the steps found here. Is the device already optimized? Then reinstall the current operating system.
You have to take a look at the information given to you above, and make a decision as to what will bring the most benefit. Think about what the device is used for using simple questions. In most cases, you can optimize the device to make it far faster. A re-installation of the operating system is always a last resort, and it’s very important to consider why we are doing it even with proper data backups.
Ultimately, being educated about your device and its limitations is still always going to be the best solution.
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