Run a diagnostic on your computer.
After a while of using your computer, you may notice a drop in its efficiency. This can happen when there are too many programs running at once or because some programs are hogging your computer's memory. Sometimes, though, the problem lies much deeper. With so many parts on a computer, it can be intimidating to fix, but Windows has built-in diagnostic tools that can run a scan of your system. Before you run out and pay a computer technician, try fixing the problem yourself.
Instructions
1. Run Scandisk to check on the hard drive. Click "Start," then "Computer" (or "My Computer"). Right-click on your hard drive (usually "C:") and select "Properties." Go to the "Tools" tab and click "Check Now." Check the boxes labeled "Automatically Fix File Errors" and "Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors" and then select "Start."
2. Run the DirectX diagnostic tool to check for video card problems. Click "Start" and then type "dxdiag" in the search bar. Press "Enter" to run the program. You can look through the tabs such as "System," "Display," "Sounds" and "Input." at the bottom of each page will be a "Notes" section. If the tool finds any problems, they will be listed there.
3. Run the Network diagnostic tool if you are having a problem with your Internet. Click the "Start" button, then "Network," then select the "Network and Sharing Center" tab in the top frame. Choose "Diagnose and Repair." Windows will automatically attempt to fix the problem and will then explain to you what it thinks is wrong.
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