When people bring me their computers for repair, there is one problem that motivates them to bring it to my shop more than any other. It is the computer is running slow. Maybe the computer has other problems, but the running slowly part bothers them the most.

When a computer slows down there are the usual suspects. However, there is often an overlooked problem that is to blame. In this article, we will talk about these usual suspects as well as the often overlooked problem.

Malware And Registry Corruption

It is well documented what spyware and viruses can do to a computer’s operation. It can slow it down and in extreme cases it can cause the computer to be unable to start up. Even worse, spyware can steal a person’s identity! For these reason, most people have spyware/virus cleaners installed on their computers.

Registry corruption is another problem that will slow a computer down and even kill it altogether. Because of this, most people have elected to install a registry cleaner on their computers. Great choice! For some reason, registry corruption is more of a threat to Windows XP and Vista than the older OS’s.

Once in a while I will run into a computer that has slowed down but doesn’t have spyware, viruses or registry corruption. This of course, means I have to look elsewhere for the problem that is slowing down the computer.

A Problem With A Device Driver

It is often a problem of this kind will involve an outdated or unstable driver. Even if this were known in advance, finding a replacement and installing it takes time and effort and to the customer, this comes with a cost.

Another Must Have Computer Maintenance Tool

However, we don’t have to do this the old fashion way anymore! Now, there is an excellent new driver scanner that does 100% of the work for us! All we do is start it up and the driver scanner will find any bad or outdated driver we have and it will then upgrade it automatically for us.

Now that driver scanners are available, we no longer have to put up with problems that are not under the purview of spyware/virus cleaners or registry cleaners. This is because this wonderful new tool has made the once tedious and often expensive job of keeping drivers up to date quick and easy.