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Monster mashed: Sano's bomb, Donaldson, Cave 10th inning homers carry Twins past
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Monster mashed: Sano's bomb, Donaldson, Cave 10th inning homers carry Twins past
Red Sox
Litchfield teen crowned Minnesota's 68th Princess Kay
15 foods that belong in the Minnesota State Fair's hall of fame
Minnesota health officials may sink Swimply app
Gophers AD Coyle talks COVID-19, NIL and $21.5 million debt
Fire raises questions about distant landowner, management
Police shredded documents in panic that followed Third Precinct burning
Gun owners group loses bid to allow permit carriers to bring guns to the
Minnesota State Fair
About 2,000 people protest Line 3 pipeline at Minnesota Capitol
Delta Air Lines imposes fee on unvaccinated employees
Minnesota judge orders transfer of Mike Lindell countersuits to D.C.
next



Business 568414002


ALEXANDER: FIXING A PC THAT GRADUALLY SLOWS DOWN

By Steve Alexander Star Tribune
March 2, 2020 — 8:16pm
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Q: My HP PC (an Envy x360 m6) is running Windows 10 Home with all the current
updates, and I use Norton antivirus and the Malwarebytes security program. But
over the last year the PC has really slowed down when it comes to starting
Windows or programs. Even after starting, many programs run slowly. My PC has 8
gigabytes of RAM (computer chip) memory and a 1 terabyte hard drive that's about
80% full. What can I do to speed up the computer?

Gary Brown, St. Paul



A: You have nearly filled up your hard drive, which is probably causing the
speed of your PC to drop off dramatically.

Why? When a drive fills up, the available storage spots become smaller and are
scattered across the disk. So, when the PC stores files on the disk, it has to
split them into pieces and store the pieces in different locations. This slows
the storing process and creates a disk condition called "fragmentation." The
next time these fragmented files are needed, it takes extra time for the PC to
locate, read and reassemble them. Fragmentation becomes a serious problem once
the hard drive reaches 80% full.

You should either get a larger hard drive, shift some data to another drive or
just delete some data. Once you have freed up more disk space, you can use the
Windows "defragment" feature to copy the scattered files into single locations
(see tinyurl.com/y5os4pql), which will improve PC speed. Note that defragmenting
a hard disk can take hours.

While freeing up disk space will probably solve your slowdown problem, there are
a few other things you should check as well.



• Make sure there is no unwanted or malicious software on your PC. Update and
run Malwarebytes.

• Check to see if any programs are using a large amount of the PC's processing
or RAM memory. Open the PC's Task Manager (right-click the menu bar at the
bottom of the screen and select Task Manager from the list.)

Under Task Manager's "apps" heading, you should find only the programs you are
currently using. Under "background processes," you will find things such as
iTunes and the Windows digital assistant program Cortana, even if they aren't
being used. You can temporarily turn off some of these app-related background
processes to see if it causes a problem (they will automatically turn back on
when you restart the PC.) To temporarily turn off a process, left click the name
in Task Manager, then right click it. From the drop-down menu, choose "end
task." To permanently turn off a process, remove it from the PC's startup menu
(see tinyurl.com/y4jyh4xs option three.)



Q: Now that we've updated to Windows 10, what's the best way to erase the hard
drive on our Windows 7 PCs before donating them?



Lana Luhm, Eau Claire, Wis.



A: You raise a good point. Windows 7 PCs shouldn't be donated unless the hard
disks have been wiped clean, including erasing the operating system. Then either
Windows 8.1 or 10 should be installed by you or the organization to which you
are donating. There are several ways to erase a hard drive (see
tinyurl.com/hrdk248). Or you can install a new hard drive and destroy the old
one. Drilling a few holes through the case effectively destroys an old drive.



E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander@gmail.com. Include name, city and
telephone number.

steve.j.alexander@gmail.com
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