
Does the system begin to run slowly after a few minutes of work or gaming, or is it slow from boot?.Does the machine feel sluggish and slow to respond to feedback like typing? Does it have this problem in all cases, or only when certain programs are running? Does it have the same lag if booted in Safe Mode?.Has the entire PC slowed down, or just specific applications? If the problem is isolated to one app or a specific group of apps, have those applications been recently updated or modified?.Has the system’s performance changed recently? If the answer to this is “Yes,” did it change when you installed a specific application or OS update?.Whether you are doing this for someone else or for yourself, here are a few “big picture” questions to consider:

Specifically, it walks through the process of determining whether your problem is more likely to be caused by software, hardware, or simply the age of the machine. This article is designed to help you troubleshoot a slow machine.
