Computer is Running Slowly
If your computer is sluggish or running slowly, take a look at the following steps to help diagnose what could be causing the issue.
NOTE: The first thing you should always try is a full restart of your computer! If you're still experiencing slowness then proceed through this guide for some steps to resolve this.
Chromebook
Press Search (magnifying glass) and Escape (esc) to pull up the task manager. It should pull up a window similar to the one pictured below.
- Check the following in the task manager:
- CPU: Add up the numbers under the CPU column and see what the sum is out of 100. The numbers in the CPU column are shown in percentages out of 200 (your Chromebook has two cores - each 100). If you notice you are at or above 180, try closing some non-essential processes. Do not end any process that starts with Subframe or System.
- Memory: If you notice your CPU is relatively low and still getting slow responses on your browser, look for high memory processes. If you're noticing a process with over 200,000K you should try to close out of tabs in your browser that you don’t need, or any apps that you have running that you don’t need right now. Do not end any process that starts with Subframe or System.
- If slowness persists after going through these troubleshooting steps, contact the IT team at helpdesk@saga.org.
Windows
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to bring up the task manager. It should pull up a window similar to the one pictured below.
There are 3 major columns we want to look at: CPU, Memory, and Disk. If any one of these gets close to 100% could be causing poor performance.
- CPU: If your CPU reading is very high, close some processes/applications running. The more you try to do at once, the harder your CPU will work to keep each process running.
- Memory: In basic terms, the amount of RAM each process is using. If your memory is too high, try to close the processes you aren’t needing at the moment.
- Google Chrome will likely be what uses the most amount of Memory here. Try closing tabs that you don't need or closing and re-launching a fresh Chrome instance to help!
- Microsoft Office applications can also heavily contribute to this, consider closing documents if you're not actively working in them!
- Disk: Disk relates to your Hard Drive Disk and how much reading/writing your hard drive is doing. You shouldn’t be alarmed until you are reaching higher Disk percentages. If you are consistently at 90% or above, please contact the IT team at helpdesk@saga.org and we'd be happy to take a look!
If you aren’t sure how to move forward or have any questions about any of this, please feel free to reach out to the IT team at helpdesk@saga.org
Mac
NOTE: When you are restarting your Mac, make sure that the Reopen windows when logging back in checkbox is unchecked, as shown below. If you restart with it checked it could keep the problem processes running upon next boot.
The Mac version of the Task Manager is called the Activity Monitor. To bring up the Activity Monitor, press cmd + Space to bring up Spotlight Search, then search for Activity Monitor and press Enter. It should pull up Activity Monitor, which should look similar to the picture below.
There are 3 major pages we want to look at: CPU, Memory, and Disk.
- CPU: The % CPU column will show a series of numbers for each process. If a process is approaching 100, then completely close out of that process or restart your computer.
- Memory: Here, we want to keep an eye on the Memory Pressure graph in the bottom part for any spikes. Additionally, if the Memory Used section is right up to the Physical Memory section, close out of some applications or restart your device.
- Disk: For the Disk section, if you are still experiencing slowness, we want to see if the Bytes Written and Bytes Read sections have any processes that are substantially higher than the others. Consider ending the process or restarting your device.
If you aren’t sure how to move forward or have any questions about any of this, please feel free to reach out to the IT team at helpdesk@saga.org