Computers play a vital role in improving day-to-day productivity, irrespective of the industry you work in. Thanks to the myriad hardware and software advancements released over the years, computers have become more efficient than ever before.
It doesn’t matter if you’re using a Windows PC or a Mac computer, you are bound to run into some technical problems eventually. Fortunately, not all problems warrant a trip to the service center, and you can quickly remedy the problems to carry on with your work.
Here are common computer problems you must expect to encounter and tips to solve them.
1. Your Computer Is Making Loud Noises
If you hear loud grinding or clicking noises from your computer, it is almost certain that you have encountered some hardware failure. While there is a wide range of possible problems when you hear such loud noises, it is most likely stemming from the rotary functioning of your hard drive or cooling fans.
You need to open the computer case, and if you notice the cooling fans are making a noise, it is time to replace the fans. Typically, cooling fans are quite inexpensive to replace, and you can change them yourself using a screwdriver.
The other possible areas you need to inspect are graphics cards, power supplies and CPU fans. However, these replacements are expensive.
2. The Problem Of Unreadable Disk On Your Computer
You have connected an external hard drive, USB flash drive or SD card to your computer, but your system cannot read the disk. Usually, when the error message of an unreadable disk pops up on the screen, it means the drive’s directory has been corrupted. But it might also mean damaged file systems, virus attacks, improper ejection of the external drive, encryption of the drive, etc.
To fix the disk not readable Mac issue, you need to check if the external drive has a problem. You can connect to another external drive and check if your computer reads the second drive. If it does, the first drive has issues. Also, you need to check if the drive is encrypted.
One way to fix the problem is erasing the drive to its normal state and recovering the data. You must ensure to back up the data to avoid losing important files and documents.
3. The Computer’s Performance Has Slowed Down
When using your computer for a few years, your device’s performance can become sluggish. The problem likely stems from your OS, or your device is running out of storage space. You may notice slower performance in apps that you use regularly or your computer taking a few extra seconds to start.
Slow performance is a common problem and one that can be resolved easily. It will help if you run some basic software clean-up. To do that, check all the applications you are running to determine which apps or programs utilize the most RAM and CPU resources. You can check this from the Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac). You need to delete or remove the unnecessary processes or programs running in the background, but you don’t need them.
You can also check for software updates and install them. Typically, new updates come with bug fixes and performance boosters. Moreover, you can check out the suite of free troubleshooting, and diagnostic tests that operating systems come pre-programmed with to narrow down the problem. For instance, Mac offers in-built Apple Diagnostics to check the hardware.
4. Your Computer Is Freezing Constantly
Computers are high-end, complex machines that simultaneously manage several processes. This complexity can sometimes cause your system to not respond to your action or freeze. Most of the time, you can resolve this by rebooting your device. However, if your computer freezes constantly, it might be because there’s not enough space in system memory, files are corrupted, errors in registry or malware attacks. You need to check these potential causes until the problem is rectified individually.
You can run system checks in the background to determine if your computer is running low on memory. If so, you need to delete the large files you don’t use anymore, clear cache, clear the trash, etc. If specific applications are causing your computer to freeze, you can uninstall them and reinstall them. Moreover, you can install an antivirus to prevent virus attacks.
So, these are a few of the common computer problems that you must be prepared to experience when bringing the machine home. These problems can be quickly solved if you follow the tips mentioned above. However, for serious problems, don’t hesitate to call the technician.
