Why do computers start to slow down over time?
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When you buy computer it is second grader and programs are second grade math but then computer doesn’t change over time and then is second grader trying to do sixth grade math as software evolves.
Plus if you don’t have a solid state drive you’re like my dumb ass trying to figure out why you just gave me 11.06 when your total is only 6.06 as I work my McDonald’s cashier job
One thing that hasn’t been discussed is the effect of memory size vs the number of programs running simultaneously. Active programs keep their context and execution space in RAM. Dormant programs can also be in RAM until RAM starts running low. At that point, dormant program contexts get swapped out to disk. If a program that needs to run is on disk, it must be swapped back into RAM. This takes added time. Newer more complex software needs larger context space, which slows the context swapping operation. This is why adding memory can speed up a computer, since fewer program contexts will need to be swapped out to disk.
The device in charge of storing your operative system and other software has certain speed to load up these programs into memory. Most computers use Hard Disk Drives (HDD) as storage devices. HDDs become rapidly slow over time. Most HDDs usually become slower and slower until the operative system and other programs takes several minutes to load. Usual lifespan for HDDs are 4-5 years. In most cases computer performance is recovered by changing the storage to a Solid State Drive or a new HDD.
Source: I fix general purpose computers
Something I don’t see here, and it’s the most obvious one, is that the hardware degrades over time due to thermal changes. The more extreme the changes the more damage your hardware accumulates. The change may seem small and insignificant mathematically but remember that SOCs are made on the scale of nanometers. So, those extremely small changes caused by compression and expansion have a significant effect. This is why it’s suggested to try and keep your devices as close to ambient temp as you can if you want them to last.
What people really don’t say in this thread is that these days software really doesn’t outpace hardware in anything other than memory. But memory, especially hard-disk memory becomes worse over time much faster.
As long as you have enough ram to run your programs, buy yourself a new SSD and reinstall the pc and it will run as if brand new. Unless you’re a gamer or do video manipulation you probably never used your computer’s hardware to the max, and Chrome/VLC/Office really didn’t get that much heavier to run in the last 10 years.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet is the fact that the capacitors on the boards degrade o we time which causes data bus errors and requires the info to be resent. It gets worse over time and can contribute to the slow down. It’s really not just one thing though and the other stuff people have mentioned also play a part.
Imagine you have a fresh, organized garage. You use it every day, and put everything back. But, sometimes you miss something or lose a small part, like a screw. Do this for 3 years straight, and you have a small pile of organized chaos to a small degree. Your space is workable, but it’s not all the same anymore as inaccuracies build and reused items wear out. The same happens with code errors over time, and to a point degradation in hardware, usually the accuracy of the data in the storage drive. The more programs and tools you have, the more little bits can end in the wrong place.
Resetting it does a full rework of your garage, getting every lost item back into it’s rightful place, or restoring lost bits, which is why it’s ‘faster’ … the hardware itself doesn’t get faster, but it is running as efficiently as when you started, since you get rid of the clutter and malfunctioning bits.
My installs take years to slow down since I’ve developed good usage habits over the last 30 years of using computers, but they still need to be nuked and redone every now and then, once system file errors and driver problems start piling up beyond recovery.
I make money when people give me their ‘broken’ computers because people are not taught at all culturally to take care and preserve their possessions.
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