Why are old computers so slow after starting them and why do they need some time/heat to work fast/properly again?
In: Technology
Computers are just as fast when you start them. They just need to do some important stuff before you can use them properly, like loading the OS in RAM and probably preloading apps you’re likely to use. They do this in the background so they seem slow because they have more things to do.
The main reason old computers feel slower other than the processor is that old computers will almost entirely use a hard disk drive or HDD as opposed to a modern solid state drive, or SSD to store their data.
Hard disk drives are electromechanical devices with moving parts, and are vastly slower than SSDs.
They are loading up background stuff, checking for updates, running diagnostics, etc etc at startup. Taking up memory for awhile until it’s all done. New comps do this too but have faster processors and way less clutter. Over time newer software requiring more power and the clutter it accumulates will slow them as well.
Previous answers are all correct, so I’ll just try to summarize.
1. It has nothing to do with heat.
2. After a computer has just started up, it is still starting numerous additional programs that will run quietly in the background. So it’s still quite busy, which makes it slow to respond to you.
3. Older computers have slower processors and much slower hard drives (mechanical ones) so it takes them a while to finish this process. It can be up to a few minutes of starting various programs you don’t even see.
Further to the earlier replies, you can use Task Manager in Windows to see what’s using your resources (press Ctrl+shift+Esc). This is very helpful for finding bottlenecks, and also for letting you know as soon as you can use the computer without background operations delaying you.
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