Your computer is slow or full — what to check
"Slow" and "full" are two different problems with two different fixes, and telling them apart takes about a minute. Some of this you can sort yourself in ten minutes. Some of it is a machine that's simply reached the end of what it can do — and we'd rather tell you that than keep nursing it.
On this page
On this page
Office machines in a venue get a hard life — on all day, rarely restarted, shared between shifts, and slowly filling up with years of photos, menus and downloads. Most of what people report as "slow" is one of four things, and none of them need a technician to identify.
If you only read one thing
- Restart it properly, weekly. Not sleep, not just logging off. A full shutdown-and-start fixes more than any other single thing.
- Check whether it's storage or speed. A full drive makes everything crawl, and it's the easiest to fix.
- Don't keep work on the desktop. If it isn't on the server or in OneDrive, it isn't backed up — and when the machine dies, it's gone.
- Close what you're not using. Forty browser tabs and three big spreadsheets will slow down a perfectly good computer.
- Report the warning messages rather than clicking them away for six months. They're usually telling you something true.
01 — DiagnoseSlow, or full? They're different
| Symptom | Likely | First move |
|---|---|---|
| Warning about low disk space | Storage full | Go to the storage section. Once a drive is nearly full, everything gets slow as a side effect. |
| Slow all the time, since forever | The machine's age or specification | Log it. It may want more memory, or it may want replacing — we'll tell you which. |
| Was fine, got slow recently | Something changed | Restart, then tell us roughly when it started and what's been installed or changed. |
| Slow only in one program | That program or its data | Name the program in the request. A huge spreadsheet or mailbox is a different fix from a slow computer. |
| Grinds when several things are open | Not enough memory | Close what you don't need. If it happens with normal daily use, it's a hardware limit — log it. |
| Slow to start up, fine afterwards | Too much launching at login | Ours to tidy. Log it — it's usually a quick fix. |
| Slow only with files on the network | Not the computer at all | Say so explicitly — that points at the network or server. See the network guide. |
| Everyone's machine is slow | Something shared | Don't work through them one by one. Log it as affecting everyone. |
02 — Do this firstThe ten-minute clean-up
Restart, properly
Shut down and start up again — not sleep, not a screen lock, not just switching users. On a machine that's been running for weeks this alone often fixes it. Worth doing weekly as a habit.
Close what you're not using
Browser tabs are the big one — thirty of them use real memory. Close programs you finished with an hour ago. Then see if it's still slow.
Check how full the drive is
Open File Explorer, click This PC, and look at the bar under the main drive. If it's red or under about 10% free, that's your problem — go to the next section.
Empty the recycle bin
Deleted files sit there taking up space until it's emptied. It's frequently gigabytes, and it's a two-second job. Check nothing you need is in there first.
Clear out the Downloads folder
Reliably the fullest folder on any venue computer. Years of PDFs, installers, supplier price lists and photos downloaded twice. Move anything you actually need somewhere proper, then delete the rest.
Check for a pending update
If Windows has been asking to restart to finish an update for a fortnight, it will keep being slow until you let it. Do it at the end of a shift and leave it time to finish.
Still slow? Log it with detail
What's slow, when it started, whether it's one program or everything, and what you already tried.
03 — SpaceStorage full — what's usually eating it
In a venue, it's nearly always one of these:
- Photos and video. A folder of event photos or a few phone videos will fill a drive faster than anything else. These belong on the server or in cloud storage, not on one machine.
- The Downloads folder. Check it. It's always worse than you think.
- An enormous mailbox with fifteen years of attachments stored locally.
- Old versions of everything.
Menu-FINAL-v3-USE-THIS-ONE.pdfand its eleven siblings. - Design and video files. If someone's been editing video or working in Canva exports on that machine, that's your space.
- The recycle bin, still holding everything anyone "deleted".
Is it anywhere else? If a folder of photos exists only on that computer, deleting it to free space loses it permanently. Move it to the server or cloud storage first, confirm it's actually there, and then delete the local copy. Ask us if you're not sure where it should go — that's a two-minute question and a much better outcome than a lost archive.
Also: don't go deleting files you don't recognise from anywhere outside your own documents and downloads. Some of them the computer needs.
04 — HabitsWhere files should actually live
This is the difference between a computer failure being an inconvenience and being a disaster.
Do
- Save work to the server or OneDrive
- Keep shared things where colleagues can reach them
- Use sensible names with dates
- Delete old versions once one is final
- Keep photo archives in one known place
- Ask us where something belongs if you're unsure
Don't
- Work on the desktop as permanent storage
- Keep the only copy of anything on one machine
- Store venue files in a personal cloud account
- Keep photos on a USB stick as the only copy
- Assume "it's on the computer" means it's backed up
- Leave the only copy with a staff member who's leaving
The test worth running. Pick the file you'd least like to lose — the membership list, the function diary, this year's photos. Now imagine that computer is stolen tonight. If your answer isn't immediate and confident, that's worth an email to us this week rather than a hard lesson later.
05 — MessagesWarnings worth acting on
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Low disk space | Real, and it will slow everything down. Clean up, and tell us if it comes back within a month — that means the machine is undersized for the job. |
| Low memory / out of memory | Too much open, or not enough memory fitted. Close things; if it recurs in normal use, log it. |
| Updates available for weeks | Let it install at the end of a shift. Security updates aren't optional. |
| Backup hasn't run | Tell us today. This is the one warning nobody should ever dismiss. |
| Your storage is full (OneDrive) | The cloud account is out of space, so files have stopped syncing — which means recent work may not be saved anywhere but locally. Report it. |
| Any antivirus or security warning | Don't dismiss it and don't try to clean it up yourself. Log it straight away and say what it said. |
| "Not genuine" or licensing warnings | Ours to sort. Log it — don't buy a licence key from a website. |
| A pop-up telling you to ring a number | That's a scam, every time. Don't ring it, don't click it. Close the browser and tell us. |
A computer that's suddenly slow and showing unexpected pop-ups, browser tabs opening themselves, or a changed home page may have picked something up. Stop using it for anything sensitive, don't log into banking or club systems on it, and ring us. That's a security matter, not a tune-up — and the sooner we look, the smaller it stays.
06 — HonestyWhen a machine is simply old
Not every slow computer can be fixed, and we'd rather say so plainly than bill you for repeated tune-ups on a machine that needs replacing.
Signs it's genuinely reached the end:
- It's slow doing ordinary things — one spreadsheet, email, a browser
- It's been cleaned up and it's still slow a month later
- It can't take more memory, or the cost of the upgrade approaches the cost of replacing it
- It won't run something you now need
- It's no longer getting security updates
- Staff have quietly started avoiding it — always a reliable signal
Ask us for a plain assessment: worth upgrading, worth replacing, or fine as it is. And if you'd rather not have this conversation four times a year, ask us to look across all your machines once and give you a simple replacement plan — which ones this year, which next. It's much easier to budget for than a surprise.
07 — QuestionsQuick answers
Should I install a "PC cleaner" or speed-up tool?
No. They range from useless to actively harmful, and several are how machines get infected. If a computer needs cleaning up, tell us — it's a routine job at our end and it won't come with a subscription.
Can I install software I need for my job?
Ask us first. Usually the answer is a straightforward yes and we'll do it properly. What causes problems is downloading a free version of something from a search result — that's a common route for both malware and licensing trouble.
How often should computers be restarted?
Weekly at minimum, and always after an update asks. On shared machines, make it part of closing on a set day so it isn't anyone's decision.
Is it worth adding more memory?
Sometimes it's the single best value upgrade there is, and sometimes the machine can't take any more or is too old to be worth it. Ask us — we'll check the specification and tell you honestly.
The machine is fine but the program is slow. Same thing?
No, and it's worth saying which program. A slow POS, membership system or accounting package is usually about that system, its data or the network — not the computer in front of you. Name it in the request.
Someone's leaving and their files are on their machine. What now?
Tell us before their last day, not after. Getting files off a machine while the account still exists is straightforward; doing it afterwards is messier. See the staff access guide.
08 — Print thisKeep it in the office
Computer slow or full? — try this first
Cyberry Know-How · cyberry.com.au/know-how
Ten-minute clean-up
- Full restart — not sleep, not log off
- Close browser tabs and unused programs
- Check drive space: This PC in File Explorer
- Empty the recycle bin
- Clear out the Downloads folder
- Let any pending update finish
- Move photos and video off to the server
Before deleting anything
- Is it saved anywhere else? Check first
- Don't delete files you don't recognise
Tell us when you log it
- Which computer, and where
- Slow at everything, or one program?
- When it started
- Any warning messages, word for word
- Is anyone else affected?
- What you already tried
Ring us straight away
- Backup warnings
- Antivirus or security warnings
- Unexpected pop-ups or browser changes
- A pop-up telling you to ring a number — it's a scam
Last reviewed 25 July 2026. Everything here is safe for any staff member. Anything involving installing software, changing settings outside your own files, or a security warning is ours — log it rather than working around it.
Want a straight answer?
Upgrade, replace, or leave it alone.
Ask us to look across your machines once and give you a simple replacement plan. Much easier to budget than a surprise.