Most Common Computer Issues
Here at Milford Computer Service we see every type of computer service or PC repair problem imaginable. We've seen a dead mouse on the motherboard, a soft drink spilled into the CD Drive (don't ask), a laptop that looks like lunch was served on it, and that's just a short list.  Fortunately, a great many PC issues can be resolved yourself. This article will help!

Introduction
Today, we will talk about the most common problems and issues people have to deal with when using their computers. These issues can, and eventually will happen to pretty much everyone, so it is important to stay in touch with the latest fixing techniques and inform yourself on how to deal with these problems when and if you encounter them yourself.

As any PC user who has been at it for some time will tell you, dealing with issues and hassles when it comes to the PC is almost a part of your everyday life. 

Unfortunately, many people make flies into elephants when they try and fix these issues themselves, and in most cases, fill up their hard drive with unnecessary, useless junkware such as cleaning utilities and fake anti-virus programs. Read on to learn more about the most common PC problems and how to properly deal with them. 

Most Common PC Problems
Lets start with something simple. A simple, but very powerful step which has solved issues people have been trying to fix for hours! 

Restart Your Computer
Maybe this sounds overly simplistic at first glance, but restarting your computer can often be the exactly solution you are looking for. It is amazing how many people waste time looking for solutions and fix options online when all they have to do is simply allow their system to reboot. 

Many software utilities, driver and Windows updates require the user to restart their computer before they can start using them properly. The problem is that many people neglect this and click on "Restart Later", and look - the software they just installed works anyway! 

However, after some time they tend to completely forget they were prompted to reboot their system in the first place and then wonder why they are experiencing problems. 

Remember, whether it is a software issues or any other sort of system malfunction, be it performance-wise in games or Internet browsers, be sure to get this simple step first, you may be surprised!

Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)
Surely one of the worst PC user's nightmares, you're doing your thing, gaming, working or simply browsing the Web when, all of a sudden, a blue screen is shown along with a bunch lines of white text. Your computer just had a heart attack, and maybe you're close to one as well as you've been working for hours on a very important project.

Needless to say, save your work! Even though this happens only once in a while (in case of a hardware or software failure, corrupt DLL files can also cause a BSoD, as well as driver issues and other causes) - remember to save your work regularly. Yes, sometimes it can be a hassle but it's best that you get used to this and make a real habit of saving your progress. Again, when we look at the Blue Screen of Death issue, if you are lucky, that first step which includes only restarting your PC may solve your issues! 

If not, well, get that Windows DVD or a flash drive and re-install your system. Remember, you can always format all your partitions and still save the files you had on your system disk, this option will be offered to you somewhere throughout the re-installation process. The blue screen itself should provide you with an error code with which you can easily identify the original source of the problem.

My Computer Runs Slowly
Sometimes this just gets in our heads, when actually the PC runs as fast as it did yesterday. However, it is no surprise a lot of users experience a downfall in PC performance over time. There are many possible causes to this issue, and that many solutions. Of course, the most common source of this particular problem is: Over-stuffing your hard drives, especially if it's a system drive. 

Your operating system needs room to create and store files while it's running in the background - lesson: Do not save everything you make, create, download and install on your system partition. If you've already done that, this is the perfect time to clear up some space and therefore speed up your PC. Hint: Remember to restart your computer after the clean-up. 

Another thing you can do is simply re-install your OS all together. If you can afford to lose all the data this is definitely your best option. A clean install, nothing says fresh like a Windows installation after years of use. If you do have files you would like to save, simply use an external hard drive, DVDs or a flash memory stick to back-up the data. 

If you don't have any of those, you can always backup your data online, considering you have a decent upload speed, or an abundance of both time and patience. 

Read more about data storage solutions here 

What's also very common, is that people tend to mistaken their broadband connection issues with their own system. Sometimes, it's best to check your connection speed before blaming your system for not buffering that YouTube video fast or that Web page not loading within a second. 

You can easily run a check on your broadband connection using SpeedTest.net - if the source of the issues really is with your connection, make sure to give your ISP a call. Another thing that you can do to boost your PC performance, is disabling the services and apps you don't really use or need anymore. This is more effective of course, with computers which have been in use for multiple years. 

Be sure to open the System Configuration tool once in a while and check what processes are being brought up when you boot into Windows each time (you can check this under the "Startup" tab). Now, it is very, very important that you don't mess with this if you don't know or if you're not sure what some app or process is used for. You can always check what's what online and if it's truly unnecessary - you can disable that process and save your PC both time and performance power.

You can access the System Configuration tool by holding the Windows key and then pressing the R key. Once prompted with the "Run" windows, type in msconfig and press Enter on your keyboard.

Other Computer Issues
As said before, there are a lot of issues which can cause your system not to function properly. Some are easy to fix, some are an indication of your system being on its own death bed. Here's a short list of other most common computer issues people deal with nowadays. 

Pop-ups, pop-ups everywhere. In a case where you are not surfing the web via your Internet browser, or if you are not online at all and you're still getting those boring pop-ups on your desktop - you've probably installed adware. Even though a lot of those adware installations are merely there for advertising, it is still important that you remove them - best case scenario - they'll slow down your PC.

First of all, don't install software you're randomly prompted to install while online, be responsible enough to know what you're allowing onto your system, you wouldn't let anyone in your home at 3AM at night, right? Your system wish is that you treat it the same.

A lot of adware installations happen while a user is installing software they know they want and need, but advertisers often allow sponsored content to be installed along with their own utilities - stay aware when installing anything and look for that Check-Box for sponsored content and be sure to uncheck it.

While online, pop-ups are very common on a lot of website, besides standard on-site advertisements. You can stay away from all of this by using simple but very effective browser add ons such as AdBlock. 

Email Attachments Won't Open
Again, a very simple issue to deal with yet so many people waste time and sometimes money into solving the famous email attachment hassle. 

You've got that work report or a product description in a form of an email attachment but you can't open and read it. The most common source of this problem is simple not having the necessary software installed which can read these files. 

In most cases, you'll need the Adobe Reader, this popular software will allow your system to open and read .pdf files, which is the most-sent file type trough emails. Simply having MS Word and Adobe Reader installed on your system will allow you to read almost any email attachment you receive.

Don't Make It Worse Than It Already Is
As a suitable ending to this article, it is important to be reminded that a lot of simple issues end up being complex problems - as a direct result of a user who isn't sure what's he or she doing when trying to fix some of these issues themselves.

If you are one of them, better take it to a professional, don't make yourself wish you never touched it in the first place.