How to fix choppy / lagging computer
Hey, to give a quick background, over the past few days my computer has been lagging (mouse pointer not scrolling smoothly, video/sound playing choppy and like sh*t, can't play games, etc.). Anyway, I think I figured out what the problem was and how I fixed it:
Long story short, but this problem was the result of me updating my Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver (for Windows 7). Windows Update gave me the option to update this driver (this optional update file was about 15 MB), so I went ahead and downloaded/installed the driver upgrade. Ever since, my computer had been running choppy / like sh*t - as mentioned above I couldn't play any video or sound without it f*cking up every few seconds, mouse scrolling was not smooth, etc.
Anyway, WHAT I DID TO FIX THIS PROBLEM:
1) In Windows 7, click on the "Start" icon (in lower left corner of screen), and then click "Help and Support" (in menu towards bottom right). This opens the "Windows Help and Support" window.
2) In the search bar at the top of the "Windows Help and Support" window, type in (just copy/paste this in):
Restore a driver to its previous version
Then search this. One of the first results that comes up should be just that: Restore a driver to its previous version. Click on it.
3) Now the "Restore a driver to its previous version" window should pop up. In this window there should be a link that says "Click to open Device Manager" (this link is next to "1." on the screen). Click on this link.
4) The "Device Manager" window should now be open. In this window, double-click on "Display Adapters" to further open this. Another line should now open / drop down, which is your display adapter (mine is Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset Family). Double-click on this display adapter.
5) A window for your display adapter should now open. Click on the "Driver" tab at the top of this window. Now click on the "Roll Back Driver" button to set your display driver back to its previous state before it was updated. You might have to restart your computer in order to complete this process.
This should fix the problem and your computer should run smoothly again.
IMPORTANT: Remember to NOT install the Windows optional update for your Graphics Media Driver again, as this is what caused the problem in the first place (at least it did for me). Just install the critical updates that Windows recommends.
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If for some reason the above doesn't fix the problem, you can try doing a "System Restore". Just do Step #1 above, and in the search bar type in: System Restore . Then in the results shown, click on "What is System Restore?". Now in the "What Is System Restore?" window, read the info to understand what this is, and then click on the link "Click to open System Restore" towards the bottom of the window. In the next window that pops up ("Restore System Files and Settings"), note that "Recently installed programs and drivers might be uninstalled if you do a system restore". Therefore, you might have to reinstall some programs and drivers (such as driver updates) that were installed AFTER the date you choose to restore your system back to, if you do decide to do a system restore. Click the "Next" button.
Now a window pops up which says at the top "Restore your computer to the state it was in before the selected event". In this window, click in / check the little square box next to "Show more restore points" - this will give you more dates to which you can choose to restore your system. Select (click on) the date right before this problem started occurring for you (right before your computer started getting slow / choppy / etc). If you don't remember the exact date your computer started having problems, just estimate whether it was a week ago, few weeks ago, month ago, etc., and pick a date that corresponds to this. After you click the date to which you want to restore your computer back to, click on the "Next" button and follow the instructions (which will include restarting your computer at some point).
After your computer restarts, your computer/system will be restored back to the date you chose, and the slow/choppy computer problem should be fixed. Now go ahead and install critical updates only (DON'T INSTALL ANY OPTIONAL UPDATES, as one of these optional updates could've caused this problem in the first place) that Windows 7 recommends.
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Hope this helps. Didn't mean for this to be so long, but I hate it when people leave out details that leave me wondering what to do. I figured it was worth the time typing this up, especially for a problem as serious as this. You can't do much if your computer is all choppy / lags on you. Anyway, I gotta jet.
