If your laptop or computer is running slow, it can be frustrating. You may feel like you are wasting time waiting for the screen to load when all of your friends seem to have computers that run faster than yours! This blog post will talk about how to speed up a slow laptop or computer and make sure that every day is productive.
1) Delete unused programs
If you have programs that you don’t use, it might be a good idea to delete them. Just go to the control panel and figure out which ones you don’t need anymore. Then follow the steps to delete them. This will save space on your computer and make everything run faster.
Utility programs that you might have put in your laptop or computer for a long time and might never use again include Skype, iTunes and Windows Live. If you don’t need these programs anymore, then delete them! You can always re-download them later if you decide that you do want to use them.
Always audit your computer programs and delete useless ones. You’ll be surprised at how much space you might have freed up just by doing this!
2) Limit Startup Programs
Another thing you can do to speed up a slow laptop or computer is limit the number of programmes that start when your computer does. A lot of people have a lot of programmes that start when they login to their account. This makes it take a while for you to get into anything and can be frustrating! You want to get into your account and start working!
There are a couple of ways to limit startup programmes. The first is going into the task manager, then going to the startup tab. You can see which programmes start up with your computer, and you can disable them if needed. Another way that you can do this is to go into the control panel and, under administrative tools, look for MSConfig. You can go here and change your settings to start up with minimum programmes.
3) Close System Tray Programs
It’s also a good idea to check and close any programs that may be running in the system tray. The system tray is the bar at the bottom of your screen, and it houses all of your shortcuts (like internet browsers). Suppose you want to know which programmes are running in that bar, right-click and go into properties. You can then see which one is running in the background.
4) Update Windows, Apps, Drivers and BIOS
It’s always a good idea to update your windows or any apps you are using. Just go into the control panel and then click on ‘updates’. If there are any available updates, install them! You might think that this will take longer, but it won’t. Updates fix problems in your laptop/computer that can slow it down, so doing this will speed up your computer!
The same goes for drivers. If you are using anything like Bluetooth or wireless internet, go to the manufacture’s website (for example, dell) and download any new updates for them. It’ll make your laptop/computer run smoother and faster!
You can also update your laptop or computer’s BIOS. The BIOS or Basic Input Output System is the program that runs your laptop. If you go to the manufacturer’s website, there should be a way for you to update it; however, it can be difficult, so don’t do this unless you are an advanced computer user!
Lastly, you can update your applications. Go into the control panel, click on ‘applications and features’, then ‘manage optional software’. Here you can see which programmes you have installed and if there are any updates for them. If so, update them!
5) Delete Unnecessary Files
After updating windows, apps and drivers, as well as the BIOS, you can now delete any unnecessary files. For example, if you have a program that you don’t use or all your games, go to the control panel and click on ‘user accounts’. You can then see what kind of files they take up and uninstall them.
You can also go to ‘my computer’ and look around the folder. If there are any unnecessary files, delete them. You also empty the Recycle Bin to ensure that no files are left behind.
You can also unclutter your desktop. Many people have a lot of useless clutter on their desktop, which is just taking up space. It’s also taking up space in memory. Just go to ‘my computer’ and delete any files that are on your desktop or in the folders.
6) Remove Malware
If you find that your laptop or computer is running really slowly and you don’t know why it may be because of malware! Malware such as viruses and such can slow down your computer. There are many ways for you to remove malware from your laptop/computer, but make sure that you work with someone knowledgeable about this. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it might not be a good idea to delete malware from your laptop or computer. Be careful!
7) Find Programs That Eat Up Resources
If you want to find out which programs are eating up your laptop’s memory and slowing it down, download process explorer. This will show you all of the running programs and how much memory they take up. You can then close any that you think are unnecessary!
Go to the ‘Task Manager’, and there will be a list of all the programs that you have open. At the bottom, it’ll show their memory usage and how long they’ve been running for. If any take up a lot of memory and run for a long time, delete them!
Another way to find out which programs are slowing down your laptop or computer is by doing a ‘Disk Cleanup’. If you can’t find this option, type it in the search bar.
8) Adjust Your Power Options
If you think that your laptop or computer is running slowly, losing a lot of battery quickly and crashing, it’s probably because your power settings are wrong! Go to your control panel and click on ‘power options’. You can change the Power Saver settings not to shut down when you use higher-powered apps. This saves battery.
The High-Performance power plan option ensures that your laptop or computer is running optimally. You can also turn off the sleep mode!
9) Turn Windows Features On and Off
This is one of the things that you can do to make your laptop or computer run faster. Go into your control panel and then click on ‘Programs’. Click ‘turn windows features on or off’ under the ‘programs and features’ option.
Here, you can turn off any programs that are not necessary. Remember to restart your laptop or computer after turning this feature off.
10) Run a disk cleanup
In the control panel, there is a section that says ‘disk cleanup’. Just go to this and click on it. It’ll give you a list of all of your hard drives. Click on each one and select what to keep or erase everything. You can also clean up any temporary files by going to the temp folder on your computer. Just delete anything that has no purpose.
Alternatively, you can run software that facilitates disk cleanup. There are many of such software on different online platforms. Just make sure that you take a look at reviews before installing!
11) Disable or Adjust Animations and Graphics
You can constantly adjust how your laptop or computer works. If you want to minimize animations on your screen to load faster, right-click ‘desktop’ at the bottom of your screen.
Here, you’ll see an option called ‘personalize’. Clicking on it will take you to another page where there’s an option for ‘change desktop icons’. Basically, just click where it says ‘turn animations on or off’ and you’re good to go.
Go to the Control Panel, click ‘system’ and then the ‘advanced system settings’. Then, go to the advanced tab and search for ‘performance’. There should be an option called ‘adjust for best performance’.
Just check this, and you’re done!
12) Add RAM
If you’ve tried everything on this list, but your laptop or computer is still running slow, try inserting more RAM. Removing it won’t be necessary because adding more is easy! You can remove the existing RAM by unscrewing the panel on the bottom of your laptop or computer. Then, insert another one!
13) Disable Cortana
If you’re still having trouble with speed, try disabling Cortana. In your task bar, right click ‘Cortana’. It should give you two options- either disable or choose what to do.
Choose the option that says ‘don’t search online’. This will prevent a few things from running on your laptop or computer so it can run faster.
14) Run a virus scan
If you have a lot of files and programs, it could be slowing down your laptop or computer. A virus scanner finds out the things that are running in your PC, which could slow everything else down.
Go to your Control Panel and then go to ‘system and security’. Under the clock, click ‘scan’. It’ll look for any files that are suspicious or slow down your laptop. Henceforth, your laptop or computer will run more smoothly.
15) Upgrade your Hardware
Sometimes, the simplest thing to do is upgrade. If your computer can’t play games or run programs properly, check if there are any new updates on the manufacturer’s website. Sometimes you’ll notice that a newer version of a certain program works better on your laptop or computer.
You can add SSDs to make your laptop or computer run faster. The other, more popular option is upgrading the RAM. If you have 4GB DDR3 RAM and have added an SSD, the chances are that it’ll help to add another 4GB DDR3 RAM. This makes a huge difference!
16) Disable Automatic Updates
This tip is usually used by people who are fond of downloading things on torrents. The problem with automatic updates is that it takes up a lot of your internet speed. Click ‘settings’ in the control panel and then scroll down to ‘windows update’. Click ‘advanced settings’.
Then, go to the option titled ‘choose how updates are delivered’. There, you can choose to disable updates or set your priority to ‘never check for updates’. This should help your laptop or computer run faster!
In conclusion, if you want to fix your slow laptop or computer, just try some of the tips. If you have tried everything, but it still runs slow, then maybe you need to buy a new one! It may be time for an upgrade, but hey, there are many laptops that are really good for their prices. Just take a few minutes on Google, and you’ll find a lot of deals.