Why Is My Laptop So Slow? 10 Ways to Fix It
Having a slow laptop that takes your precious time on a daily basis is annoying. There can be several reasons why laptops become slow over time. Fortunately, there are easy ways to fix most of the problems of slowness. In this essay, you will find out 10 easy ways to fix a slow laptop. Try the tips presented below to increase your laptop speed.
Reboot Your Laptop
You need to reboot your laptop to clean the temporary memory. While rebooting, your laptop will be shut down from all of the currently running programs, refreshing its memory. Some of the running programs work in the background and thus are not noticeable. They use the memory, making your laptop run slower. You need to reboot your laptop at least once a week.
Clean Your Computer of Large Files and Unused Programs
Large files and unused programs can also decrease your computer speed significantly. Old files consume valuable memory and slow your laptop down. Check the downloaded files for any old files. Some programs were installed but are no longer used. Go to the Control Panel and delete the old programs that are not useful for you.
Run Disk Cleanup
Clean the disk to remove temporary internet files. Windows creates temporary files that keep building up. Clean disk removes those files that you do not need. Click on Disk Cleanup from your computer settings. Choose the files that you wish to delete and click Clean up. This process will clear up some hard drive space. More space will increase the speed of your laptop.
Disable Startup Programs
Remove all the startup programs when booting your system. There are many programs that automatically get started on booting your laptop. These programs slow down the startup time as well as the speed of your system. You can see all startup programs in Task Manager. Click on those programs and disable them. The less number of startup programs means quick startups.
Update Windows and Software
Update your Windows as well as all the software on your computer. Updates improve speed and fix bugs. Older software comes with numerous bugs, which slow everything down. Search for Windows Update in your computer settings. Install all updates without delay. Other software can be updated from their settings too. Updated software runs faster.
Scan for Viruses and Malware
Find out any viruses or malware on your computer immediately. The presence of viruses may have a significant impact on your computer performance. Malware works secretly, making use of the resources of your computer. Windows Defender comes along with the system – for free. It is recommended to scan your computer each week for any problems. Consider getting additional antivirus software as well. Viruses and malware make your computer extremely slow.
Close Browser Tabs
Limit the number of open browser tabs. All open tabs consume resources of your computer. Close all unused tabs now. Close all tabs that were opened yesterday and even last week. Fifty open tabs will significantly reduce the speed of your laptop. Close all tabs now to gain back your computer memory. Fewer tabs mean faster browsing.
Add More Memory RAM
Improve the performance of your laptop by increasing RAM. Additional RAM will increase computer performance greatly. Addition of RAM costs somewhere between thirty to hundred dollars. RAM is an affordable and effective way to increase computer performance. Cost of installation of installing RAM is about a hundred dollars.
Replace With Solid State Drive
Upgrade to an SSD drive. SSD drive is much faster than a hard drive. It costs from $100 to $400. The installation of an SSD drive will cost you about $100. SSD drive will rejuvenate your old computer. It is the biggest speed improvement that you can make.
Check Your Hard Drive Space
Check your hard drive space to see if there is enough space on it. You should have at least fifteen percent free space on your hard drive. When your hard drive is full, it works much slower than when it is not full. Delete the old files and store them either on the external hard drive or on the cloud. It is always necessary to have at least fifteen percent of your space free.
Disable Visual Effects
It is important to disable the visual effects that can be slowing down your computer. There are many visual effects in the Windows operating system that use up computer resources. It is better to disable these effects if you need more speed and less looks. Choose the Adjust for best performance option in your system Performance Settings.
Close Background Programs
Kill background processes that operate in the taskbar. Background processes consume the computer’s resources. Right-click on the icons in the taskbar. Kill all the unnecessary programs. Determine what applications are opened at startup. Having too many background processes results in serious slowdowns. A minimal number of background processes guarantees fast performance.
Check Temperature
Check the temperature of your laptop in case it overheats, which is the reason why your laptop slows down. Overheating causes slowing down of laptops. Use special software to check it. When temperatures are higher than eighty-five degrees, it means it is too hot. Dust causes overheating and slowing down. Use compressed air to remove dust from the vents. Cool laptops work faster and last longer.
Seek Professional Help
Take your laptop to the experts for testing. Experts have the ability to find out any problems that may remain hidden. Experts have the means to test all components of your computer. There are cases when slowness requires the help of experts. Experts know how to upgrade computer hardware.
Make Your Laptop Fast Again
The slow performance of the laptop can be frustrating for users, but most of the time the problem is usually easily fixable. We discussed some helpful tips that you can use to make your laptop faster. Start with simple to more complex solutions.
Most slow laptops can be sped up without spending money on new hardware.