Does your laptop take forever to load programs? You crave that ultra-fast speed your laptop possessed in its good old days. Not to mention, working on a slower laptop frustrates you more than anything. Well, there are many reasons why my laptop is slow on Windows 10. Typically, laptop slowdowns are the result of a lack of memory or storage, too many startup programs, viruses, and more. Fortunately, there’s always a way to speed up laptops if there has been no major issues. Let’s take a look at why your laptop is slow and how you can improve Laptop Performance.
Common Reasons for Laptop Slowdowns
Before you dive into how to speed up Windows 11 laptop devices, let’s check out the causes of why your computer might be slowing down.
- Too many background programs
- Lack of space on the hard drive
- Too many startup programs
- Inadequate RAM
- Software conflicts
- Fragmented hard disk
- Outdated device drivers
- Pending software or firmware updates
- Advanced visual effects
- Malicious attacks
Anything from the above reasons might be responsible for your laptop’s dead slow performance. Your laptop might struggle while booting up its operating system or take longer to load even basic programs or applications.
Solutions to Improve Laptop Performance
Are you looking for ‘how to make my laptop faster with Windows 10’? Here are some software and hardware solutions that you can use to speed up laptops regardless of their operating systems and architectures. Let’s get started, shall we?
1. Close Resource-Heavy Programs
Are you running too many applications or programs on your laptop? They can strain your laptop’s processing power, and this will affect the computer’s performance. Some programs are designed to consume few resources. Whereas others might use too much processing and memory power even when they are idle.
The first step for how to speed up laptops requires determining which programs use the most resources on your PC. And here’s how you do it: close unnecessary programs.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete simultaneously.
- Then, navigate to Task Manager and select it.
- Once the Task Manager window opens, go to the Processes tab. You can click on every process to see how much memory, disk, and CPU each one uses.
- Next, you can close programs that you are not currently using. This will reallocate resources to necessary programs.
2. Uninstall Software You Barely Use
Do you use each application installed on your laptop? We are afraid that you don’t. Also, your laptop may have some pre-installed applications. These applications can generate unnecessary files, and they are enough to slow down your computer.
Additionally, these applications may run automatically once your laptop starts up. This can slow down your laptop as well. So, you can consider removing such unnecessary software to speed up laptops of any age.
- First, click the Start or Windows button.
- After that, access the All Apps menu to get a list of all the applications your laptop repair dubai. There you will come across those apps too that you haven’t downloaded.
- Now, identify those apps that you no longer need. Right-click on every application to view the options.
- Finally, click on Uninstall and follow the on-screen instructions.
3. Make Space in Local Disk
Before you think of a laptop SSD upgrade, try freeing up space in the local disk to improve your laptop’s performance. Typically, laptops tend to slow down due to no or little space available in their hard disk. Hard drives need empty space to double up as virtual memory.
When RAM gets overflowed, the free space of the hard drive automatically handles the upcoming tasks. This is called memory swapping. Since your hard drive is almost full, your laptop’s speed and performance are compromised.
So, you can delete large files and unnecessary programs from your computer’s local disk C. If you are not comfortable with deleting anything, you can transfer those files to an external hard drive or cloud storage.
In addition, check out how you can free up or extend space in Local Disk C or whatever you have named it:
- Go to Windows Search.
- Type ‘computer management’ and select the same.
- From the left pane, choose Disk Management under Storage.
- Right-click a volume and see if it has an option called “Extend Volume.” Select “Extend Volume” if it is available.
4. Limit Startup Programs
You wonder why my laptop is slow on Windows 10, especially during the boot-up process. Well, during startup, laptops run the selected startup programs in the background. The more startup programs it has, the longer it might take to boot up. Indeed, the situation can worsen over time.
However, you can limit startup programs at any time if you want to be on the safe side. Here’s how you can prevent programs from starting automatically and improve laptop performance.
- Open Task Manager on your Windows laptop.
- Next, go to the Startup tab.
- Now, right-click on any startup item that you want to prevent from starting automatically.
- Finally, choose Disable.
Make sure you repeat the steps for all the startup items that you don’t want to start automatically. Now, restart your computer to see if your device runs faster this time.
5. Erase Temp Files
How do I make my laptop faster on Windows 10? Well, professionals from a laptop repair near me recommend deleting temporary files to speed up laptops. When you use intensive graphics, media, or video editing software, etc., your PC automatically creates temporary files. These files consume enough space in your system, leading to major slowdowns.
Here’s how you can steer clear of temp files:
- Press the Windows and R keys at the same time.
- A Run dialogue box will appear. There you type ‘%temp%’.
- Next, click on OK.
- A window of temporary files will show up.
- Now, press Ctrl + A followed by Shift + Delete.
- Finally, hit the Yes button.
6. Defragment Your Hard Disk Drive
Is your laptop too old? Then, chances are that your laptop still uses a hard disk drive or HDD. The problem with HDDs is that they can be fragmented, and it makes the data read/write troublesome. Consequently, you will face a delay in accessing files.
So, try defragmenting your laptop’s hard drive if it’s an HDD. Here’s what you can follow:
- Start by clicking the Windows icon.
- Then, explore the Control Panel.
- Open up System and Security.
- Click on ‘Defragment your hard drive’ under Administrative Tools.
- After that, choose Analyze Disk. Soon, you will get a report that will mention whether you need to defrag the hard disk.
- Click on Defragment Disk if you want to proceed with a manual defragmentation process.
7. Clean Your Laptop
Over time, dust and debris can accumulate on your laptop’s fan and vents. This can obstruct your laptop’s airflow and lead to overheating. Due to overheating, your laptop might act slower to minimize the negative impact. The system tries to cool things by slowing down the improve laptop performance.
So, cleaning the laptop might help it manage overheating. How do you clean a laptop, by the way? Take a clean and dry cloth to gently wipe off the screen, keyboard, and chassis. Also, you can use canned or compressed air to blow dust and dirt out of the fan vents.
Make sure you use short bursts of air so that you don’t damage the fans. In addition, elevate your laptop to make heat dissipation faster. Invest in a cooling pad if your gaming laptop throttles due to heat dissipation.
8. Manage Your Web Browser
Does your laptop slow down, especially when you access a web browser? Then, you need to optimize the web browser to speed up your laptop. Updating the web browser to its latest version might help you. So, check out the web browser’s About section from its menu. The same option may show you if there are any updates available.
Furthermore, too many extensions and add-ons can make your web browsing experience painful. Hence, check out the menu named Extensions or Add-ons to remove any unwanted extensions or add-ons.
9. Upgrade Your Storage
Why is my laptop slow on Windows 10—unfortunately, software fixes are not enough when your laptop’s hardware can’t keep pace with the requirements? Storage is one of the pillars of your computer hardware. And it plays an important part when it comes to your computer’s speed and performance.
If your laptop still uses an HDD, consider a laptop SSD upgrade. An SSD can automatically make your laptop faster by 6 times. Even if your laptop has an SSD, see if you can upgrade its capacity. Check out whether your laptop allows an SSD upgrade, especially when you get warnings about full storage.
Find out how much storage is left:
- Hit the Windows button.
- Then, navigate to Settings.
- Choose System and select Storage.
10. Check on Your Laptop’s Memory
Still looking for how to speed up a laptop in Windows 11? Your laptop’s performance depends on its RAM. If your laptop lacks sufficient RAM or memory, then the computer will struggle to complete basic tasks. You can keep your laptop multitasking by adding more RAM.
Before a laptop RAM upgrade, check how much RAM your laptop has or supports:
- First of all, open Task Manager.
- Afterwards, go to the Performance tab and access the Memory window.
Consult a technician to learn whether a RAM upgrade can help your laptop speed up.
Remember to Restart or Shut Down Your Laptop
This might sound silly, but it helps. Ensure you restart or shut down your laptop regularly. It boosts your laptop performance to a great extent. How to make my laptop faster Windows 10—if you are still struggling with this, contact a laptop repair shop near me. The professionals know how to clean up a laptop, repair or replace outdated hardware, and even get rid of malware.