Windows PCs are not required to slow down over time. There might be a number of causes for your PC’s slowness, whether it has steadily gotten slower or it suddenly came to a standstill a few minutes ago.
If something isn’t working properly, like with any PC difficulties, don’t be scared to reboot your computer. This can solve a variety of problems and is faster than attempting to troubleshoot and repair the problem manually.
Locate Resource-Hungry Programs
Your computer is running slowly because something is using those resources. A runaway process, for example, maybe take 99 percent of your CPU resources if it suddenly becomes slower. Alternatively, a program may have a memory leak and be utilizing a big amount of memory, forcing your PC to switch to disk. Alternatively, one application may be heavily consuming the disk, causing other apps to slow down when they need to load or save data from the drive.
Open the Task Manager to find out. To access it, right-click your taskbar and select “Task Manager,” or press Ctrl+Shift+Escape. The new Task Manager in Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 has an improved UI that color-codes apps that use a lot of resources. To order the list by the apps that use the greatest resources, click the “CPU,” “Memory,” and “Disk” headers. If any program is consuming excessive resources, you should terminate it naturally – if you can’t, pick it here and click “End Task” to force it to close.
Close Programs in the System Tray
Many apps run on the system tray, often known as the notification area. These programs frequently open at startup and operate in the background, but they are concealed behind the up arrow symbol in the bottom-right corner of your screen. To free up resources, click the up arrow symbol on the system tray, right-click any apps you don’t require running in the background, and shut them.
Deactivate Startup Programs
Better still, prohibit certain programs from starting up at all to conserve memory and CPU cycles while also speeding up the login process.
In Windows 8, 8.1, and 10, the Task Manager now includes a startup manager that you may use to manage your starting apps. To access it, right-click the taskbar and select “Task Manager,” or press Ctrl+Shift+Escape. Navigate to the Startup tab and deactivate any startup apps that you do not require. Windows will inform you which apps are slowing down your starting process the most.
Animations should be reduced
Windows makes extensive use of animations, which might cause your computer to appear to be slower. For example, if you eliminate the accompanying animations, Windows may rapidly shrink and maximize windows.
To turn off animations, hit Windows Key + X or right-click the Start button and pick “System.” On the left, click “Advanced System Settings,” and then click the “Settings” option under Performance. Under Visual Effects, pick “Adjust for optimal performance” to deactivate all animations, or “Custom” to disable certain animations you don’t want to see. Uncheck “Animate windows while minimizing and maximizing,” for example, to deactivate the minimize and maximize animations.
Lighten Up Your Browser
Because you probably use your web browser frequently, it may be a little sluggish. It’s best to use as few browser extensions, or add-ons, as possible because they slow down your browser and cause it to consume more RAM.
Remove unnecessary add-ons from your web browser’s Extensions or Add-ons management. You should also think about allowing plug-ins with click-to-play functionality. By preventing Flash and other material from loading, you may keep irrelevant Flash content from using CPU time.
Examine your computer for malware and adware
Your computer may also be slow because dangerous malware is slowing it down and operating in the background. This might be software that interferes with your online browsing in order to track it and provide more adverts, for example.
To be extra safe, run an antivirus application on your computer. You should also scan it using Malwarebytes, which detects a large number of “potentially unwanted applications” (PUPs) that typical antivirus software ignores. When you install other software, these apps try to sneak into your computer, and you almost definitely don’t want them.
Make More Disk Space
Your computer may perform substantially slower if your hard disk is nearly full. You should give your computer enough space to work on your hard disk. To make more room on your Windows PC, follow this advice to clear up space. You don’t need any third-party software; simply running Windows’ Disk Cleanup program might assist a lot.
Your Hard Disk Should Be Defragmented
On newer versions of Windows, defragmenting your hard disk should not be essential. In the background, it will defragment mechanical hard disks. Traditional defragmentation is unnecessary for solid-state disks, while recent versions of Windows will “optimize” them, which is OK.
Most of the time, you shouldn’t be concerned about defragmentation. However, if you have a mechanical hard drive and have just copied a large number of files to it — for example, copying a large database or gigabytes of PC gaming files – those files may be defragmented since Windows hasn’t yet defragmented them. In this case, you should launch the disk defragmenter tool and run a scan.
Uninstall Any Programs You Aren’t Using
Open the Control Panel, navigate to the list of installed applications, and remove any apps that you no longer use or require on your PC. This can help your PC speed up since such apps may contain background processes, autostart entries, system services, context menu items, and other things that might slow down your PC. It will also save up space on your hard drive and increase system security – for example, if you’re not using Java, you shouldn’t have it installed.
Reinstall Windows / Reset Your Computer
If none of the other solutions listed worked, the one constant answer to Windows problems – aside from rebooting your PC, of course — is a fresh Windows installation.
It’s easier than ever to acquire a new Windows installation on recent versions of Windows, such as Windows 8, 8.1, and 10. You are not required to obtain a Windows installation disk and reinstall Windows. Instead, you may simply utilize Windows’ “Reset your PC” option to acquire a new, clean Windows system. This is comparable to reinstalling Windows in that it will remove all installed apps and system settings while retaining your data.
If your PC still has a mechanical hard drive, upgrading to a solid-state drive — or simply ensuring your future PC has an SSD — will provide a significant speed boost. In an age when most people will not notice better CPUs and graphics processors, solid-state storage will provide the single greatest gain in total system performance for the majority of people.