How to Speed up a Slow Windows Laptop
By: RebootPoint_employee | Published: October 12, 2023
A slow laptop can be frustrating and interfere with your work, but there are certain settings you can adjust to improve the speed and general performance of your laptop. We’ve compiled a list of things you should do to improve the performance of your Windows laptop.
- Check for updates
- Remove visual effects
- Change battery or CPU settings
- Uninstall files and programs
- Scan for viruses
- Deactivate useless tasks
- Upgrade your RAM
- Upgrade to SSD
- Clean the fans
- Programs might still be running the background
- Check your internet connection
- Use Edge instead of Chrome
- If these tips didn’t work
Check for updates
All electronic devices need to be updated since there are always new programs and software to improve performance or upgrade the overall system. It’s possible that your laptop is slowing down due to old drivers, so you’ll have to update them to the newest version. A few approaches can be taken to accomplish this.
Remove visual effects
How we use our laptops depends heavily on personalization. In order to improve the user experience. Windows offers various visual effects and animations to enhance the user experience, but these eye-catching features can sometimes come at the cost of performance. Disabling unnecessary visual effects could help you get a laptop that is faster and more responsive. What you can do is as follows:
Go to Windows Settings, choose “System,” and then pick “Advanced system settings” from the left-hand sidebar. Select the “Advanced” tab and then click the “Settings” button in the “Performance” section of the “System Properties” box that emerges.
The “Performance Options” box will open and present you with a menu of visual effect choices. All visual effects can be enabled by default in Windows when the “Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer” option is chosen.
Choose the “Adjust for best performance” option to maximize performance. This will make your laptop run quicker by turning off the majority of visual effects and animations.
Change battery or CPU settings
Your computer can be put in power saver mode which saves battery but makes your computer slow by lowering CPU usage. This can be fixed by changing your configurations to ”High power mode” which will make your laptop faster but will also require more battery power. This is a viable option if your laptop has a good battery that can last for longer amounts of time.
Battery Management:
Windows laptops often provide a variety of power plans, including Balanced, Power Saver, and High Performance. The performance of your laptop can potentially be affected by selecting the proper power plan. Right-click on the battery icon in the system tray located in the bottom-right corner of your screen and open up “Power & Battery”. This window will give you a ton of options and information regarding your battery.
Balanced: For the majority of users, a balanced power plan balances performance and power usage.
High Performance: This strategy enhances the performance of your laptop at the cost of battery life. For demanding jobs like gaming or video editing, it’s perfect.
Power Saver: When performance is not as important, the Power Saver plan can help extend the battery life of laptops.
Processor Power Management:
You can control the performance and power consumption of your computer’s central processor unit (CPU) with Windows’ Processor Power Management feature. Users of laptops should pay special attention to these settings since they can greatly affect battery life.
- To access the settings menu, click the Windows Start button and then choose “Settings.”
- In the Settings panel, select “System.”
- On the left sidebar of the System menu, select “Power & Sleep.”
- “Additional power settings” can be found under “Related Settings.” Select this page.
- You can pick from a range of power plans, such as Balanced, Power Saver, and High Performance. To configure a power plan, click on it.
- You have the option to “Change plan settings” in the Power Options box. To access advanced options, click here.
- Expand the “Processor power management” area to discover settings for managing the power consumption of your CPU.
Minimum Processor State: You can alter the minimum processor state to stop the CPU from operating at maximum power when it is not required. This level can be lowered to save energy and lessen the production of heat.
Maximum Processor State: Similar to the lowest state, you can raise the maximum state of the CPU to a higher power and heat output. Doing this will result in your CPU being able to operate at a higher processing state.
Uninstall files and programs
It is true that having a large number of files and apps on your laptop can result in poorer performance. You can increase the speed of your laptop and free up important storage space by deleting unwanted programs and unnecessary data. Whether you have a MacBook or a Windows laptop, deleting files and uninstalling programs is a rather simple operation.
Access “Control Panel”:
- Open the “Start” menu by clicking the Windows icon in the taskbar.
- Type “Control Panel” in the search bar and press “Enter.”
- In the Control Panel, click on “Uninstall a program” under the “Programs” section.
- This window will also show you how much storage a program is using.
Scan for viruses
Malware and viruses are common problems that many of us have encountered. When you download strange programs from the internet or visit shady websites, your laptop can be infected with these viruses. A tip would be to install an antivirus program that will scan your computer for unwanted bugs and remove them. Antivirus programs help you remove viruses and bugs for free or at a low cost.
However, it is wise to choose a popular antivirus program that can actually help you with the problem that you are facing since viruses are relatively dangerous for your laptop if not removed.
Deactivate useless tasks
You can speed up your laptop by lowering the resolution, refreshing it faster, and utilizing Task Manager’s features. For example, the HP Spectre x360 laptop uses a 4K screen, which looks amazing but drains the battery life and uses more power than usual. Your laptop’s speed will be improved as well as the battery life if you lower your resolution to 1080p to reduce the load on your laptop.
Animations and graphics
- System performance can be enhanced by lowering or turning off visual effects and animations. To make these changes:
- Right-click “This PC” or “My Computer” and choose “Properties.”
- Select “Advanced system settings.“
- Go to the “Performance” section and choose “Settings.”
- Select from a variety of visual effects or “Adjust for best performance” for a simple look.
Upgrade your RAM
In order to speed up your laptop, you should consider upgrading its RAM if it is expandable or replaceable. Multitasking on your laptop will be improved if you have more RAM. You can also improve the overall performance of your laptop by expanding your RAM since RAM allows it to run most of the tasks it performs every day, such as browsing the web, loading programs, etc.
Upgrade to SSD
If you have an older laptop that can’t process as rapidly as you’d like and just can’t attain the performance you require, switching your storage from HDD to SSD could be your saving grace. Some SSD alternatives to HDDs in the same price range perform multiple times better and enhance performance significantly more than a standard HDD. An SSD storage device will take up less space, produce no noise, and improve performance.
Clean the fans
If your laptop has fans inside and you’ve noticed that they aren’t operating as well as they used to because your laptop is getting hot and won’t cool down, this could indicate that dust has accumulated and is restricting ventilation. When you use several apps and tasks on your laptop, it tends to get hot, which can slow down performance and overheat the internal components. This is why you need a good cooling system to ensure that no dust is clogging any vents or apertures. You can, for example, open up the back of your laptop and clean the fans, or you could also install a better laptop cooler.
Programs might still be running the background
If you’re done with whatever application you’re on and close the window, there’s a good chance the software is still running in the background. This may not seem like a major concern, but if you have numerous programs running in the background, it may have a significant impact on your laptop. Not just Google Chrome, but many other programs continue to operate in the background in order to collect data and personal information, and when there are many other programs running, the laptop will slow down.
Task Manager: Search for “Task Manager” in the Windows search bar → Go to the “Processes” or “Details” tab (depending on your Windows version) in the Task Manager window → A list of all currently active processes, including background programs, is displayed here. To find the processes that use a lot of resources, you may sort them according to CPU, memory, or other factors → A background process can be stopped by selecting it and choosing “End Task” or “End Process.”
Check your internet connection
Sluggish loading rates could also be caused by a slow internet connection, which can influence the laptop’s performance. It is possible to have your WiFi router far away or close to you, as the connection normally improves as you move your laptop closer. You can also use Ethernet cables, which can significantly boost your internet speeds by connecting to the Wi-Fi router via a wired connection. Although there are few laptops that use an Ethernet port nowadays.
Speed Test: Use a speed testing website such as Fast.com or Ookla’s Speedtest (speedtest.net). These programs gauge the download and upload speeds of your internet connection. For the majority of activities, a decent internet connection generally provides download rates of at least 25 Mbps (megabits per second). Although they may vary, upload speeds must be less than your download speed.
Check other devices: Make sure the network connection is strong on all of the devices you have linked. If some devices encounter problems while others do not, the issue may be local or device-specific.
Use Edge instead of Chrome
The efficient use of system resources is a crucial factor when it comes to browsing the internet, and the choice of the web browser can significantly impact the overall performance of your computer. Microsoft Edge, a browser developed by Microsoft, has gained recognition for its ability to consume less RAM compared to Google Chrome, offering users a smoother and more efficient browsing experience.
Better battery life: Microsoft Edge also has good battery efficiency. Because of its low power requirements, it is a viable option for laptops and other portable devices. When compared to Chrome, this may result in a longer battery life, especially when exploring the web.
If these tips didn’t work
These tips and methods may not boost the speed of your slow laptop, and sometimes the best option is to replace it with a new one. Every year, new software and programs are produced, demanding additional storage and processing power. Sometimes outdated models simply cannot keep up with the changing requirements of today’s technology, and finding another laptop for the correct price may be difficult, but it will be worthwhile in the long run.