10 Simple Ways to Speed Up Your Laptop or PC
In today's world, laptops and PCs have become a part and parcel of our daily lives. We use them for various purposes, including work, entertainment, communication, and more. However, over time, our devices can become slow and sluggish, affecting our productivity and experience. Here are ten tips to make your laptop or PC faster:
How to Make Your Laptop or PC Faster
- Remove Unnecessary Programs
Over time, we tend to accumulate unnecessary programs that take up valuable space on our devices. These programs not only occupy storage space but also consume memory and CPU resources. It is important to remove such programs regularly to free up resources and speed up your device.
Steps to remove unnecessary programs from your PC
- Open the Control Panel: Click on the Start menu and select Control Panel. Alternatively, you can search for Control Panel in the search bar.
- Navigate to Programs and Features: In the Control Panel, select Programs and Features. This will display a list of all programs installed on your PC.
- Identify Unnecessary Programs: Go through the list of installed programs and identify the ones that you don't use or need. This can include trial versions of software, pre-installed programs, or programs that you installed but no longer use.
- Uninstall Unnecessary Programs: To uninstall a program, select it from the list and click on Uninstall. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation process. Some programs may require you to restart your PC after uninstalling.
- Repeat the Process: Repeat the process for all unnecessary programs that you identified. This will free up valuable storage space and reduce clutter on your PC.
- Clean Your System Files
System files such as temporary files, log files, and caches can accumulate over time and slow down your device. Use a system cleaning tool to remove such files periodically to free up space and boost performance.
Many programs start automatically when you turn on your device, slowing down your boot time and consuming resources. Disable unnecessary startup programs to speed up your boot time and improve performance.
Disabling unnecessary startup programs is an important step to improve your PC's boot time and performance.
Image Source: isumsoft
Here are the steps to disable startup programs on your PC:
Open the Task Manager: Right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager. Alternatively, you can search for Task Manager in the search bar.
Go to the Startup Tab: In the Task Manager, go to the Startup tab. This will display a list of all programs that start automatically when you turn on your PC.
Identify Unnecessary Startup Programs: Go through the list of startup programs and identify the ones that you don't need to start automatically. This can include programs that you rarely use, or programs that you can start manually when needed.
Disable Unnecessary Startup Programs: To disable a startup program, select it from the list and click on the Disable button. This will prevent the program from starting automatically when you turn on your PC.
- Upgrade Your RAM
If your device is running slow, it may be due to insufficient RAM. Upgrading your RAM can improve your device's performance significantly, especially when running memory-intensive applications such as video editing software or games.
- Use an SSD
Upgrading your hard drive to a solid-state drive (SSD) can improve your device's performance significantly. An SSD can access data much faster than a traditional hard drive, reducing loading times and improving overall performance.
Remove Malware
Malware such as viruses, spyware, and adware can slow down your device and compromise your security. Use a reputable antivirus program to scan and remove any malware on your device.
- Defragment Your Hard Drive
Over time, the data on your hard drive can become fragmented, slowing down your device. Defragmenting your hard drive can organize your data and speed up your device's performance.
- Adjust Visual Effects
Windows and other operating systems come with various visual effects that can slow down your device. Disabling or reducing such effects can improve your device's performance significantly.
Adjusting visual effects on your PC can improve its performance by reducing the amount of resources used by the graphics card and CPU. Here are the steps to adjust visual effects on your PC:
- Open System Properties: Right-click on This PC (or My Computer) and select Properties. Alternatively, you can search for System Properties in the search bar.
- Go to Advanced System Settings: In the System Properties window, click on Advanced System Settings. This will open the System Properties dialog box.
- Go to Performance Settings: In the System Properties dialog box, click on the Settings button under the Performance section. This will open the Performance Options dialog box.
- Adjust Visual Effects: In the Performance Options dialog box, you can adjust the visual effects by selecting one of the options under Visual Effects. The options include:
Let Windows choose what's best for my computer (recommended)
Adjust for best performance
Selecting Adjust for best performance will disable most visual effects, while selecting Adjust for best appearance will enable all visual effects. Selecting Let Windows choose what's best for my computer will allow Windows to automatically adjust visual effects based on your PC's performance.
- Apply Changes: After selecting the desired option, click on Apply and then OK to apply the changes.
- Keep Your Device Updated
Regularly updating your operating system, drivers, and software can improve your device's performance and security. Updates often include performance improvements, bug fixes, and security patches.
- Use Cloud Storage
Storing large files on your device can slow down its performance. Using cloud storage services such as Google Drive or Dropbox can free up space on your device and improve its performance.
