This wikiHow teaches you how to improve the performance of a laptop based on the Windows, macOS, or Chrome OS (operating system for Chromebook laptops) operating systems.
Step
Method 1 of 3: For Windows
Step 1. Open Control Panel
One of the easiest ways to improve laptop performance is to remove old programs that you no longer use. You can remove it from Control Panel.
- For Windows 8 and Windows 10 - Right click the Start button and click Control Panel option.
- Windows 7 and earlier Windows (Windows Vista, Windows XP, etc.) - Click the Start button and select the Control Panel option.
Step 2. Click the Programs and Features option
If you don't see this option, click the "Uninstall a program" option.
Step 3. Look for programs that are no longer in use
After opening the "Uninstall a program" menu, you will see a list of programs installed on your laptop. If there are programs that you no longer use, you can delete them to increase the free hard disk space (hard drive) and improve laptop performance.
- If you don't know the function of the program you want to remove, look for the name and publisher of the program on a search engine such as Google.
- Be careful when considering the program you want to remove. Some programs or hardware (hardware) may require other programs to work properly. However, removing a program from the program list will not stop your laptop from working.
Step 4. Highlight the desired program and click the Uninstall button
After selecting a program, you will see this button at the top of the window.
Step 5. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to remove the program
This process will vary depending on the program you want to remove. However, in most cases you only need to click a button or two to remove the program.
Step 6. Remove other legacy programs
Look through the list of programs and remove programs that are no longer in use or that are unknown. If you don't know the function of unknown programs, it's best to search the internet for information before deleting them.
Step 7. Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc
This will open the Task Manager window.
Step 8. Click the More details button
This button will appear when the Task Manager enters miniature mode. You will see several tabs at the top of the window when the Task Manager window is enlarged.
Step 9. Click the Startup tab
You will see a list of programs that run automatically when Windows starts. Programs that run automatically when the laptop is turned on are called Startup Programs.
Step 10. Click the Startup impact column
This will sort the list of Startup Programs based on the program that slows down the Windows startup process the most.
Step 11. Highlight the program you want to disable (Disable)
Disabling programs that are in the Startup Programs list prevents them from starting automatically when Windows starts. You can still run the program manually whenever you want. Thus, the feature of running the program automatically when the laptop is turned on is only useful for making it easier to use the laptop.
Step 12. Click the Disable button
This prevents the program from running automatically when the laptop is turned on.
Step 13. Disable other programs
Look at the other programs in the Startup tab and disable any programs that you don't want to run automatically when you turn on your laptop.
Step 14. Return to the Control Panel window
Step 15. Click the System option
If you don't see the System option, click the "System and Security" option and select the "System" option.
Step 16. Click the Advanced system settings option
You can see this option on the left side of the window.
Step 17. Click the Settings option which is in the Performance section
Step 18. Click the Adjust for best performance option and select the Apply button
This will disable all additional visual effects in Windows so that the laptop's performance will increase.
Step 19. Click the Start button
Step 20. Type " disk cleanup " in the search field and press Enter key
This will open the Disk Cleanup program.
Step 21. Click the OK button to select the hard disk
If your laptop has more than one hard drive, the hard drive that contains Windows will be used as the default (default).
Scanning the system with Disk Cleanup may take one to two minutes
Step 22. Check the box for each file you want to delete
Clicking on the file (file) will display a short description.
Step 23. Click the OK button and wait for the file deletion process to complete
Disk Cleanup will start deleting the selected files. This process will take a few moments.
Step 24. Check if your laptop is infected with Malware or not
Viruses and Adware (software that displays advertisements every time your laptop or computer is turned on) can reduce performance and threaten the security of your laptop.
- Use a program like Malwarebytes to scan for Malware and other unwanted programs.
- Use an antivirus program to scan for viruses and Rootkits (programs that help hackers or hackers take control of your computer and laptop).
Step 25. Consider reinstalling the operating system
Formatting your hard drive and reinstalling Windows can significantly improve laptop performance. The downside of this method is that all data stored on the hard disk will be erased and you will have to reinstall all programs.
If you have backed up your data, you can reinstall and restart Windows within an hour
Method 2 of 3: For Mac
Step 1. Click the Go menu from your Desktop
Removing legacy apps is an easy way to free up your hard drive and improve laptop performance. You can find the application in the Applications directory (folder). The directory can be found in the Go menu.
Step 2. Click the Applications option
Step 3. Drag unneeded applications to the Trash (a program that looks like a trash can)
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the app removal process.
Step 4. Remove unneeded files and icons from Desktop
The performance of an older Mac starts to suffer when there are a lot of files and icons on the Desktop. Moving files to other directories and deleting data you no longer need can improve laptop performance.
Step 5. Click the Apple menu
Step 6. Click the System Preferences option
Step 7. Click the Users & Groups option
If you don't see this option, click the button at the top of the window.
Step 8. Click your user account in the list
An active user account will usually be used as the default.
Step 9. Click the Login Items tab
You'll see all the programs that run automatically when your Mac starts up. You can disable these programs to improve laptop performance.
Step 10. Click the program you want to remove from the Startup Programs list
Step 11. Click the - button
This will prevent programs from starting automatically when your Mac is turned on.
Step 12. Remove other unnecessary Startup Programs
You can run the program manually whenever you want and removing the program from Startup Programs won't stop your Mac from working. The fewer programs that run automatically when your Mac is turned on, the faster the laptop will perform.
Step 13. Click the button to return to System Preferences
Step 14. Click the Mission Control option
Step 15. Click the Dashboard drop-down menu and select the Off option
This will disable the Dashboard which is usually rarely used by Mac users. Dashboards have widgets (applications or a collection of interfaces that allow the user to execute certain commands) that consume a lot of hardware RAM memory.
Step 16. Click the Apple menu
Step 17. Click the About This Mac option
Step 18. Click the Storage tab
Step 19. Click the Optimize button
After confirming, your Mac will delete all movies and TV shows on iTunes that you've watched. In addition, attachments (files included in the email) in old emails will be deleted as well. You can re-download the files if you need them.
Step 20. Click the Review Files option
This will list the files that your Mac considers worthy of deletion.
Step 21. Find files that are no longer needed
Examples of files that are no longer needed include installer software and files downloaded from the internet.
You can switch tabs between the Large Files tab and the Downloads tab to quickly find the largest files that are taking up free hard disk space
Step 22. Click the X button next to the file you want to delete
You can also hold down Command and click each file to select multiple files at once. After that, press the Delete key.
Step 23. Click the Go menu and select the Utilities option
Step 24. Double-click the Disk Utility option
Step 25. Click the First Aid button
Step 26. Click the Run option and wait for the scanning process to complete
You will get a warning that the boot volume (the partition on the hard disk where the operating system is located) will temporarily stop working. This prevents you from using any application while the scanning process is in progress.
If the scanning process detects any damage, it will attempt to repair it automatically
Step 27. Consider reinstalling macOS
As a last resort to improve laptop performance, you can try reinstalling the Mac operating system. This will delete all data stored on your laptop. As such, you must ensure that all data is copied and stored in a safe place. Also, you'll need to reinstall all programs after installing the operating system.
When you are ready to remove and reinstall the operating system, you can reinstall the operating system from the Recovery menu
Method 3 of 3: For Chromebooks
Step 1. Close any open tabs that are no longer needed
Basically every open tab is a browser window. Thus, closing tabs that are no longer needed can help improve laptop performance.
Step 2. Click the Menu button
You can find this button in the lower left corner of the screen.
Step 3. Click the Settings option
Step 4. Click the Help tab
Step 5. Click the Update option if the latest update is available
This will install any available system updates. These updates can help improve Chromebook performance.
Step 6. Open Chrome
You can find this program on the taskbar.
Step 7. Type chrome:extensions into the address bar (the text field where people write website addresses)
Step 8. Uncheck the Extensions that are not needed
Running too many Extensions can reduce laptop performance. Disable or delete unused Extensions.
Step 9. Consider restoring your Chromebook to factory settings (factory reset)
This will delete all data stored on the Chromebook. By restoring your Chromebook to factory settings, your laptop will perform just as well as a new laptop. Make sure you make copies of any important data you want to keep.
- Open Chrome.
- Click the button and select the Settings option.
- Scroll down the window and click the Show advanced settings option.
- Scroll down the window again and click on the Powerwash option. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your Chromebook to factory settings.
Tips
- If performance is very important to you and you don't mind the cost, consider installing a Solid-state Drive (SSD). These hard disks have no moving mechanical components. Thus, the hard disk can significantly increase the speed of starting the laptop and loading the operating system. However, Solid-state Drives are more expensive than regular hard drives. Fortunately, the price of these hard disks continues to fall every year.
- Installing faster RAM or having more memory can improve the performance of your laptop. Basically laptops do not have the same flexibility as computers in the installation of RAM or other hardware. Thus, you must maximize the performance of the laptop as best as possible.
