As your computer ages, fragments of temporary files will accumulate, which can overload your hard drive. After enough time has passed, you can see a significant difference in the processing speed of the computer. While you can't completely prevent or prevent computer sluggishness due to age, you can try a number of things to increase your computer's processing speed and startup time.
Step
Part 1 of 5: Disabling Startup Programs
Step 1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del keys
After that, the PC job menu will be displayed. If you have multiple programs running when your computer starts up, you may experience a few minutes of overall performance lag. This problem can be solved by disabling preloaded programs.
Step 2. Click the “Task Manager” option
After that, the Task Manager program will be opened. From the program, you can change or end processes on your computer.
Step 3. Click the "Startup" tab
This tab is at the top of the Task Manager window. After that, a list of programs that are loaded when the computer starts will be displayed.
Step 4. Click the process you want to disable
Keep in mind that "deactivating" a process doesn't necessarily kill it completely. This process actually just prevents the program from running automatically.
Step 5. Click the "Disable" button
It's in the lower-right corner of the Task Manager window.
You can also right-click the process and select "Disable" from the context menu
Step 6. Repeat this deactivation process for all relevant programs
Some programs that generally take up a lot of memory are Skype and Steam.
- If you don't know which program to disable, take a look at the "Startup impact" column on the right side of the Task Manager window. In general, you need to disable programs with a "High" or "Medium" level.
- You are advised not to turn off the antivirus. Otherwise, the antivirus program will not start up so that the computer does not get protection from viruses.
Step 7. Close the Task Manager program window when finished
To maximize the process, you also need to clear the “Hidden Icons” menu.
Step 8. Open the "Hidden Icons" menu
This menu is an upward-pointing arrow icon on the right side of the workbar, to the left of the clock. Click or touch the menu to open it.
Step 9. Review the “Hidden Icons” menu
Usually you can find background processes that are still running in this menu (eg Dropbox or Google Drive). By turning off this process, you can free up random access memory (RAM), which can increase the computer's processing speed. You can end these processes through this menu.
Step 10. Right-click the process you want to stop
For example, if you are not currently using a cloud storage application, you can end the application process.
Step 11. Click "Exit" at the bottom of the context menu
Usually you will be asked to confirm your selection by clicking " Exit (Application Name) ". You need to repeat this process for each process you want to end.
Part 2 of 5: Enabling Fast Startup on Windows 10
Step 1. Open the Control Panel program
Search for the program using the search bar in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Fast startup is a new feature in Windows 10 that speeds up the initial loading time of the computer
Step 2. Click "Power Options"
Step 3. Click "Choose what the power buttons do"
Step 4. Click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable“
Step 5. Scroll to the “Shutdown settings” page and check the “Turn on fast startup” option
Step 6. Click the “Save Changes” button to save the changes
Part 3 of 5: Turning Off Visual Effects
Step 1. Open the Start menu
It's in the lower-left corner of the screen. Visual effects in Windows 8 and 10 are designed for fairly new machines or computers. If you upgrade your computer's operating system to one of these operating systems on a fairly old computer, it is possible that you will experience slow performance on your computer. By turning off visual effects, you can speed up the process on your computer.
You can also touch the Win key to open the Start menu
Step 2. Open the "Control Panel" program
You can access it by typing "control panel" in the Start menu search bar or manually opening Control Panel from the "Windows System" folder at the bottom of the Start menu.
Step 3. Type "Adjust the appearance" into the Control Panel search bar
The search bar is in the upper-right corner of the Control Panel program window.
Step 4. Click "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows"
It's at the top of the "System" group of options, on the left side of the Control Panel window.
Step 5. Review the active visual effects on the computer
You have several options on this menu:
- “Adjust for best appearance” – This option will enable all visual effects. This option is the opposite of what it should do.
- “Adjust for best performance” – This option will turn off many visual effects in Windows so that it can speed up computer performance.
- “Custom” – Uncheck the boxes next to each feature you want to turn off. For optimal performance on older computers, turn off every feature.
Step 6. Click the option that best suits the condition of the computer
For older computers, it is best to use the “Custom” option to turn off all visual effects. Meanwhile, the "Adjust for best performance" option is more appropriate for most mid-level computers.
Step 7. Exit the “Performance Options” window
You may notice a decrease in presentation quality on the computer. However, the speed of the process will increase.
Part 4 of 5: Empty Hard Disk
Step 1. Open the Start menu
It's in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 2. Type "disk cleanup" into the search menu
After that, you can see the apps at the top of the Start screen.
Step 3. Click the “Disk Cleanup” application
Disk Cleanup is standard on all Windows computers. This program can delete temporary files, processes, and other small information that slows down the computer's processing speed.
Step 4. Check each box under the "Files to Delete" heading
After that, the following contents will be removed from the computer's cache:
- Downloaded program files
- Temporary internet files
- Content dumped into the Recycle Bin
- Temporary files
- Snippet icons (thumbnails)
- You may also see several other options, depending on the default apps installed on the device. You can safely tick any box on this menu so you can check the other options.
Step 5. Click "OK", then confirm the selection by clicking the "Delete Files" button
After that, the temporary files on the computer will be deleted. If you don't do "cleaning" often, you may find temporary files and the like that accumulate to several gigabytes.
Step 6. Reopen the Start menu, then type "defrag" into the search bar
After that, the computer will search for a disk defragmentation program on the computer.
Step 7. Click the “Defragment and Optimize Drives” option
It's at the top of the Start menu. When a hard drive has been in use for a long time, its subfolders and their contents can be “scattered” across each disk space (in other words, a “fragmented” hard disk). By running the Disk Defragment tool, you can combine these files and fragments so that the speed of the hard disk to access information can be increased.
Do not run the Disk Defragment program if the computer has a solid-state drive. SSDs are designed to withstand fragmentation so disk defragmentation can damage existing files
Step 8. Select the primary disk in the Defrag program window
This disc is usually labeled "OS:C".
Step 9. Click "Optimize"
After that, the disk defragmentation will be performed. This process can take a few minutes to several hours, depending on the last time the defragmentation was performed.
Step 10. Try moving the files to an external storage space
The hard disk accesses the first half of the storage space faster than the last half. For example, if you have a 500 gigabyte hard drive, the first 250 gigabytes of information stored can be accessed more quickly. If you use the first half of the hard disk capacity, the computer's performance degradation can be significantly reduced. The best way to use the first half is to increase the capacity of the hard disk using a fast drive or external hard disk.
You can also move files to one of the free internet storage services (eg Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox)
Part 5 of 5: Removing Unnecessary Programs
Step 1. Open the Start menu
You can view all the programs and applications on your computer through the Start menu. Just swipe the screen to see all the programs.
You can also view the folders in this menu. Usually these folders contain more applications. You can click on a folder to view its contents
Step 2. Specify the apps you want to remove
In general, applications such as "News" or radio applications embedded in the operating system are completely unnecessary (and can easily be replaced with better programs or online add-ons).
If an existing application is critical to the functionality of the computer, you cannot remove it. However, most of the mandatory apps consume very little processing power
Step 3. Right-click the app you want to remove
After that, a context menu will be displayed.
Step 4. Click "Uninstall", then confirm the selection
After that, the selected application or program will be deleted immediately so you don't need to visit the "Programs and Features" folder.
You may need to click the "More" option at the bottom of the context menu to access the "Uninstall" option
Step 5. Delete unused apps
Most Windows computers come with a variety of built-in applications, add-ons, programs, and free trial services. You can delete these contents from your computer.
Step 6. Try installing a replacement program
For every installed default application, there is at least one alternative program that can be used:
- Replace Microsoft Edge with Chrome or Firefox. Both of these browsers can be a faster and easier to use Edge alternative.
- Replace "Groove" with iTunes. Again, you can't uninstall the Groove program, but it does take up more processing power than iTunes.
- Replace the main video player with VLC. VLC can play almost all video formats and has a simpler and cleaner interface than Microsoft's built-in video player, resulting in better processing speed.
Step 7. Restart the computer
After applying all the changes, the computer will run much faster!
Tips
- Adopt good technology habits, such as keeping your computer on and off periodically to significantly increase device durability and processing speed.
- You should also run a security check at least once a week using an antivirus security program. With this program, advertising devices or malware will not interfere with computer processes.
- Make sure the computer is running in high-performance mode. If you use " Power Saver " mode or similar, you may notice a decrease in processing speed when using high-performance apps and games. You can mark this mode by clicking on the battery icon on the right side of the workbar.
- If your computer is more than a few years old, you will have a hard time switching to a new operating system (eg Windows 10). New operating system versions are generally optimized for the latest technology on the market, not computers that are three or four years old.
- While not technically a "physical" part of your computer, clearing your browser's cache and cookies can increase web browsing speed.
