How to Speed up a Windows PC – A Few Simple Tips

There is nothing better than working on a brand new, fresh and clean PC. All the systems and processes are positioned at the starting line, awaiting your order so they can bolt away and complete the task at hand. But as time goes on, your computer’s system and processes develop a few obstacles and hurdles which drastically slows down its performance. Let’s take a look at what could be causing this dip in performance. as well as how to speed up a Windows PC.

How to Speed up a Windows PC

A slow PC could be a result of many different factors. An example of a common problem is installing too many programs. There is nothing wrong at all with trying to make the most out of your PC by installing various types of programs and then multitasking with them. This does, however, take a toll on your PC over time.

If you are experiencing performance issues with your PC, don’t be afraid to tweak things up a little bit to give it a new lease of life. Starting from the most common and easy ways to more complex and technical ways, we are going to take a look at a few ways that you can inject new life into your PC in order to make it run faster. Don’t let your nerves get the better of you when I say ‘complex and technical’. You can still do this on your own. Just follow these step by step guides and learn how to speed up a Windows PC.

Don’t let your nerves get the better of you when I say ‘complex and technical’. You can still do this on your own. Just follow these step by step guides and learn how to speed up a Windows PC.

Restart Regularly

One of the most simple and effective solutions to speed up a Windows PC is to do a system restart. Restarting a PC clears out its memory. This also ensures that any errant processes and services that started running in the background get shut down. This strategy can fix many mysterious performance problems that may be hard to detect.

Run Fewer Programs at Once

We often tend to open up and use more than a few programs at once. An example would be to use Firefox with a whole lot of open tabs, iTunes for music playback, MS Word, and a game like Crossy Road all at the same time.

It is wise to open up only the programs you want to use rather than having too many programs and applications open. Too many running programs will lead to a slow PC which will eventually run low on memory.

Close Programs in the Taskbar and Notification Area

You can usually find programs which run in the taskbar and notification area. They often launch at startup and continue to run in the background. A good example of such an application is Skype. Skype is set to launch on startup by default and usually comes pre-installed on new laptops. Even if you don’t use the app that often, it will still consume a lot of memory.

To close them, click the ‘up arrow icon’ near the taskbar and right-click the application you don’t need running in the background, and close them to free up some resources.

Get Rid of Programs That You Will Never Use

As mentioned earlier, many PCs come with pre-installed programs that you might not want. These unwanted programs may come in the form of trial editions and limited-edition versions of programs meant for marketing purposes by software companies. Keeping these programs when you rarely or never use them slows your PC down by using precious memory, disk space, and processing power.

Keeping these programs when you rarely or never use them slows your PC down by using precious memory, disk space, and processing power.

Besides pre-installed programs, we at times install temporary or trial versions of software which we use only a few times. An example of this is AVG Tuneup which constantly runs in the background, even upon startup. The trial version of this software lasts for 14 days. After this period the software will be deactivated. But will still possibly run in the background. Uninstalling rarely used programs will assist you in making your PC run faster.

Limit the Number of Programs That Run at Startup

As mentioned already, there are plenty of programs that startup (auto-start) when you boot up your PC. These programs open up and run out of sight, in the background. This is helpful for programs that you frequently use, but not so for those that you may rarely ever use. For a comprehensive overview of all the programs that run automatically at startup, you can make use of a program called AutoRuns for Windows.

Autoruns is a free tool that you can download from Microsoft which highlights all of the auto-starting programs that run when you start Windows. To stop a program from running automatically, open AutoRuns for Windows, and clear the checkbox next to the name of the program you want to stop. This will disable the program’s auto-start function which will then free up some memory and resources.

Clean up Your Hard Disk

As you use your PC, unnecessary files will start to build up on your hard disk. These files can be small things like broken shortcuts to file remnants from downloaded programs. This takes up disk space which ultimately slows down your computer.

In this case, it is advisable to use low memory utility programs like CleanMyPC to remove temporary files. A program like this will also allow you to empty the Recycle Bin and remove a variety of system files that are no longer used by the system.

Utilize the Performance Troubleshooter

There’s a way of automatically finding and fixing problems through the use of the Performance Troubleshooter. It checks issues that might slow down your PC’s performance. Some of those issues can be things like the number of users who are currently logged into the computer or multiple programs that are running at the same time.

To use the Performance Troubleshooter, start by clicking the ‘Start button’, and then click ‘Control Panel’. In the search box, type ‘troubleshooter’, and then click Troubleshooting. Under ‘System and Security’, click ‘Check for performance issues’.

Defragment Your Hard Disk

For some who may have older versions of Windows like 7 and others before it, disk fragmentation is a good way to speed up a Windows PC. This feature will assist you in opening up disk space. It also assists in freeing up some much-needed memory for optimum performance. Disk Defragmentation ensures that your hard disk works efficiently by saving files that were in different locations into a single file. To defragment your hard disk,

To defragment your hard disk:-

Choose Start→Control Panel→System and Security. The Administrative Tools window appears. Click ‘Defragment Your Hard Drive’. The Disk Defragmenter dialogue box appears. Click the ‘Analyze Disk’ button. When the analysis is complete, click the ‘Defragment Disk’ button.

You can manually defragment your disc on Windows 8 and 10 by going into the ‘Control Panel’ and typing in ‘defragment’ in the search bar at the top right corner. Select ‘defragment and optimise your drives’. This is located under ‘Administrative Tools’.

When should you try to Speed up a Windows PC?

A slow PC could be a result of many different factors. There is nothing wrong at all with trying to make the most out of your PC by installing various types of programs and then multitasking with them. But this does take a toll on your PC over time, especially if it’s a low specced model. The truth is, you should try and perform regular maintenance (weekly or monthly) on your PC to ensure it runs at optimum levels.

There are free tools available that can speed up a Windows PC, like CleanMyPC. This will assist you in running maintenance on your PC. You will have to pay for software like AVG Tuneup. But this software is a true all rounder and can complete numerous optimisation tasks.

If you feel your PC is far gone, then just re-install your Operating System. I actually installed Android on a slower laptop. Check out the article here – How to Install Android on Your Laptop