A slow running laptop can drive even the most patient person up the wall. Whether you use yours for work, gaming, graphic design, or something else entirely, chugging through tasks isn’t much fun.
But why do laptops slow down over time? And how can you fight back and speed things up? Well, we’ve got a bunch of practical tips and tricks you can use to take your laptop from slow to woah. From quick, easy tweaks to hardware upgrades, we’ve got you covered. Laptop running slow? Not anymore!
How to speed up a laptop
So, you’re asking yourself “why is my laptop so slow?”. Well, there are a lot of reasons it could be moving slower than your average sloth. Luckily, all of them are super easy to pinpoint and fix.
Here are a few handy ideas to transform your laptop into a lightning quick machine…
Disable power saver mode
While the power saving mode on your laptop is great for saving some juice when you’ve left your charger at home, it can also slow things down. Right click on the battery icon in your taskbar, choose power options and go for either a balanced or high-performance power setting instead. This should help to give your laptop a bit of a boost. And you won’t have to squint to see the screen properly either!
Stop programmes running in the background
Having programmes open in the background can make things pretty sluggish. Especially if they’re chunky bits of software that use a lot of memory and CPU power – like video editing and music production apps. Head to the Task Manager (you can do it quickly with Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and go to the Start-up tab. You’ll then be able to close any programmes that are running behind the scenes. Simple.
Too many programmes launch on start up
Loads of apps launching automatically as soon as you log on can massively impact your laptop’s boot up time. Check the list of programmes that do and disable any of the ones you don’t need right away. While it might take a teeny bit of time, you should open up and close down any programmes as and when you actually need them. Having tons running at once is just going to make it feel like you’re moving through treacle.
Check for malware on the laptop
Fire up your antivirus software – if you don’t have any yet, you’re going to want to sort that - and run a malware scan. This’ll pick up any threats, get rid of them, and restore the speed of your laptop. Plus, things will be a whole lot safer too. So, it’s a win-win!
Update the operating system
Using an old operating system can slow down your laptop big time. See if there are any system updates and install the latest versions as soon as they’re released. This should help, as the latest updates usually come packed chock full of bug fixes and performance improvements.
If your laptop doesn’t support new system updates anymore, that might be a sign that it’s time for a new one…
Clear temporary files on the laptop
As you browse the web and just generally use your laptop, caches, browser history and temporary files will start to build up. And this data can take up precious storage space on your hard drive. With the built-in Disk Clean-up tool on Windows, you can delete these pesky files and free up some storage. And with more storage, your laptop won’t have to work so hard – making it faster in the process.
Delete junk files from the laptop
Duplicate documents. Old downloads. Apps you haven’t used for the past 5 years. All of them will slow down your laptop. Make sure you regularly declutter your storage by removing any of these unnecessary files. And then empty the recycling bin straight after too!
Clean and upgrade the laptop hard drive
A cluttered or failing hard drive can make your laptop even slower. Do some techy spring cleaning and clear out the drive by organising your docs and deleting any files you don’t want. If you’ve got the cash – and your laptop supports it - it’s probably worth upgrading to an SSD (Solid State Drive) too. They’re way faster and are a lot more reliable than your standard HDD (Hard Disk Drive).
Add more RAM
If you don’t have enough Random Access Memory (RAM), it can really bottleneck your laptop’s performance. Especially if you’re running memory-hungry apps. Upgrading your RAM is relatively straightforward, and it’ll help you keep up with the demands of most modern software. And of course, your laptop will run a lot smoother and faster, making your experience even better.
So, now you know how to speed up a laptop. Or maybe you still need a hand getting your laptop to run nice and fast? Head on over to ShopLive. Our in-store experts will be able to answer any of your questions. And you won’t even need to leave the house either. Nice.
