Most computers don’t
have to slow down over time, whether it’s a desktop or laptop. If your computer
has gradually become slower because it’s 5 years or older, there could just be
a few reasons for that sluggishness.
As with all computer
issues, don’t be afraid to give your computer a reboot if something’s not
working properly. This can fix quite a few problems and is faster than
attempting to manually troubleshoot and fix the problem yourself. If you don’t
know how to do the reboot, you can request your subscribed technical support
company to do it for you.
Upgrade
to a Solid-State Drive (SSD)
If your computer
is still using a mechanical hard drive, try upgrading to a solid-state drive or
SSD if you can afford it. Undeniably, an SSD will offer you a dramatic
performance improvement. An SSD ensures a faster CPU, faster graphic processor
performance, and faster overall system performance.
Uninstall
Programs You Don’t Need
Open the Control
Panel, find the list of installed programs, and uninstall programs you don’t
need and use from your computer. This can help speed up your computer as those unneeded
programs might include background processes, autostart entries, system
services, context menu entries, and other things that can slow down your computer.
It will also save room on your hard drive and improve system security. For
instance, you definitely shouldn’t have Java installed if you’re not using it.
Defragment
Your Hard Disk
Defragmenting
your hard disk today is much easier compared to the days of Windows 97 and XP
because Windows will automatically defragment mechanical hard drives in the
background. SSD’s don’t need traditional defragmentation and modern versions of
Windows will “optimize” them. However, if you’re still using a mechanical hard
drive and you’ve just put a lot of files on the drive – like copying a huge
database of PC game files – those files might be defragmented because Windows
hasn’t defragmented them yet. In this situation, you might want to open the
disk defragmenter tool and perform a scan to see if you need to run a manual
defrag program.
Free
Up Disk Space
If your hard
drive is almost completely full, your computer may run noticeably slower. You
want to leave your computer some room to work on your hard drive. Start
removing all unnecessary files that you no longer need, no matter how small. Unneeded
pictures, wallpapers, videos, and uninstalled program folders should be
deleted. You don’t need any third-party software; just running the Disk Cleanup
tool included in Windows to further clean out your disk.
Clean
Out Your Web Browser
Since you use a web browser a lot, it’s a good
idea to use as few browser extensions, or add-ons, as possible since these slow
down your web browser and cause it to use more memory. Go to your web browser’s
Extensions or Add-ons manager and remove add-ons you don’t need. You should
also consider enabling click-to-play plug-ins. Preventing Flash and other
content from loading will prevent unimportant Flash content from using memory.