If your laptop is feeling a little sluggish, there are some things you can do to give it a boost. Here are 7 ways to improve your laptop speed and overall performance.
Laptops have become an essential part of our lives, whether we use them for business or pleasure. We rely on them to stay connected, be productive, and entertain us. Over time, however, laptops can start to slow down and become less responsive. This can be extremely frustrating, but there are a few easy ways to improve your laptop speed and overall performance.
So, if you notice your laptop is running slower than usual or programs are taking longer to load, follow these seven tips to help spike your laptop speed and performance.
1. Restart Your Laptop Regularly
Just like your smartphone, restarting your laptop can help clear out any temporary files or processes that may be bogging it down. This is especially true after installing new software or updates, as they often include process-heavy tasks that can have a negative effect on your laptop speed.
If you’re someone who rarely shuts down their laptop, then aim to restart it at least thrice a week. You can also set it to restart automatically overnight, so you don’t have to remember to do it yourself.
2. Delete Unused Programs and Files
One of the main reasons laptops slow down over time is that they start to fill up with unused programs and files. Even if you don’t use a program regularly, it can still take up valuable space on your hard drive and contribute to slower performance.
To free up space and boost your laptop speed, go through your laptop and delete any programs or files you no longer need. This includes old photos, documents, and downloads. You can also use a tool like AVG Tuneup to scan your hard drive for junk files and delete them in bulk.
3. Limit the Start-Up Programs
When you turn on your laptop, it has to load a lot of programs and processes in the background before it’s ready for you to use. This can take a toll on performance, especially if you have a lot of programs set to automatically launch when you boot up.
To limit the start-up programs, open the Task Manager on Windows (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) or Activity Monitor on Mac (Command + Space, then type “Activity Monitor”). From there, you can see all the running programs and processes. You will also be able to see how much of the total resources they are using.
On Windows, go to the Startup tab to see which programs are set to launch automatically. You can then disable the ones you don’t need by right-clicking on them and selecting “Disable.”
On Mac, click on the CPU column to sort the processes by how much they’re impacting your CPU. Then, select the ones you don’t need and click on the “X” button to quit them.
Most often, just limiting the number of start-up programs can help drastically improve your laptop speed.
4. Run a Virus Scan
Another common reason for laptop slowdown is malware or viruses. These can enter your system through email attachments, downloads, and even infected websites. They can then start to bog down your laptop by running malicious processes in the background or taking up valuable resources.
If you think your laptop may be infected, run a virus scan with your antivirus software. If you don’t have any installed, there are some great free options available, like Microsoft Defender (for Windows) and ClamXAV (for Mac).
On a windows computer, you can also use the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal tool.
To use the tool hit the Windows Key + R then Search for “mrt” in the search dialog box. When prompted select “Yes” and then Select “Next” and when prompted Choose “Full Scan” or “Quick Scan”.
Note: Performing a Full Scan may take a lot of time so if you don’t have time to spare then choose the Quick Scan option instead.
5. Adjust Your Power Settings
By default, both Windows and Mac laptops are set to “balanced” power settings, which strike a balance between performance and battery life. However, if you’re plugged in and don’t need to worry about conserving battery, you can switch to the “performance” or “high performance” setting.
This will give your laptop a little more power to work with, which can help boost performance. Just keep in mind that it will also cause your laptop to run through battery life faster.
On Windows, you can adjust your power settings by going to Start > Control Panel > Power Options > Change battery settings (Windows 10 users will see Show additional plans instead). From there, you can choose your desired power profile.
On Mac, open System Preferences and click on “Energy Saver.” Then, you can either click the UPS pane or the Power pane. After that, you can choose your preferred power settings from the options available.
6. Update Your Operating System and Drivers
If you’re running an outdated version of your operating system, it can start to cause a slowdown and other performance issues. That’s why it’s important to keep your OS up to date with the latest version.
To update your Windows laptop, open the Settings app and go to Update & Security > Windows Update. If any updates are available, they’ll be downloaded and installed automatically.
For Macs, the process is similar. Click on the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and select Software Update. Any available updates will be downloaded and installed.
It’s also important to keep your device drivers up to date, as they can also improve laptop speed. Drivers are the software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware devices like your mouse, keyboard, and monitor.
To update your drivers in Windows, open the Device Manager by searching for it in the Start menu. Find the device you want to update, right-click on it, and select Update Driver.
For Macs, you can use the built-in App Store to update your drivers. Open the App Store and click on the Updates tab. Any available driver updates will be listed here.
7. Delete Temporary Files
If you’ve had your laptop for a while, it’s likely filled with old temporary (Temp) files that are no longer needed. These can take up valuable storage space and cause a major slowdown. To boost your laptop speed, simple follow the steps below.
To delete temp files in Windows, open the Run dialogue box by pressing the Windows key + R. Then, type “%temp%” into the box and hit Enter. This will open the folder that contains all your temp files. Select all the files in the folder by pressing Ctrl + A and hit the Delete key to delete them.
Alternatively, you can also open the Start Menu and search for “Delete Temporary Files” then in the system settings page select “Temporary Files” and then select “All Except the Downloads Folder”.
To delete temp files on a Mac, open the Finder and select Go > Go to Folder. Type “~/Library/Caches/” into the box and hit Enter. This will open the folder that contains all your temp files. Select all the files in the folder by pressing Command + A. After that, hit the Delete key to delete them. That’s it! This step alone can help improve your laptop speed to a great extent.
Wrapping Up
Now that you know how to increase laptop speed, put these tips to good use and enjoy a faster, smoother experience on your device. Just remember to regularly run maintenance tasks like cleanup and de-fragmentation to keep your system in good shape.
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