Many of us have worried about our computer's performance that my pc is slow down. I tried upgrading my RAM and that doesn't improve my computer's performance. What can I do now?
Why is my computer slow?
According to CCleaner, Your operating system has to manage the resources of your computer (memory, drive space, processing power) between all the programs that are running on it. There's a huge number of things that may be reducing your computer's performance, but they usually boil down to your PC's resources being used inefficiently.
Here are some of the things that slow down your computer:
- Running out of RAM (Random Access Memory)
- Running out of Disk Space (HDD or SSD)
- Old fragmented Hard Drive
- Too many Background Programs
- Too many Startup Programs
- Falling behind on Windows or Driver Updates
- Malware or Viruses
- Special effects and Visual features
If your computer is running slow, read the following to fix these issues.
How you can make your computer faster?
Restart your computer
If your computer speed is not what it should be, the first thing to do is restarting your computer.
Your operating system allocates space in RAM for programs as they run on your computer. Your RAM will be eventually fills up which will slow down your computer as the operating system starts using the swap file instead.
The swap file is a file on your hard drive that your operating system uses for data that is currently being used by programs, when your RAM, which is normally used for that purpose, runs out of space. Since hard drives and even the much faster SSD's are slower than RAM, your computer will slow down significantly when it resorts to using the swap file.
Simply closing programs that is running on your computer helps, but restarting your computer allows it to be refreshed in a number of other ways as well. It ensures programs won't keep running on the background, allows Windows updates to be installed, and can fix a number of bugs that you might be suffering from, such as memory leaks, which cause programs to eat up more RAM than they should.
Clean your hard drive
When your hard drive memory is full, it slows down your computer because the operating system doesn't have enough free space to work adequately. Your OS needs space to use the swap file, prevents fragmentation, and to create temporary files.
To make sure that your computer isn't slow because of a full hard drive, ensure that there is atleast 500MB (megabytes) of disk space available. You can check how much free space you have by opening the File Explorer and clicking "This PC" on the left navigation bar. Your main drive will normally be called "Windows (C:)", but if you have other drives you can also see how much space they have from this screen.
Even if you have multiple drives it's best to make sure that each individual drive has a buffer of 500MB to help the operating system manage the files on the drive better.
Here are some tips for doing a disk cleanup and increasing the performance of your PC:
- Empty your Recycle Bin. Files build up in the recycle bin when you use your PC, so clearing it occasionally will help you keep up the performance of your computer. Double click the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop, right click anywhere and select 'Empty Recycle Bin'. You can also right click on the Recycle icon itself.
- Remove unwanted programs. Programs that you don't want or need may be taking up hard drive space and slowing down your PC. To remove them, Press Windows Key + R and type 'control panel' and then hit Enter. Now click 'Uninstall a Program' under the Programs header. Use the window that opens up to uninstall the program that you don't need anymore.
Any third-party programs like bundled games and camera apps are normally safe to remove. But if something has Microsoft or 'driver' in the name it might be good to Google the program name and check what it does before removing it, so you won't accidently remove something that your operating system needs to function.
- Clean your Downloads folder. Open File Explorer and select Downloads from the Quick Access Bar to the left. Move the files that you still need to appropriate folders, such as Documents, and simply delete the rest. If you don't regularly clean this folder, the files you download from the internet accumulates , taking up space on your hard drive and slowing down your PC.
- Find and delete Temporary files. These are the files that the programs and your operating system use to store temporary data, such as files that programs download when installing updates. Over time temp files can build up to take a lot of space on your hard drive. Temporary files can be quite tricky to find as they are mostly in hidden folders, and it's hard to know what is safe to remove. You can access your main temporary file folder by exiting all open programs, pressing the Windows Key + R, typing in '%temp%' and clicking 'OK'. This will bring up a folder that contains most of the temporary files on your computer, however it may include files that programs are still using and shouldn't be removed.
Disable Background Programs
A slow computer is often caused by too many programs running simultaneously, taking up processing power and reducing the PC's performance. Some programs will continue running in the background even after you've closed them or will start automatically when you boot up your computer.
To see what background programs are running on your PC, and how much of your computer's memory and processing power they are taking, open Task Manager, which you can open by Pressing CTRL + ALT + DELETE.
Click the CPU, Memory and Disk headers to sort the programs that are running on your computer by how much of your computer's resources they are taking. For example, if your memory bar is close to or at 100%, you should sort the programs by their memory use and close the programs that you don't need.
It's possible to close programs directly from the Task Manager by selecting them and clicking 'End task' at the bottom right. However, if you don't know what a program does, you should Google it first to check so you don't accidently close something that you operating system needs.
Disable startup programs
If your computer has slowed down and the time it takes to boot up has gone up, it is likely because there are too many programs running on startup. Lot's of programs come with an option to run automatically at startup. This is useful if you're going to use the program whenever you're on computer, but if there are too many programs running at startup, it can seriously slow down your boot time as well as reduce your performance when they run in the background as discussed above.
On Windows 8 and 10, you no longer need to use the System Configuration tool to manage startup programs as you did in Windows 7. Instead, you can do it right from the Task Manager which we used to remove background programs. You can simple access to it by pressing CTRL + ALT + DELETE and clicking 'Task Manager'. Click on the 'Startup' tab at the top to see what startup programs are enabled and their impact on your computer's boot time and performance.
To disable a program from starting up automatically, select a program and click 'Disable' in the bottom-right corner. Make sure to not to disable programs you actually need, like your antivirus or driver programs.
Scan for malware and viruses
Malware and Viruses will slow down your PC if it has been infected. Make sure that you are using an up-to-date antivirus program, and run any scans to find viruses that may be eating up your computer's performance.
Upgrade your memory
Random Access Memory (RAM) is what your computer uses to store information that the operating system and programs running on it are currently using - unlike your disk drives (HDD or SSD) which are where programs and files are otherwise stored. A memory upgrade is one of the best ways to increase your computer's speed and performance.
If your computer has less than 4GB of RAM it will likely be slowed down when programs have to complete of their share memory. When RAM runs out, your computer starts using a file on the hard drive called swap file instead - and as hard drives are much slower than RAM, you'll notice a significant difference in performance.
If you use programs that need to store a large amount of information in memory for quick access, such as games and video-editing programs, you should have atleast 6GB of RAM so your computer won't have to resort to using the swap file too often.
If you have a desktop computer upgrading your RAM should be relatively easy, you'll just need to purchase your new RAM and stick it into the slots that will be pointed out to you in your motherboard's manual. On laptops, upgrading your RAM may or may not be possible without purchasing an entirely new computer. You will have to refer to your laptop's manual to see if upgrading your RAM is possible on your own device.
Upgrade your hard drive
If your computer is slow when booting up, opening files or loading games, you'll see a great increase in performance by switching from a hard drive to a solid-state drive. Unlike hard drives where the drive spins around to allow data to be read from it, SSD's do not have any moving parts, instead of storing data on interconnected transistors that work at lightning speed. When hard drives start up it takes time for the drive to spin to full speed, whereas SSD's work instantly, allowing data to be read much faster and speeding up your PC.
If you have a desktop PC, buying and installing SSD should be easy, and you can find plenty of guides on finding and installing the right SSD online. If you have a laptop, however, changing your disk drive will likely prove hard or impossible. Lots of new laptops do have SSD's so its something you can keep in mind for when you decide it's time to upgrade your laptop.
Install system updates
Making sure that your computer has the latest Windows Updates, as well as having up-to-date drivers, is important for the best PC performance. New Windows and driver updates provide performance improvements, and falling behind on them may cause your PC to slow down. You can manage your computer's updates from the Settings menu.
- Open the Windows start menu and click the Settings icon on the left.
- Click Update & Security.
- This page will tell you if you're behind on Windows Updates, and what steps you need to take if you are.
That's it guys. Try all these steps to improve your computer's performance and let me know in the comments whether you did or not.
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