Are you looking to give your old laptop a little kick? Here, we explore the software fixes and hardware improvements that may breathe new life into your computer. Even the most cutting-edge and lightning-fast laptops experience occasional hiccups. There are various causes for this, from easily remedied situations. Too many programs open simultaneously to more significant problems, like insufficient memory, disc space, or a damaged hard drive.
Regardless of the cause, a sluggish laptop is a significant hindrance. When time is of the essence, everyone seems to experience this problem right before a major deadline. After all, you’ll likely need many programs, and browser tabs open simultaneously on a busy day. You are putting a strain on your laptop’s resources.
This can affect not just your stress levels but also the efficiency of your company as a whole. For illustration’s sake, let’s say an employee works 7.5-hour days, and their laptop is unresponsive for five minutes each hour. You could opt to visit https://perfectpcserver.com/ to get more details about boosting your laptop’s speed. You are costing them over 40 minutes per day and three hours per week. The amount of money wasted yearly due to just one sluggish laptop may be several thousand pounds. Depending on the employee’s hourly rate.
Although purchasing new technology might solve the problem. This solution is typically seen as too costly, especially for enterprises of a smaller size. After all, spending hundreds of pounds on a new laptop would be silly if the problem could be addressed for nothing. Here are 16 simple techniques to boost a Windows 10 laptop and help you reclaim your time.
#1. Remove any unnecessary software.
You’ve probably installed many little programs on your computer throughout the years. You’ve had it connected to the internet, and most of them probably sit there, doing their thing, unobtrusively. In some cases, these short programs served a single purpose. It may consume a negligible amount of system resources. This is OK for one or two but might become prohibitive when applied to numerous programs over several years, each requiring a relatively small amount of resources.
Disk cleaners, desktop customization tools, and virus scanners are software examples. That might hurt computer speed if they aren’t regularly updated or used. Even though Microsoft claims you may be unaware. That these programs are running, uninstalling them is a simple process.
To prevent these drains on your computer’s resources. Visit the Windows settings and examine the list of installed applications, uninstalling any that you don’t use. You don’t need to do this every day; once per few months should be plenty. Or get into the habit of removing items as soon as you realize you no longer need them.
#2. Scale back on startup initiatives
In addition to the tools above, Windows is preconfigured. To launch a plethora of other programs at boot time. Ensure that their products launch instantly when you click on their icons. Many developers configure their software to launch invisibly in the background. That’s great for frequently-used apps, but it consumes memory and slows down the system for unused ones. And makes it take longer to boot up to the desktop if you have many of them installed.
Windows 10 makes it simpler than ever to control which programs launch automatically. Go to the settings menu, choose “Apps,” and then the “Starting” tab. This will provide a list of every application or service you can run at a startup. A label was displaying the impact on system resource utilization and performance. A toggle button to block or enable it to run on boot. Suppose you have any services that you don’t need always running. You can turn them off and observe a considerable increase in speed and boot times.
#3. Reduce the amount of unnecessary software.
Not only do older computers suffer from latency, but so do many other types of electronic gadgets. Even brand-new computers might be problematic because of the bloatware. That many companies bundle their laptops before selling them. This may take the shape of the manufacturer’s own software and services. Or it may be the pre-installed software of a third party as part of a commercial distribution contract between the software vendor and the manufacturer. Crapware, bloatware, and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) are different names for the same thing: unwanted software. That may slow down your computer.
These services can affect memory, processing power, and storage space. Much like the obsolete utilities and programs I discussed before. Even with some pre-installed software. The Office suite from Microsoft or the Dropbox desktop client may be beneficial. There is a considerable probability that some of it will be unnecessary. The time spent inspecting a brand-new laptop for unwanted pre-installed software is well spent.
#4. Purge Malware
Like idle background programs, malware is more widespread than you would believe and can quickly go undetected. Malware may easily infiltrate your system by a single misstep, such as clicking on a malicious link in an email or installing a tiny, one-time-use software.
In 2022, cryptocurrency miners will likely be one of the most widespread malware on personal computers. These programs are meant to remain hidden while they stealthily use your computer to mine bitcoin for criminals. Depending on their processing power, this virus may be more evident on some machines than others.
In most cases, however, eliminating this malicious software is easy. Free and effective security suites are widely available. And can often detect and eliminate malware in its early stages of operation. It is having your computer set up to do virus scans at regular intervals automatically. It is a great preventative measure against cyberattacks.
#5. Cut back on unused system components.
Deleting unneeded resources is a simple but efficient approach to improving system performance. A file scanning tool is a simple way to determine whether you have any folders or files. Suppose you haven’t used it in a while. In that case, the performance of your computer might be negatively impacted by data that is no longer in use, such as outdated papers or information on your laptop, such as temporary files and cookies.
There are a variety of resources available to assist you with this. Avast’s CCleaner is popular since it removes junk from a computer’s hard drive and the Windows Registry. The app was in the spotlight in 2019 when hackers broke into the corporation. And exploited the app to infect users with malware. Avast says it has recovered fully from this event. And CCleaner is still a fantastic utility that you should use if this is your first time maintaining a computer.
The program will search your computer’s hard drive for inactive directories and files. Then, if you permit it, it’ll erase everything you want. To check for registry issues that might be lagging your PC’s performance. A tab in the tool lets you remove programs without going into the Control Panel. Another that disables starting programs, and another that finds hidden files that could take up too much space.
#6. CCleaner
A copy of CCleaner is available for download and installation at this link. Launch the program when installation is complete. This will take you to the ‘Health Check’ tab, which does a comprehensive system check for various issues. However, for more precision, we recommend launching a custom clean. Click “Analyze” on the “Custom Clean” tab to scan your chosen components. Then “Run Cleaner” to carry out the actual procedure. This will search the disc for things like browser cache and memory dumps. And even more complex things like removing Prefetch data. You may tailor the scan to look for your desired files or folders or even choose apps if your laptop is running slowly. You may speed things up by removing unneeded registry entries using the Registry tab.
To learn more about CCleaner’s other functions. Such as disc analysis and program uninstallation, visit the Tools menu. If you only intend on running CCleaner once every few months. You may wish to deactivate the update notifications in the application’s options.
#7. Your hard drive needs to be defragmented.
It’s not uncommon for older mechanical hard drives to have fragmentation. The file’s constituent bits are dispersed throughout the platter’s surface. Due to the increased distance, the drive head must cover to read each section. The overall speed of the machine is negatively affected. Defragmentation, sometimes known as “defragging,” is a process that reorganizes a disc. So that the bits which make up its many files are all stored in the same geographical place, this, in turn, should make it easier to access data on the drive more quickly. However, solid-state drives (SSDs) are not susceptible to fragmentation since they do not employ spinning-platter discs.
Suppose you’re using Windows 10 and want to know if a hard drive needs defragmenting. You can do it quickly by going to the Storage section of the Settings menu. And selecting the ‘Optimize drives’ option. This will launch the optimization wizard. That examines each disc in your PC to give you a percentage representing how fragmented it is. Defragmenting the drive onward should yield improved system reliability and speed.
