Does your computer feel sluggish or Windows 10 not perform well after the windows update? System freezes or not responding at startup or take a long time to start or shutdown windows 10? There are many factors degrading the performance include compatibility issues and bugs, virus malware infection, hardware problems and more. But don’t worry, you can speed up and Optimize Windows 10 Performance following steps.
Optimize Windows 10
- Perform a full system scan with the latest updated antivirus or antimalware to remove any virus malware infection that may hit system performance.
- Press Windows key + R, type %temp% and click ok to access temp folder, select all the files using Ctrl+A. Clear off all the items by pressing the Del button.
- Delete all files and folders that you no longer need, This is because unnecessary files consume extra space on the drive and result in a lag.
- Right-click on the Recycle Bin icon present on the desktop. Select the “Empty the Recycle Bin” option. Click Yes to confirm the removal.
Restart your Device regularly
Several users report computer running very slow, who run their Windows 10 machines for weeks on a stretch. In such situations restart your computer regularly boosts windows 10 performance. Restarting your computer help wipe out the memory, ends all the software active on the system, also confirms the shutdown of troublesome services and processes. Restarting your computer not only clears temporary glitches or improves system performance also fixes minor problems as well.
Install Windows Updates regularly
Microsoft regularly releases, windows updates to address all key concerns reported by users. These updates designed to eliminate common bugs that may reduce system performance. And some of these just minor fixes make a massive difference which eventually speed up windows 10 performance. In addition, installing the latest windows updates brings device driver updates that help boost up the system performance.
- Press Windows key + I to open settings,
- Go to Update & security, on the right-hand side hit on check for updates button
- This will look for available updates for your device on the Microsoft server, try to download and install them automatically.
- Note: If you receive the message – “You’re up to date” then you already have the latest updates installed.
- Once done you need to restart your computer to apply them.
Disable Auto-Starting Programs
There are a number of programs run silently in the background, and they are configured to start up when windows boots even you don’t immediately need them on startup. That not only slows down the windows 10 boot speed but also keeps eating up resources in the background unnecessarily. Disable all unnecessary startup apps or services save system resources and improve system performance or Windows 10 start time as well
To disable startup apps:
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open task manager then move to the startup tab, Here you can eliminate most auto-starting applications.
- check the ‘Startup Impact’ values displayed for each program that runs as soon as you log in.
- To disable an app, select it and click on the Disable button at the bottom-right corner.
To disable startup services:
- Press Windows key + R, type msconfig and click ok,
- move to the Services tab and check the checkbox next to Hide all Microsoft services.
- Now just uncheck the box next to the service you want to disable and click on Apply to confirm the changes.
To disable background apps:
- Open settings using windows key + I
- Go to privacy than on left panel click on the Background app
- Here you’ll see a list of all the apps that are allowed to run in the background.
- Toggle the button next to the app you don’t want to run in the background to disable them.
Choose High-Performance Power Plan
As the name defines, this High-Performance Power Plan maximizes the responsiveness of your device. If you have a desktop computer Choose a High-Performance Power Plan to get the best out of the performance. Because it consumes the most amount of power it’s more appropriate for desktops, and its always better off on a laptop using a Balanced or Power saver plan.
- Press Windows key + R, type powercfg.cpl and click ok
- Multiple power plans will open, select High performance here, and then click on Change plan settings next to it.
- choose the timeouts for display, sleep moreover adjust the brightness slider that you prefer.
Adjust visual effects
if your windows 10 computer run without a graphic interface it would become super faster, since it’s not possible but run your computer on the minimum visual effects settings boost startup and shutdown time and optimize windows 10 performance.
- Press Windows key + R, type sysdm.cpl and click ok
- Choose Advanced from the tabs above.
- Under Performance, choose Settings.
- Finally, click on the radio button for Adjust for best performance to shut off all visual effects.
Note: we recommend leave Smooth edges of screen fonts enabled as it helps when reading text.
Clean up your disk
Run the disk cleanup utility designed to eradicate temporary files that accumulate on your device, such as offline web pages, downloaded program files, image thumbnails and a lot more. Running disk cleanup utility search and analyzes the drive for files and folders that are no longer use and allows users to remove these unnecessary files from your computer.
- Press Windows key + r, type cleanmgr and clcik ok,
- Select the Windows 10 installed drive, usually its C: drive and click ok,
- The cleanup wizard will show you all the different files which you need to delete. So select them and click OK.
In addition, click the “Clean up system files” button to delete unwanted system files.
Remove bloatware
Sometimes windows 10 is not responsible for slow down your computer, It’s adware or bloatware that consumes a lot of system and CPU resources that slow down your PC. Make sure to hunt down malware and adware on your computer with help of an updated antimalware application. and remove bloatware or unused software from your computer following the steps below.
- Press Windows key + X select apps and features,
- Shift to the right pane and select the program that you prefer to remove. Click Uninstall.
Update your drivers
Device drivers play an important role in system performance, which permits the operating system to have smooth communication with the hardware. There are chances, your computer is running slow because of a compatibility issue or a poorly designed driver. Make sure all installed device drivers are up to date or update them following the steps below especially the graphics driver.
- Press Windows key + X select device manager,
- Expand the branch for the device driver looking for update (for example, display adapters to update the video driver)
- Right-click the device and select the Update driver option.
- Click search automatically for drivers to allow install latest display driver update from Microsoft server.
- Follow on screen instructions and reboot your computer to apply the changes.
In addition, if you are using a dedicated graphics driver, AMD and NVIDIA both provided frequent updates for a better and faster gaming experience.
You can use NVIDIA Ge-force Experience (If you using a NVIDIA card) or AMD Radeon settings (if you using a AMD card) to update the graphics driver.
NVIDIA
- Open Ge-force Experience, Click Driver Then Check for update.
- If any driver available it will start to download the driver. After successfully download the driver click Express Installation.
AMD
- Open AMD Radeon settings or Download the software(If you don’t have one).
- On the bottom menu click Updates > Check for updates.
- It will check and download the latest driver. Then, Simply install it.
Also, you can download the latest driver from the official website of AMD and NVIDIA.
Defrag your hard drive
If you have SSD (solid-state drive) on your computer skip this step.
If your computer still running on a mechanical hard disk, then you should run Defraggler on just the hard disk that can boost the performance of your device overall.
- Press Windows key + S, type defrag then click on Defrag and Optimize drives
- Select the desired hard drive and click on Analyze.
- From the results, check the fragmentation level. Then just click on Optimize.
Use PC cleaning software
Run third-party PC cleanup applications like CCleaner that ensures smoother performance and PC stays in tip-top condition. It regularly scans and eliminates all junk data from your computer even removes browser cache. In addition, it has a dedicated registry cleaner that significantly improves performance if your Windows registry is bloated.
Remove or disable all unused hardware that you no longer use, help Optimize Windows 10 performance.
If you are experiencing Windows 10 slow performance while accessing the web (internet/visit web pages) from your device, make sure the web browser is up to date, remove unwanted extensions add-ons and toolbars that may be hindering the speed.
In addition, If you are using an older HDD switch to Solid State Drives or SSD boost windows 10 performance. SSD are expensive compared to regular hard drives, but you will experience a massive improvement in boot time and overall responsiveness of the system along with file access times.
Also run system file checker utility, DISM command that helps fix performance issue if corrupted missing system files causing issue. And run check disk utility to check and fix disk error that might hit windows 10 performance.
Did the above tips help Optimize Windows 10 Performance or speed up your old computer? Let us know on the comments below.
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