How to speed up Windows and fix a slow PC
up programs
Part of the reason why well-used PCs
take so long to start is because of all the
applications and utilities you've
installed. Many automatically run when
Windows starts up, yet most of them
don't need to and should only use up
resources when you actually need to use
them.
At the right side of the taskbar, click the
upwards-facing arrow to display the
notification icons. Each is a program
that loads with Windows. Some are
essential - antivirus software for
example - but others may not be. Right-
click each one and if there is a Settings
menu, select it and turn off the option to
start automatically with Windows. Some
programs, such as Google Drive, can be
manually started when they are needed
instead of running all the time.
To disable all the other programs and
'helpers' apps which start with Windows,
press Windows+R and type msconfig
and click Ok. Select the Services tab, tick
‘Hide all Microsoft services' and see
what's left. There may be services you
can live without and clearing the tick
box prevents them from running. For
example, Firefox works perfectly well
without the Mozilla Maintenance
Service.
On the Startup tab (use Task Manager in
Windows 8 and Windows 10), are lots of
programs that start with Windows.
Knowing what to disable isn't easy, but
you can use Google to search for items
and see if they are necessary, useful or
neither of those.
Degfragging
Recent versions of Windows
automatically defragment the disk, but
Microsoft's tool is basic and there are
better defragmenters that boost
performance even more. Programs
including O&O Defrag are good, but
IObit's Smart Defrag 5 is nearly as good
and is free. Bear in mind that you should
only use one of these if your PC has a
traditional mechanical hard drive. If it
has an SSD, don't use such utilities on
them, but if you have both, only use a
defragger on the hard disk.
Reinstall Windows
The ultimate speed up technique is to
reinstall Windows. This removes all
unwanted software that slows down the
PC, erases adware and other malware,
clears out junk files and so on
A Windows disc is needed for old
versions of Windows, but Windows 8
has a built in Refresh option that makes
the job easy. Bring up the Charms bar on
the right side of the screen and click
Settings, Change PC settings. Click Update
and recovery, then Recovery. Under
Refresh your PC without affecting your
files, click Get started.
Personal files - photos, music and
documents - are kept, so it isn't a
complete refresh, but it's may be enough
for most people. A more powerful option
is Remove everything and reinstall
Windows. Copy files you want to keep to
a USB drive before starting though.
Update drivers and apps
Out of date drivers, programs and
Windows itself can cause the computer
to run slowly. Faulty drivers for
example, stop Windows shutting down
or cause it to start more slowly. Video
card drivers are often updated to fix
bugs and boost performance, and it is
always a good idea to check that you
have the latest version. Even if Windows
updates are automatic, go to Windows
Update in the Control Panel and
manually check for updates. Only
essential ones are installed automatically
and there may be useful optional ones
available.
Drivers are programs that enable
Windows to access hardware
components like the video, sound,
printer, scanner, webcam, and so on.
Updating them is a pain and you have to
identify the hardware, the drivers and
version numbers, the hardware
manufacturer's website and the
download page. Take a shortcut by using
a free tool such as SlimDrivers Free or
Driver Booster Free. These do all the
work for you and they are like Windows
Update for drivers. They identify the
current drivers, check if there are
updates, and then download and install
them for you. They solve a lot of
problems. There are also paid-for
options, such as the up-to-date Driver
Talent utility.
Free up disk space
Your PC's hard disk slows down as it fills
up and uninstalling software helps to
free up space giving more room for
Windows to work faster. Disk space can
be recovered by using Ccleaner,
Advanced SystemCare 7 Free and others.
There's a right way and a wrong way to
use these though. Select just a few items
and clean them, making sure the app
backs up the changes. If the PC is
working OK, go ahead and clean a few
more items, but if it isn't, restore the
backup. Do not clean everything in one
go because if something goes wrong you
won't know where the problem is.
Many PCs have too much software, such
as programs that are no longer used and
they can be uninstalled to free up disk
space. You could go to the Control Panel,
open Programs and Features, and then
uninstall software you haven't used in
the last six months. Better still are free
utilities such as IObit Uninstaller Free,
Revo Uninstaller, and Wise Program
Uninstaller. They do a better job of
removing software because in addition
to removing the program itself, they
cleaning the disk and registry.
Some programs install lots of files into
Windows and they can have a
detrimental effect on performance. To
keep Windows clean and fast you should
avoid installing anything. Of course, you
need software, but there are many
portable apps that don't need installing.
A good source of software is
portableapps.com. Click Get Apps and
you'll find office software, graphics and
photo editors, utilities, internet, music
and video and more. It's not the only
place to find portable software, but it's a
good place to start.
Advanced SystemCare Free cleans up and
optimises the PC, boosting performance
Install better software
Sometimes it's possible to improve the
PC's performance by installing better
software. For example, if you're still
using Internet Explorer, try downloading
Google Chrome.
Smaller, lightweight programs are often
faster than big, full featured
applications. Do you really need Word or
is WordPad sufficient for your writing
tasks? For example Microsoft Office
Home and Student 2013 requires 3GB of
disk space, but LibreOffice uses just a
few hundred megabytes and is nearly as
good. You need 4GB of disk space to
install Adobe Photoshop Elements, but
only 40MB for Paint.NET and 150MB for
GIMP (it sounds dodgy, but it's not). They
could be all you need for photo editing.
Use alternativeto.net to find alternatives
to popular software.
The speed at which games run is highly
dependent on the screen resolution and
special effects used. Some games provide
options to select the screen mode and to
turn off some effects that tax the
processor and video card. This can make
a slow game more playable by increasing
the frame rate.
Upgrade hardware
All of the techniques discussed so far for
speeding up the PC take you only so far.
They restore the original PC's
performance, but this may not be
sufficient. An old PC might not be
capable of running the latest game or
other software you want to use. A five
year old model will struggle with the
latest games, apps and operating system.
For this reason, a hardware upgrade
may be required and this will boost the
PC's performance beyond its original
specification and narrow the gap
between your current PC and the latest
ones.
Many old PCs suffer from too little
memory (consider 2GB the absolute
minimum these days, but 4GB is the
maximum usable by 32-bit versions of
Windows) and this is the first
component to consider upgrading.
Memory suppliers including crucial.com/
uk have tools on their website that
identify what type of RAM you need. It
shows the maximum the PC or laptop
can take and this is the best upgrade you
can perform. Before you purchase any
memory though, examine your PC or
laptop because some are easy to upgrade,
but others are hard. Buying RAM online
and installing it yourself is the cheapest
option, but if you aren't confident in
your DIY skills, local computer shops can
do it.
A solid state disk drive (SSD) is another
great way to boost performance. You
need to clone the old disk drive onto the
new SSD before installing it. This is
achieved by plugging the SSD into the
PC's USB port and running a program on
the PC. A special cable and software
might be supplied with the SSD, but if
not, they are available to purchase for a
few pounds.
Upgrading the graphics card is a great
way to speed up games, but the benefits
to other software is limited. Top-of-the-
range video cards are big, so before
ordering the latest Nvidia or AMD model,
check it will fit the case. Space, the size
of the PC's power supply and other
factors limit your options and full
height/dual slot video cards are for big
PCs with lots of space, and low profile
single slot cards are for compact PCs.
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