5 Easy Ways to Make Your Computer Feel Faster
Before you decide your computer is ancient and start shopping for a replacement, try these five simple cleanup and performance fixes first.
Restart it — and shut it down once in a while
If your computer has been running for days or weeks, background processes can pile up and slow things down. A full restart clears temporary issues and gives the system a fresh start.
Close the stuff you are not using
Every open browser tab, app, launcher, sync tool, and background program uses memory. One or two are fine. Thirty-five tabs, three launchers, and six apps you forgot about? Not so much.
Check your storage space
Computers can slow down when the drive is nearly full. Old downloads, giant videos, duplicate files, and apps you no longer use can quietly eat up space.
Turn off unnecessary startup apps
Some programs launch automatically every time the computer starts, even when you do not need them. Too many startup apps can make boot-up painfully slow and keep using resources in the background.
Install updates and restart afterward
Operating system, browser, and app updates can include performance fixes as well as security patches. If the computer has been asking to update for a while, putting it off can sometimes make problems worse.
Still painfully slow?
If basic cleanup does not help, the next things to check are the computer's age, available memory, drive type, overheating, and whether one specific program is using an unusual amount of resources.