How to Speed Up Laptop & Windows 10? Windows 10 booting has been smoother than previous versions of the system. There have been no serious bugs or troublesome bugs. It has its merit, considering the millions of different configurations a PC can feature. The complaints have focused on their privacy concerns.
Also under certain settings, Windows 10 can show performance problems, running slower than Windows 7 or 8. Fortunately, in most cases, it can be fixed by adjusting the settings.
We are going to show you some tips and tricks to speed up Windows 10 performance. Your computer will start up faster, load programs in less time, and perform a little better. Don’t expect miracles, especially on an older PC, but nothing is lost by trying.
How to Speed Up Laptop & Windows 10 boot
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Many Windows 10 users have complained about forums and social media that their Windows 10 PC takes a long time to boot. In some cases, even several minutes. This problem is identified by the boot screen going black, and the mouse cursor appears. After a waiting time, the system starts up.
We are going to show you how to fix it. The following Windows 10 tips and tricks are also useful to speed up startup even if it works fine and doesn’t give you trouble.
Speed up a laptop: Possible virus or malware
Before changing the settings, make sure that the slowdown of your computer is not caused by a virus or Trojan. Run antivirus and antimalware software like Malwarebytes Antimalware to eliminate this possibility.
speed up a laptop: Faulty driver
Some RAID-connected hard drive drivers, SoundBlaster sound cards, and network cards are known to be causing incompatibility issues that can lead to boot delays while Windows 10 tries to start them. Update all the drivers for this type of device that you have on your computer.
Hidden Quick Start Mode
Windows 10 has a fast boot mode that, in some configurations, is hidden and disabled.
- In the search engine or Cortana type Power Options
- In the left column, select Choose the behavior of the on / off buttons
- Tap Change settings currently unavailable. New options will appear in the Shutdown Settings section at the bottom
- Select Turn on Quick Boot, if available. You will need to restart your computer. In some configurations, this option does not appear and only Suspend and Block is displayed, as seen in the following image
Lighten the load of memory startup
- In the search engine or in Cortana type Task Manager
- Access the Start tab to see the programs that start automatically when Windows 10 starts
- In the Startup Impact column, they look for programs marked High or Medium. This means that they take time to start up and slow down startup
- Those that you don’t use often, you can disable them. You don’t need them to start every time the computer starts up. For example, iTunes, Adobe Reader, or the document scanner
- To disable them, right-click on the word Enabled in the Status column, and select Disable. Don’t worry, when you need them they will work without problems
Note that some programs with the High value need to start at startup, for example, the driver for graphics and sound cards. Disable only what you know or don’t use often. If something goes wrong, you just have to go back here and select the Enable option
Delays system services
Upon startup, Windows 10 activates numerous system services. Dozens of functions you need to control your computer. Some of them may be delaying the startup, so we are going to explain how to delay its startup so that it does it when Windows 10 is already running, so you won’t have to wait.
Please note that this option is for advanced users only. Do not change anything if you do not know what you are doing because you could alter the correct functioning of Windows 10.
- In the search engine or in Cortana type Run. In the window that opens, type services.msc
- A screen will open with all the local Windows 10 services. Examine them and read the Description to know what each one does
- If you suspect that one of them is slowing down startup, select it, right-click on the field in the Startup Type column, and enter Properties
- In the Startup Type section, choose Automatic (Delayed Start)
When you’ve finished making changes, restart your computer for them to take effect.
Improving the performance of Windows 10
We have already seen how to speed up startup. Now is the time to improve Windows 10 performance.
Let Windows help you
The OS has a wizard that performs system checks and detects performance problems. You can try to see if it finds any anomalies.
- Right-click on the Start Button and select Control Panel
- Click on Troubleshooting
- You will see a menu that allows you to search for problems in different areas: programs, hardware, networks, security, etc. Choose depending on what happens to you or try them all. Go performing the different checks that it suggests.
Adjust Virtual Memory
If you notice that Windows 10 slows down for a second or two when you open windows or access app menus, you may have a problem with your hard drive cache. Do the following:
- Right-click on the Start Button and select Control Panel
- Enter System, Advanced System Configuration. In the Advanced Options tab, find the Performance section and click on Settings
- Touch the Advanced Options tab, find the Virtual Memory section, and click on Change
- Uncheck the Automatically manage file size box
- Select the hard drive and the partition where you have Windows 10 installed and check the custom size option. In initial size put 1.5 times the amount of RAM you have, in MB. In maximum size, put 3 times the RAM. For example, on a computer with 4 GB of RAM for an initial size of 4×1.5 = 6 GB = 6000 MB, and as a maximum size 4×3 = 12 GB = 12,000 MB
This method is more suitable if you have 2 or 4 GB of RAM. If you have 8GB or more, virtual memory is used less.
Perform a hard drive cleanup to speed up laptop
Through use, Windows 10 accumulates installation files, cache folders, temporary files, orphaned registry entries, and other junk content that is useless and slows down performance. Perform a system cleanup with a program like CCleaner Free or equivalent. Make sure you clean not only the file system but also the registry.
Defragment your disks
Over time, many programs are installed and uninstalled, or files copied and deleted, and other operations that leave holes in the hard drives and force the files of a program to be dispersed to fit them in said holes, delaying the application’s startup. Defragmenting a disk consists of moving the files to place those that are related in a row. This will make them read faster.
Defragment at least once a month, but only on traditional hard drives and external drives. Solid SSD drives -which you can buy at a discount at PcComponentes thanks to this coupon- do not need defragmentation.
- In the search engine or in Cortana type Defragment. The Optimize Drives window will open
- Select the disks that are not SSD, and click on Optimize
Disable Cortana
Cortana assistant offers constant help, which means that it consumes resources that are not too high on a modern computer but can reduce performance on older computers.
Evaluate if this wizard is useful to you, and if not, you can disable it completely:
- In the search engine on the taskbar or in Cortana, go to Notebook or Settings, and click on Deactivate Cortana
Reboot often
If you have 4GB or less of RAM, it will fill up quickly and Windows will use the hard drive instead, slower, reducing performance. Many programs when closed do not completely disappear from memory. Restart your computer often (especially after closing a powerful program or game) to free up all memory and improve performance.
With these tips to speed up laptop & Windows 10, it is very likely that you will notice an improvement in the use of your PC. They are easy to apply, so it is worth a try.
