Computer slow how do i fix it

Are there any weird sounds coming from the computer with the lag? If your slow computer has frequent operating system freezes, then the hard disk is probably just too old. You can replace an old hard drive. It can actually be more expensive to upgrade the RAM. If the rest of your PC hardware is as old as the hard drive, you might want to consider buying a new computer. There are different ways your computer stores memory. Generally, the PC stores files and installed programs in the storage drive.

Typically, the storage drive is a hard disk. In computers purchased in the last one or two years, the storage drive could be a solid-state SSD drive.

PCs can slow down when the storage drive is full to the brim. Your PC needs a certain amount of available space in the storage drive. It allows the CPU to swap files and store temporary files. Lack of memory makes these tasks difficult or impossible.

That could cause the operating system to slow down. You can free up space on the storage drive by deleting old and unnecessary files. Delete temporary files to make room for new ones. Uninstall programs you no longer use. You can also move photos and videos to an external storage device , like a USB stick.

Your PC needs at least MB of free space on the storage drive. Ideally, there should be more than MB. Older computers still have GB hard drives. You can consider upgrading to a 1TB or more storage drive. Alternatively, connect an external hard drive to your PC to store files remotely.

The operating system relies heavily on RAM for smoothly running tasks. Having too many add-ons and extensions can also slow your web browsing. Defragmenting, or defragging, your hard disk drive HDD can decrease the time it takes for the system to find each piece of data it needs to run programs and apps. If you have an HDD as opposed to a solid state drive , the system records data in small groups in various places on the disk.

It then takes longer for the system to find each piece of data. Defragmenting your disk will speed this process up. Find out more about defragmenting your hard drive. You can select the process to run on a regular schedule, or you can click Analyze Disk and determine if the process needs to be run immediately. Identifying hardware that might be due for an upgrade can not only make an older and slower computer feel new again, it can also be significantly more cost efficient than purchasing a new computer.

Two key pieces of hardware related to the speed of a computer are your storage drive and your memory. When it becomes out of date or slows down, it will make a noticeable impact in the performance of your computer.

The key difference between a traditional hard drive and a solid state drive is the technology behind it. An HDD mechanically moves an actuator arm across a spinning platter to find each portion of data. An SDD, however, accesses the data digitally with flash memory chips.

This allows SSDs to retrieve data like documents, images, and videos more quickly while using less power. Plus, they can be used with multiple systems and devices. This was so helpful. I used a bunch of the suggestions made throughout the article and it helped speed up my laptop. Amazing article. It really has helped my PC to speed up. Most likely getting rid of Cortana has made the biggest improvement.

Thank you for the screen shots helps me being an older user lol always unsure as to what to or not to remove. Thanks for all the screen grabs! Made it much easier to grasp and locate where to navigate to and accomplish the various tasks. Good explanation. Extremely useful my laptop was getting very slow. I had already done a few of your suggested solutions, but working through one item at the time has taken my laptop from nearly unusable to being like new.

Excellent article reminding me of some features I have used in the past and introducing some new key functions. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Comparitech uses cookies. More info. Menu Close. Utilities Slow laptop? How to make it faster for free. We are funded by our readers and we may receive a commission when you make purchases using the links on our site.

Looking to speed up a slow laptop or PC? We reveal the key simple and free steps that anyone can take make a laptop running Windows 10, 8, or 7 faster. OMG thanks so much!!!! My laptop was slow or laggy so I used this guide and it worked!!!!! Will this work to speed up my laptop it was slow when I got it from best buy new. Bought a brand new Dell laptop from the internet. It ran slow from the get go.

Amazing tips and written so even a non tech head like me can understand! Thanks x. This was the most helpful compared to the other articles out there. Only when I started using my laptop without the battery it started getting slow.

Do u know why? Most genuine and resourceful article I have read so far. Thank you for the invaluable insights! My laptop is now faster in booting up and usage.

Thanks a lot. Yes but when I went to check out it charges full price or asks for a discount code. The discount link should be working now if you want to try again. If this is the case, allow the scan to complete, and the computer's performance should improve.

As a computer runs programs, temporary files are stored on the hard drive. Deleting these temp files help improve computer performance. First, we suggest using the Windows Disk Cleanup utility to delete temporary files and other files no longer needed on the computer. Unfortunately, the Disk Cleanup may not delete every file in the temp directory. Therefore, we also suggest deleting temporary files manually.

Verify that there is at least MB of free hard drive space. This available space allows the computer to have room for the swap file to increase in size and give room for temporary files.

On a Windows computer, run ScanDisk , chkdsk , or something equivalent to verify there is nothing physically wrong with the computer's hard drive. On a macOS computer, access the Disk Utility program, and use the First Aid option to check the hard drive for errors. To open Disk Utility:. Run Defrag to help ensure that data is arranged in the best possible order. If your computer is infected with one or more viruses , it may run more slowly.

If your computer doesn't have an antivirus program installed, run Trend Micro's free Housecall online utility to scan and remove viruses on your computer. We also recommend you install an antivirus program for active protection against viruses. Today, spyware and other malware is a big cause of many computer problems, including slower performance. Even if an antivirus scanner is installed on the computer, we recommend running a malware scan as well. Use the free version of Malwarebytes to scan your computer for malware.

Verify that the Device Manager has no conflicts.