How Can I Speed Up A Windows 10 Laptop
Matt is resurrecting a 10-year-old laptop with only 4GB of memory. How can he make it run faster?
I am trying to resurrect an old but good-in-its-day laptop for my son to use for his A-levels. I have bought a cheap 256GB SSD to improve the read/write speeds, but it seems I am stuck with the current 4GB of memory. Its two memory slots could support 8GB but 4GB DDR2 memory modules are prohibitively expensive at roughly £65 each. It doesnt seem to make sense spending that sort of money on outdated memory technology for a 10-year-old laptop.
What is the best way to set up Windows 10 so it runs fast on relatively limited memory? Is it worth using a different browser to Chrome? Is Microsoft Office too much of a resource hog?
There must be a lot of perfectly good machines awaiting an opportunity for a second life.Matt
Chip costs are driven by production volumes, so obsolete types of memory are no longer in production, or are very expensive to produce. Often, there are alternatives, such as buying second-hand memory modules, and cannibalising laptops sold on eBay for spares or repair.
In this case, there are very few second-hand modules for sale. When DDR2 was standard, many laptops had 2GB, but very few had the 8GB that would need two 4GB modules.
On the bright side, 4GB laptops have been common for most of the past decade, and some people still buy them. Its better to have 8GB, but 4GB is usable.
Use An Ssd Or Install Additional Memory
Finally, you can dramatically improve the performance of your computer by increasing its memory and storage.
If your computer has a traditional hard drive one with spinning metal platters replacing it with a solid-state drive can make a world of difference. An SSD has the same kind of memory as a USB flash drive and it’ll allow Windows to boot several times faster, and programs to start in a fraction of the time.
Adding an SSD is the single biggest improvement you can make to a PC, and it can even make a bigger difference than upgrading to a computer with a faster processor.
In addition, if you use your computer for a lot of resource-intensive tasks, like photo editing, video production, or gaming, adding additional memory can help as well.
You should have no less than 4GB of RAM in your computer for Windows to run efficiently, but adding additional memory can improve performance.
How To Remove Unwanted Startup Apps
Assuming you have installed Advanced PC Cleanup we will begin with the steps.
1. Launch Advanced PC Cleanup2. Click the Startup Manager option from the left pane
3. Wait for it to scan the system for startup apps.4. You will now see a list of applications that run on system startup. Select the ones you wish to remove and click the Trash bin.
5. Restart the system to apply changes. This will improve the boot time.
In case you want to do it manually jump to the manual section.
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Restore Previous Working State
Sometimes your computer will begin to slow down after installing a new system update, device driver, or application. If you cannot determine why the device is slow, you can undo any changes by restoring the previous working state using a System Restore point.
To apply a restore point to fix performance issues on Windows 10, use these steps:
Click the System Restore button.
Once you complete the steps, the computer will roll back to a previous state bringing back when performance was not an issue.
When applying a restore point, your files will be preserved, but the process will remove system changes, updates, drivers, and applications installed after the restore point was created.
System Restore is not enabled by default. This means you must set it up before you can revert system changes.
Turn Off Visual Effects
Windows offers a really easy way to shut off all visual enhancements.
Disabling visual effects disabled on a few systems seems to make a big impact, particularly on older computers. On the downside, things won’t look as nice. We advise leaving Smooth edges of screen fonts enabled as it helps when reading text.
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How Do I Fix A Slow Hp Laptop With Windows 10
Why Is My Laptop Slow
One of the most common reasons for a slow computer is too many programs are running simultaneously in the background taking up considerable processing power which reduces PCs performance. Some programs will continue to run in the background even after you have closed them or will start automatically when you boot up your computer.
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How To Make A Windows 10 Pc Boot Quicker With Fast Startup
On Windows 10, you can enable “fast startup” to speed up the boot time, allowing the device to start and load the desktop more quickly than when using the traditional startup process.
The feature is not new. It has been available since Windows 8.x, and it’s a mode that combines the hibernation and shutdown processes to accomplish faster boot times. Windows 10 should come with fast startup enabled by default, but if your computer is taking a long time to boot, you may need to turn on the feature to speed up the process.
In this Windows 10 guide, we will walk you through the steps to enable fast startup on your computer. If the option is missing, we also outline the steps to make it available in the power settings.
Tips And Tricks To Increase Pc Performance On Windows 10
Although Windows 10 is a fast system , at some point, the performance will start degrading as a result of many factors, including compatibility issues and bugs, viruses or other types of malware, hardware problems, and more.
If you notice that your device is getting slower, it does not necessarily mean you have to replace it immediately. A few simple software and hardware tweaks can significantly speed up the Windows 10 experience.
In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through 20 ways you can try to speed up, optimize, and improve the performance of your computer whether it has an older or modern hardware configuration.
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What’s The Best Way To Make Windows 10 Run Faster
The sixth tip to optimize Windows 10 performance to speed up Windows 10 is to disable search indexing. And now the lesson. 1. Press the Windows and R keys at the same time to open the Run dialog box. 2. Type exe in the box and click OK to continue. 3. Click “Change” in the pop-up window. 4. Then click View all locations.
Remove Unused Bloatware Software
Many PCs come with multiple pre-installed apps you don’t want or need, which are in large size and cause your computer in low disk space. To free up space and make your Windows 11/10 run faster, you can uninstall the bloatware.
Right-click the Start menu, choose “Control Panel” > “Programs” > click “Uninstall a program”. Select the programs you no longer need and click “Uninstall” at the top of the list.
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Ditch The Visual Effects
Windows 10 has various animations used throughout. While these visual effects afford a sense of style they can significantly slow down older devices. Thankfully they are easy to turn off.
Open the Windows Start Menu and type advanced system settings and select the top result. In the window that appears there is a section marked Performance, with a button for Settings.
Click this and a list of the various visual effects will appear. You can either untick the ones you think might be problematic, or simply select the Adjust for best performance option at the top. Remember to click ‘OK’ to save the changes.
Check Your Power Plan
It is important to take a peek at your power plans in the Control Panel on a laptop.
For doing that, go to the Control panel-> System and Security-> Power Options. Here, you will find the power plan your laptop is currently running on. It is most likely to be Balanced mode. Now, you can either select High Performance mode if you need better performance and you have some heavy usage, or you can choose Power saver mode if you have light usage.
Step a) Select -> Settings apps System > Power & sleep option
Step b) Click the Additional power settings link.
Step c) Click the drop-down arrow on the right side to Show additional plans and select High Performance.
Step d) And then select the high-performance option.
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Use Readyboost To Help Improve Performance
ReadyBoost lets you use a removable drive, like a USB flash drive, to improve your PCs performance without opening your PC and adding more memory . To use ReadyBoost, youll need a USB flash drive or a memory card that has at least 500 MB free and a high data transfer rate.
To use ReadyBoost
Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port on your PC.
SelectFile Explorer from the taskbar.
Press and hold the USB flash drive , then select Properties.
Select the ReadyBoost tab, then select Use this device.Windows determines if the device can use ReadyBoost. If it cant, it’ll let you know.
After Windows determines how much free space to use to optimize memory, select OK to reserve this space so ReadyBoost can use it.When you look at the contents of the USB flash drive in File Explorer, youll see a file named ReadyBoost.sfcache on the flash drive. This file shows how much space is reserved for ReadyBoost.
Note: ReadyBoost can’t be used if Windows is installed on a solid state drive . An SSD is already fast, and ReadyBoost won’t be able to improve its performance.
How To Speed Up Windows 11/10 Faqs
Check the following questions that are highly relevant to how to speed up Windows 10 and make it faster.
1. Why is my Windows 10 computer so slow?
- Virus or malware attack
- Run out of disk space
- Dirty fan or heat sink
- Windows system issue
2. How can you increase your computer speed?
To increase your computer speed, you can:
- Install the latest updates for Windows and device drivers
- Restart your PC and open only the apps you need
- Use ReadyBoost to help improve performance
- Make sure the system is managing the page file size
- Check for low disk space and free up space
- Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows
- Stop OneDrive syncing
- Check for viruses and malware
- Restore your PC from a system restore point
3. How can I make Windows 10 2021 faster?
How to speed up Windows 10 2019, 2020, or 2021:
- Restart your PC
Updated by Roxanne
Roxanne is one of the main contributors to EaseUS and has created multiple posts on digital devices like PCs, Mobile phones, tablets, Mac, etc. She loves to share ideas with people of the same interest.
Written by Myra
Myra joined EaseUS in 2017. As a big fan of Apple products, she mainly focuses on iOS data transfer and iOS troubleshooting tips. Meanwhile, she is expanding her knowledge and skills in other fields like data recovery and disk management. Myra is open-minded and likes both extensive and intensive reading. Other than reading and writing, she is also fond of mobile games and K-pop stars.
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Turn Off Windows 10’s Search Indexing Feature
When you search for a file, Windows doesn’t scan every directory on your computer if you have indexing enabled. Indexing creates a text manifest of the items stored on your computer. It dramatically improves file search speed.
On semi-recent computers, it’s best not to turn indexing off. There’s little benefit. Even on a modern computer, turning off Windows 10’s indexing feature will significantly slow down searches of your storage drive for very little performance gain.
On the other hand, if you own a very old computer, turning off Search Indexing will help your system’s performance.
To turn off Windows 10’s Search Index tool:
Keeping Things Running Smoothly
Once youve cleaned up your computer by implementing some of the tips above, no doubt youll want to keep it running at top speed. To avoid getting frustrated with lackluster performance, its a good idea to schedule a monthly cleanup. Use the above list of tips as a handy checklist and youre all set.
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Adjust The Appearance And Performance Of Windows
Windows 10 includes many visual effects, such as animations and shadow effects. These look great, but they can also use additional system resources and can slow down your PC. This is especially true if you have a PC with a smaller amount of memory .
To adjust the visual effects in Windows
In the search box on the taskbar, type performance, then select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows in the list of results.
On the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance> Apply.
Restart your PC and see if that speeds up your PC.
If your PC still runs slowly, continue to the next tip.
How Do I Find The Startup Time In Windows 10
How to Find the Time it Takes a Program to Load at Windows 10 Startup
- Open Windows Task Manager by right clicking the Task Bar and selecting Task Manager.
- Choose the Startup tab from the top menu.
- Right click on any of the four default tabs Name, Publisher, Status, or Startup impact and select CPU at startup.
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Defrag Your Hard Drive
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 well-known, 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 if you have both, only use a defragger on the hard disk.
Why Is My Iphone Extremely Slow
The next reason why your iPhone is too slow is because there is an error on your device. If you are getting an error message on your iPhone, it means that there is an operating system error that is slowing down your device.
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Disable System Visual Effects
On Windows 10, you will find many visual effects from animations to shadows to more advanced visuals elements, such as blur and transparency, reveal highlight, and part of the Fluent Design language.
Although these effects can make the experience more visually appealing, they also require system resources that can slow down computers with older hardware. However, you can disable these effects to save resources and make Windows 10 seem a little faster.
What Are The Benefits Of Windows 10 Pro For Workstations
Let’s take a look at the key benefits of Windows 10 Pro for Workstations: Accelerate demanding workloads and transfer files Windows 10 Pro for Workstations supports 1 persistent memory device , so you can accelerate extensive workloads as quickly as possible. data transfer. storage desks.
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Does Hard Drive Make Your Computer Run Faster
The hard drive also plays an important role. If your hard drive space is low, your computer will slow down. A bigger hard drive can make your computer faster. In addition to the capacity of the hard disk, the performance of the hard disk is also a factor in the speed of the computer.
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