A supercomputer is one that’s 1,000 times faster than a regular computer.
But if you’ve had your laptop for a while or you use it for a lot of tasks, it might be a bit slower than that average. The good news is, we can teach you how to increase laptop speed.
In many cases, speeding up your laptop doesn’t take installing new laptop parts. There are quite a few simple fixes you can try before making a purchase, and we’re going to tell you all about them in this guide to increasing the speed of your laptop.
Why Do Laptops Slow Down?
A brand new computer is like a blank slate. It has nothing on it, save for some pre-installed software programs. So, when you start it up for the first while, it runs fast and smooth.
But as you install additional software, download files, surf the internet, and use programs, your system resources start to get used up. And while that can take years, it can also occur in a matter of months depending on the tasks and activities you use your computer for.
How to Increase Laptop Speed
There are just as many ways to speed up your laptop as there are reasons for your laptop slowing down in the first place. Most of these methods for how to increase laptop speed just require some of your time and effort while others will require buying laptop parts.
Clear Up Your Hard Drive
Your operating system needs space in order to work properly. That’s why, when the hard drive gets full, it slows your whole system down.
There are a few ways you can clear up space on your hard drive:
- Empty the Recycle Bin. Files build up in the Recycle Bin without you even realizing it. Clear it out every so often to help your laptop run better.
- Go through the Downloads folder. This is where the files downloaded from the internet end up. Clean it often so that these files don’t take up space on your hard drive.
- Delete temporary files. Temporary files are where temporary data is stored. They’re often forgot about but can take up a lot of space on your hard drive if you don’t find and delete them.
You should ensure that your laptop is operating with at least 500MB of disk space available at all times.
Defragment
If you’re a gamer, a video editor, photographer, or anyone who uses programs with large file sizes, you likely have a lot of fragmentation on your hard drive. Fragmentation causes the hard drive to work harder than it needs to, which in turn causes your laptop to slow down.
Defragmenting your hard drive organizes the fragmented data. This simple step will improve the laptop’s performance and speed, in some cases significantly.
Close Programs and Background Processes
If you have too many programs running at once, it takes up your system resources and slows your laptop. Operating with fewer open programs, therefore, increases laptop speed.
Open the Task Manager to see what programs are taking up the most space on your PC. You can sort them by memory usage to figure out which requires the most processing power. Close anything you don’t need or aren’t using.
Sometimes, you’re not even aware of all the programs that are running because they’re running as background processes. These are programs that continue running in the background after they’ve been closed or ones that start running automatically when you start your computer.
To disable programs from starting automatically, go to the Task Manager and click on the ‘Start-up’ tab. Select ‘Disable’ to stop programs from starting up automatically.
Get Rid of Unnecessary Software
The software takes up even more space and resources than running too many programs at once. Data can also pile up and take up memory.
Go through your laptop and delete any unnecessary software or obsolete data to clear up hard disk space. This also goes for apps and games you haven’t used or looked at since you downloaded them.
Antivirus
Malware and viruses run in the background, taking up a huge amount of memory and resources. They can slow your laptop down significantly.
The first thing you should know about malware and viruses is that they’re largely avoidable. Make sure you practice safe browsing and don’t click on internet pop-ups, open attachments from unknown emails, or download files that don’t seem legit.
Beyond that, it’s also worth investing in a good antivirus program. Keep that program up to date, heed the warnings it gives you, and run scans regularly to keep your laptop free of these disruptions.
Storage Solutions
If you’ve done all of the above and you still can’t increase laptop speed, it might be time to consider purchasing laptop parts and laptop accessories that will solve the problem. You have three solutions when it comes to purchasing extra storage: solid-state hard drives, RAM, and cloud technology.
A solid-state hard drive (SSD) is far more reliable than a hard drive because it uses flash memory. In many cases, you can have an SSD installed on your laptop without having to buy a new one.
RAM, or Random Access Memory, is an essential component of your laptop’s performance. When you don’t have enough RAM, the overall performance of your laptop will decline, including its speed. You can have more RAM installed on your laptop to improve speed and performance.
Alternatively, you can consider purchasing cloud storage to free up space on your computer. There are many options to choose from, including Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox. Each gives you the first few gigabytes of storage for free and charges a monthly fee if you need more space.
System Updates
Just like your phone, the operating system of your laptop requires updates. Staying on top of these updates ensures your computer performs to the best of its ability. That’s because updates come with enhancements that improve the security and performance of your device.
If you’re running on Windows 10, your system should automatically download and install updates. If you’re running on a Mac, go to System Preference > App Store > Automatically check for updates to enable automatic updates.
Repairs and Replacements
The software we use, the things we download, and the games we play are getting more sophisticated every day. That sophistication requires more and more powerful machines. So, it’s only a matter of time before your laptop gets too slow to function properly.
When that happens, the only answer to “how to increase laptop speed?” is to purchase new parts or have a complete replacement. Not sure which one you need? Bring your laptop to Esource Parts and let us diagnose and fix the problem for you.
