Windows 10 is easily the most widely accepted desktop operating system in history. It has a commanding lead over other desktop operating systems like Macintosh and Linux in terms of personal users.
However, with time, we can notice windows 10 to slow down significantly. This mostly happens due to inadequate use of resources and the aging of the computer.
Therefore, We at Tech88 have put down the following 5 hacks to speed up windows 10 considerably.
How to Speed Up Windows 10
Upgrade your Hard Disk to a Good SSD:
I cannot stress this point well enough, but hard disks are a thing of the past. The rotating magnetic disks produce sound and are prone to falls.
A solid-state drive or an SSD has no moving parts but rather depends on flash memory-the same technology used in phones and SD cards.
They are a lot faster than the standard hard disks used in traditional computers. Hence, if you notice your computer slowing down, upgrading your hard disk to an SSD is an excellent choice.
SSDs come in two sizes- 2.5’’ and 3.5’’.Therefore, before upgrading, make sure to know the size of the SSD for your computer.
Run System Maintenance
Windows 10 has an inbuilt system maintenance feature that scans the entire system and comes up with the known issues and ways to fix them.
To enable System Maintenance, go to the search bar beside the start button on the taskbar and type system maintenance. The first result will take you to Control Panel and System Maintenance can be run from there.
We recommend running this feature once every 10 days to optimize your PC.
Remove Unnecessary Files and Programs
Over time, the more you download and install things into your PC, some items will start running in the background. These background processes use up RAM, which is the primary memory used for temporary files and running apps.
A simple way to check which program is using the most system resources is to open the Task Manager by holding down Ctrl+ Alt+ Delete keys on the keyboard together and then clicking on task manager.
The task manager gives a detailed idea of the number of resources being used by every program running in the foreground as well as in the background.
Make a list of the programs which you no longer use but are still clogging the system.
Now, its time to uninstall these programs. For this, go to the search box in the taskbar and type “Add or Remove Programs”. Windows Settings will open with the list of all the files and apps present on the system.
You can click on the apps you want to disable and click on the uninstall button.
We also recommend increasing the amount of free space in the system. This is because Windows usually uses the hard disks for various temporary tasks when the RAM is filled up. Therefore, freeing up the hard disk space would lead to an increase in the amount of memory windows can use for its various tasks.
Optimize and DeFrag Your Hard Disks
The more you use your hard disks, the more fragmented it becomes. This leads to the PC slowing down.
Windows has a built-in De Fragmentation Tool which can greatly boost up your system performance.
To enable this, go to the search bar in the taskbar and type defrag. Normally, windows run this feature automatically every few days but it’s good to do it manually at times.
From the window that appears, select the disk you want to optimize and click on the optimize button.
However, this feature can be only run if you have administrator privileges of the system. So, if you are using a laptop provided by your organization or University, this feature may not work.
Update, Update and Update
This is something which perhaps shouldn’t be mentioned but make sure that your PC has the latest Windows Updates.
This is because Windows by its nature is buggy and the updates provide important changes that greatly improve the overall experience and the optimization of Windows.
To enable and update your system, go to settings, and then click on Windows and Updates. From the screen which appears, click on Check for New Updates.
Make sure you always have the latest and greatest version of Windows installed for the best possible results.
Finally, Restarting your PC every day and downloading a good anti-malware software from companies like Norton and McAfee helps your PC remain in its best possible shape.
Make sure to take care of your PC using the above-mentioned hacks and it would serve you well for a long long time.
Did we miss anything? If you know any other way which would help someone speed up Windows 10, make sure to pen it down in the comments.