• Windows Phone Area
• On January 30, 2017

Speed up your Windows 10 device

Despite the fact that Windows 10 is well-optimized and relatively light operating system that runs well even on years old hardware, there are some quick ways to speed up your Windows 10 PC even more. As you install many Win32 programs on the machine, the PC may boot and loads slower over time. Some programs may be too resource-hungry, consuming significant CPU and RAM resources to operate. Here is how you can try to fix a slow PC running Windows 10:

Upgrade HDD to SSD drive

You can significantly speed up the Windows 10 PC by replacing the old mechanical hard disk (HDD) with a solid state drive (SSD). This will dramatically reduce the program loading time, PC and app startup, and improve all tasks related to accessing, copying and saving files.

Disable startup apps

Many apps and programs boot up automatically when you turn on the PC. This may not just make your Windows 10 PC start up slower, but also worsen the performance by a good margin. To disable the programs startup, you need to open the Task Manager.

Press Alt + Ctrl + Del and select ‘Task Manager’. Then navigate to the Startup section to see all programs that can boot automatically when the PC starts and their startup impact. Disable all programs you don’t need to boot automatically when you turn on the PC. For example, if you don’t need Skype to log in when you start your computer, right-click on the app and select ‘Disable’.

Close resource-consuming processes and programs

Some programs may eat up all resources your PC has, making it slow and unresponsive. To find out what application is using up most resources, and fix the problem, you can open the Task Manager (ALT + Ctrl + Del). You will see a list with all processes your PC runs at the moment. Sort them by CPU, Disk or Memory to find out which app is affecting the performance. If there is an app that uses up too much resources, you can simply right-click on it and select ‘End Task’.

Reduce visual effects

Windows 10 often uses animations to make the overall experience more pleasant for the eye. Reducing the animations may influence the PC speed, especially for old hardware configurations.

Disable animations by pressing Windows Key + X. Click on ‘System‘ and then on ‘Advanced System Settings‘. Click on ‘Performance Settings’ to bring up the Visual effects menu. Uncheck each animation you don’t want to see.

Free up Disk space

Use the built-in Disk Cleanup tool to free up disk space and make room for your PC to work better.

Start ‘Disk Cleanup’ and select the hard drive you want to clean. Wait before the program calculates the space you can free up. Check all options and tap ‘OK’. You can also clean up the system files from the same window.

Remove programs you don’t need

Uninstall all programs you don’t actually use. Thus you can significantly speed up the PC, as you will reduce the entries in the system, improve the boot time and increase security.