After some use, a computer becomes slower than when it was first turned on. There are many different theories as to why this happens, some right, some wrong and it is worth examining them to avoid making mistakes, to put your soul in peace, to avoid looking for special tricks, often harmful or spending money unnecessarily.
There is no doubt that, to have the fastest PC, the right maintenance is necessary and that a real change of gear can be obtained only by changing parts of the computer, adding RAM and / or replacing the hard disk with an SSD disk, but there are also some quick simple tricks that allow, without changing any piece of hardware, to improve the performance of a computer.
In this article, therefore, we see the fastest ways to make a Windows computer faster, referring to other posts on the same topic for all the insights.
READ ALSO: Because the computer becomes slower and slower over time "> disable programs in automatic start, if these are not necessary always remain in the background.
For example, you can disable the startup of Skype, to launch it only when you really want to use it.
Certainly, however, you should not disable the antivirus, which protects your computer at all times.
NOTE : In Windows 8 and Windows 10 there is a feature called Quick Start which can speed up the startup of the computer, but which can also cause problems in some configurations.
You should therefore try to deactivate it and reactivate it to see which setting is better.
2) Faster menu
As seen in another guide, there is a simple trick, good for any PC, which allows you to make Windows lighter and menus faster to appear.
3) Lighten the context menus (those that appear by pressing the right mouse button) and make them faster to open.
The contextual menu that appears each time you press the right mouse button on a file, folder or on an empty space, contains several options that become more and more numerous each time new programs are installed.
This menu should be kept as light as possible otherwise it takes longer to load, slowing down the overall performance of the computer.
We have seen, in another article, how to disable unnecessary options in the right click menu on Windows.
4) Deleting large files from the hard disk
More often than not, erasing large files on the disc, videos, music or photos will not make your PC run faster.
It is true, however, that if the disk fills almost to its maximum capacity, the computer will slow down performance considerably.
The most natural solution to avoid refilling the disk is to buy a new one and add it to your computer if possible.
Alternatively, for laptops, you can buy an external drive and move all those personal files you want to keep there.
One thing that helps to avoid Windows PC slowdowns is not to put too many files in a folder and keep the desktop free from unnecessary icons.
5) Deleting unnecessary files and junk
Deleting files created by programs does not give any benefit to the speed of the computer.
However, it is still useful to do a system maintenance with programs such as Ccleaner, once in a while to lighten Windows and, in some cases, speed up the loading of programs.
6) Disk defragmentation
We have already discussed whether disk defragmentation is still useful today, concluding that it absolutely is, unless you are using an SSD disk.
Consider, however, that starting from Windows 7 and then in Windows 10 the problem of file fragmentation no longer exists because both are already configured to defragment files in the background automatically.
7) Check for malware
When a computer is hit by a virus, it can become slower, but more often than not it hides itself without giving any symptoms of infection.
Modern malware is designed specifically to not get noticed so they avoid causing PC slowdowns.
Checking the health of your machine is still a thing to do always, even every day, by scanning with antivirus.
Whatever the antivirus used, the advice is still to do a scan with Malwarebytes, which is free) at least once a month.
8) Junk programs and free programs
By searching the internet, it is easy to find free programs for Windows PCs.
Unfortunately, however, it is equally easy that these free programs are accompanied by junk or are bad software themselves.
By this I don't mean not to download free programs, but to pay close attention when installing.
You should avoid installing sponsors (see how to install a freeware program without sponsors) and you should never allow it to start automatically (unless, of course, the nature of the program requires it, such as antivirus).
It is also important to know the difference between freeware and open source programs: freeware is a commercial software which, even if free, is interested in earning money in some way; open source, on the other hand, is a free program, which should not be sponsored or for profit.
It is also essential to download free programs always from official sites and not from other parts, to avoid installing something different.
9) Uninstall the programs you don't use
It sounds trivial, but PC performance improves if there are fewer programs installed.
Consequently, it is better to uninstall the programs that we don't need and the ones we never use.
10) Quickly end programs when they freeze.
To end a program that freezes and prevents the PC from doing other things, you can use the task manager, pressing the CTRL Shift Esc keys together, locating it in the list of running processes and applications.
To make everything easier and faster, we have instead seen a trick to create a button, to be kept fixed on the desktop or on the taskbar, which terminates blocked windows and programs that do not respond on Windows.
11) Disable visual effects
Windows includes many small animations that make file and window movements more pleasant, but which require additional memory to work well.
Especially on older PCs, it is convenient to disable Windows animated effects, which for the most part are activated by default.
It is not necessary to deactivate them all, but only those who consider themselves superfluous.
12) Speed up the computer shutdown
A slow shutdown is as annoying as a slow boot, especially if you are shutting down your laptop after work and have to wait for it to shut down.
In another article we saw all the tricks to speed up the shutdown of the Windows PC.
In the margins of this article it is also worth adding other ways to have the PC faster, more radical and also more decisive.
13) Replacement and updating of hardware components
Updating your computer with more powerful and newer parts is perhaps the most useful thing to do to make your PC run faster.
However, you have to be careful what you buy to respect the compatibility between the various components and not to make unnecessary replacements.
For example, it is useless to increase the RAM more than 4 GB on a 32-bit Windows PC and it does not help much to change the processor on an old PC if then a mechanical hard disk is used that nullifies the upgrade.
The most effective update today to speed up a computer is, without a doubt, replacing the hard disk with an SSD, solid state drive.
We have already explained the difference between hard disk and SSD: the normal hard disk is a mechanical device that is always on the move while the SSD is a flash memory with no moving parts and naturally faster.
In other articles we have indicated which SSD to buy to make the PC as fast as a tablet or smartphone, and the guide to move Windows to SSD without reinstalling everything.
The ideal situation is a PC with an SSD for Windows and programs and a hard disk to store personal data (photos, music, videos etc.).
14) Reinstall the operating system
Clearing the computer and reinstalling Windows all over again makes the PC return as fast as it was when it was new.
With the tool for Windows 10 this process has become very simple with the Refresh tool that cleans the PC from installed programs, while still keeping personal files.
15) Speed up the different versions of Windows
Even if you can't do miracles, you can tweak some Windows options to make it faster to load and perform each task.
Depending on the version used used, you can then follow the guides and tricks for
- Speed up Windows 10 and improve PC performance
- Make Windows 8 as fast as possible
- Speed up Windows 7, 8 and Vista with 10 hidden options
- Optimize Windows 7 for a fast PC and better performance
To conclude, in another article the summary of things to do to speed up your computer
