When you have used your Windows machine for a while, you are quite likely to notice that its performance is comparatively much slower than it used to be. You may blame it on adware and viruses but you will be surprised to know that the slowing down of Windows over time is in fact absolutely normal. If the lethargic performance of your system is affecting the efficiency of your work, you will be happy to know that usually, you can deal with this problem quite easily and all on your own!
Your computer’s performance can be improved both through speeding up your software and your hardware. Software speeding up can be as simple as tweaking some of your windows settings, spring cleaning your memory or changing your program settings. On the hardware end, updating your hardware components and using the right BIOS settings can go a long way.
The simplest trick here is to ensure that you have the right hardware to support your Windows OS. Your processor version, RAM and hard drive configurations work together to facilitate your computer’s performance but updating the RAM alone can have a noticeable impact on system speed and operability. The BIOS is another often ignored but high influence option. Computer companies often update BIOS versions to address system errors, add features or simply to enhance performance, so make sure you are using the latest version of the BIOS at all times. Tweaking BIOS settings like Boot Order, Quick Power on Self Test and Chipset features can also speed up your system boot up. To enhance the performance of your installed hardware, check that you are using the latest versions of all device drivers.
Users can accumulate a lot of software and data over time which clutters up the computer and slows it down. Start by uninstalling some of your unused applications and program files like games, unused browsers, and messengers. Similarly, clean-up your desktop by organizing all your documents in your My Documents folder and sub-folders. Boot up is much faster with desktop shortcuts than the actual files sitting on your desktop. Another handy trick is to hasten Startup by shortening the list of programs that Windows runs. Remove unnecessary programs from the list and you can fasten the start up process significantly.