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A handy guide to diagnosing and resolving slow and unresponsive Windows computers
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Is Windows lagging or failing to respond at all on your computer? If Windows 10 is running slow, there are plenty of simple fixes. This wikiHow article will show you how to fix Windows 10 when it is slow, unresponsive, and having performance issues.
Quick Steps
- Update Windows and drivers.
- Close background apps you aren't using.
- Restart your computer and use ReadyBoost.
- Adjust paging file size.
- Change the performance on Windows for the best performance.
- Pause OneDrive syncing and disable startup programs.
- Scan for malware or viruses and run maintenance on your computer.
Steps
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Update Windows. Windows releases regular security and stability updates for your operating system so it will run more smoothly. What's more, they've set up your computer's existing OS so that it knows what updates it needs and how to get them, saving you the trouble of keeping up. If you've disabled updates (since they are on by default), or you aren't sure whether your computer is being updated, follow these steps to update Windows : [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- Press Win + i to open Settings, then click Update & Security > Windows Update . If you have updates available, you can click to download and install them. However, if you don't see listed updates, click Check for updates to see if there are any you can install. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- Updates obtained through these channels are always official and can be trusted. Therefore, it's generally recommended that you leave automatic updating on unless you have a good reason for doing otherwise. It is important for security and stability that you keep your OS updated.
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Update your drivers. A failing or outdated driver may slow your computer down. Drivers are updated when you update Windows , but you can also update them manually with Device Manager. [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- To update manually, open Device Manager and scroll to and select the category that is slow and unresponsive. Based on what functions have been slow or unresponsive on your computer, click the arrow next to whichever hardware category you would like to update. For example, if you notice a lag while typing, select “Keyboards.”
- Right-click a hardware element and select “Update driver.” Repeat this process for each component under your selected category. [4] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
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Close background applications you aren't using. You might have a few applications running in the background that use a lot of RAM and CPU power, and Windows might run slow. To find what programs are labeled as "High" CPU usage, go to your Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time).
- Organize the CPU panel to display the running programs that are using the most CPU to the least CPU, then right-click the program you want to close and select End task . (If you don't see the panels that show you CPU or Memory, click More details at the bottom of the Task Manager window.)
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Reboot your computer. A computer that's been running stores a lot of information and data that could be slowing it down. Simply restarting your computer can solve the issues that include a slow computer. [5] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
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Adjust Windows' appearance and performance. If you have a computer with lower RAM, this step will definitely help speed it up. To change the performance, press the Win key and type performance . Select the result called "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" and navigate to the Visual Effects tab. Select Adjust for best performance > Apply .
- Restart your computer.
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Use ReadyBoost with an HDD. If you don't have an SSD (solid state drive), you might notice lag and slowness when Windows writes to your hard drive. You can use a USB flash drive or memory card with your Windows computer to boost your available RAM, speeding up Windows 10. The flash drive must have 500 MB free and have high transfer speeds. To use ReadyBoost:
- Insert the memory card or USB flash drive.
- Open File Explorer.
- Right-click the removable drive and select Properties .
- Click the ReadyBoost tab and click Use this device . You'll see an error message if the inserted drive won't work as a ReadyBoost drive.
- Click OK . You can look inside the ReadyBoost.sfache file to see how much memory is being used in the drive.
- You can't use ReadyBoost with an SDD since that's already a faster drive.
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Make sure your computer is managing page file size automatically. To check this, tap the Win key to open the taskbar and enter advanced system . Click View advanced system settings in Control panel.
- Click the Advanced tab, and click Settings under "Performance."
- Click the Advanced tab, and select Change under "Virtual memory."
- Make sure the box next to "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" is checked.
- Click Apply and OK if you checked the box. If it was already checked, skip to the next troubleshooting step.
- Restart your computer if you made changes in Advanced Settings.
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Pause syncing to OneDrive. OneDrive might be causing the slowdown on your computer. To pause syncing, click the OneDrive icon in your taskbar and select •••/Settings > Pause Syncing .
- Restart your computer to see if that helped.
- To resume syncing with OneDrive, click the icon in the taskbar and select •••/Settings > Resume Syncing .
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Disable startup programs. Having a lot of programs open and start as soon as you start up your computer will make it slow and laggy. Disable items from starting when you start your computer by pressing the Windows key and typing in "Startup Apps." Click the "Startup Apps" system setting result and look through the list of apps. [6] X Research source
- The ones that say "High Impact" are making your computer startup slowly, so go through and click the switches to toggle them off (grey means off).
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Run a scan with Windows Security. Adware and malware are programs that can compromise your computer's performance and create security weaknesses. If you have a paid antivirus, you can use that instead of Windows Security. To run a scan, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Quick scan . [7] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- The best way to defend your computer against truly malicious threats is with a powerful antivirus program. Windows users have access to good free options, like Windows Security, that work at least as well as paid brands. By default, Windows Security is set up and configured to keep your device safe.
- The best way to avoid adware and malware is never to download anything you're unsure of and never agree to install anything extra that comes packaged with the software you choose to install.
- Since new viruses are always being designed and released, it's important that you allow your antivirus program to update as often as it needs to. Normally, this should take place in the background without you having to do anything.
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Run maintenance on your hard drive. Most computers made within the last several years take care of these tasks automatically, but you're always free to take care of them yourself if you want. The key tools are (1) disk defragmentation , which organizes the jumbled bits of data on your drive so that they can be found more quickly, and (2) disk cleanup , which deletes duplicate files and unused temporary ones to free up space.
- To find Disk Cleanup quickly, tap the Win key, enter disk cleanup in the search, and click the first result. Once it's open, click Clean up system files > Ok . [8] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- Storage Sense automatically keeps your computer clean and free of temporary or unused files. If you don't like how Storage Sense works, you can also manually follow the recommendations provided with Cleanup recommendations. To find that, go to Settings > System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations . Review each section listed and click Clean up to finish the process. [9] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
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Use a restore point. As long as your Windows computer has system protection enabled, you can restore to a previous version. Restoring won't get rid of any personal files, but it will delete apps, drivers, and updates that were installed after the restore point.
- System restore works 7-14 days after a change.
- To restore, tap the Windows key and enter restore point in the taskbar search. Click the result called, "Create a restore point" in Control panel.
- Click System Restore .
- Click Next and select a date for the restore point. This should be before any app, driver, or updates you think slowed down your computer.
- Click Next > Finish to close the window.
- Restart your computer.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionCan I defrag a solid-state drive?Michael Thompson-Brown is a Cybersecurity Expert based in Portland, Maine. He is the owner and founder of PCRescue!, a company that provides cybersecurity and data management solutions to small businesses and individuals. Michael has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry and is a certified ethical hacker. He is passionate about helping clients protect their data and systems from malicious attacks and helping them optimize their online presence and reach. He received a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Western Governors University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.Unlike traditional hard drives with mechanical arms, SSDs do not suffer from fragmentation issues. Instead, if your system is slow with an SSD, it's more likely due to an excessive number of running programs or errors in the file system. Windows provides built-in tools to address file system errors, which can contribute to slowdowns. As for defragmenting an SSD, it's generally unnecessary and can even reduce the lifespan of the drive, as SSDs have a limited number of write cycles.
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Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about troubleshooting computers, check out our in-depth interview with Michael Thompson-Brown .
References
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/get-the-latest-windows-update-7d20e88c-0568-483a-37bc-c3885390d212
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/update-windows-3c5ae7fc-9fb6-9af1-1984-b5e0412c556a
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/update-drivers-manually-in-windows-ec62f46c-ff14-c91d-eead-d7126dc1f7b6
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/update-drivers-in-windows-ec62f46c-ff14-c91d-eead-d7126dc1f7b6
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/restart-reboot-your-pc-110262aa-fc79-1c33-7b00-c140ae3a6dac
- ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/basic-computer-skills/disable-applications-from-running-on-startup/1/
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/stay-protected-with-windows-security-2ae0363d-0ada-c064-8b56-6a39afb6a963
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/disk-cleanup-in-windows-8a96ff42-5751-39ad-23d6-434b4d5b9a68
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/free-up-drive-space-in-windows-85529ccb-c365-490d-b548-831022bc9b32
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