Why is My Laptop So Slow? Here are the Answers
Why is my laptop so slow is a question most users ask after only a short while of using a new laptop. It is not because the laptop is defective or of poor quality. Most of us do not know how to use and maintain our laptops to optimize their speed properly. On this page, we want to educate you all on why your laptop is running so slow and what you can do to fix it.
Answer to Why Is My Laptop Running So Slow
Before we can guide you on possible fixes for this issue, we first need to inform you why a computer runs so slow. Below are some of the main culprits behind this computer speed issue.
- Too many programs running in the background
- Fragmented hard drive
- The computer is running out of RAM
- Running out of hard disk space
- Viruses and malware
- Too many pending OS and driver updates
- A large number of startup programs
- Too many temporary or junk files
These are a few key causes behind your laptop or desktop computer running slower than usual. We hope the next time you ask yourself, why is my computer so slow, these points will come to your mind. In the next section, we will tell you how you can speed up your computer by following some simple steps.
Ways to Speed Up Your Computer
The methods we will share with you below are simple enough for any of you to do on your own. Even if you are not a tech genius, they will be easy to follow. Many of these you may have already tried. But it cannot hurt to try them again.
Restart Your Computer
Your OS takes up a lot of space in the RAM. When this space fills up, your computer gets slow and sluggish while carrying out basic operations. In this situation, the computer starts using a swap file. A swap file is what your computer uses to run programs when your RAM is out of space.
When you restart your PC, it refreshes your RAM and frees up valuable space. Once the memory is refreshed, your laptop can noticeably feel faster than before. If there are too many programs that start when your laptop restarts, then you need to ensure those programs are closed and they do not auto-start.
Disable Various Background Programs
Programs that are constantly running in the background are another reason your PC slows down. So, here is how you can close these background programs. Firstly, you need to see which programs are running in the background and how much memory each of them is using. For this, you need to open your Task Manager. You can access it by pressing CTRL + ALT + DELETE keys.
You can click various headers like CPU, Memory, and Disk headers to see a categorized list of all the programs that are running and the memory they are consuming. So, if your memory bar is almost full, you can sort the programs by the memory they are using and then close the ones that are unnecessary.
Disabling Startup Programs
If you are wondering why is my Dell laptop so slow while booting up, it can be because too many programs are starting up the moment your computer powers on. These programs cause the computer to be very slow, and it can take too long for it to boot after pressing the start button. So, to avoid this problem, you need to disable some of these startup programs.
These programs can also be disabled using the task manager in the latest version of Windows OS. Press the CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys to open the Task Manager. Then, click on the tab that says Start-up. It will show you what startup programs are enabled and what impact they are having on your system’s performance. To restrict a program from starting automatically, select that program and at the bottom right corner, you will see the option of Disable, click on it.
However, make sure that the programs you have disabled are not needed for the security of the PC, like an antivirus or malware protection software.
Defragment the Hard Disk
When you free any amount of data from your hard disk, the free space remains in the fragment where the deleted data used to be. This means that the free memory space in your hard disk is not present all in one location but in several different locations. So, the next time you need to run a program or open a file, it has to use the space from several different locations.
This causes the speed of different processes to decrease and causes your PC to be very slow. In order to fix this problem, we suggest you defragment your hard disk. Defragmenting takes all the scattered free space and organizes it into a big block of free memory. In the search bar of your Windows, type disk defragmenter, and the Disk Defragmenter Tool opens up. Then, you need to follow the on-screen instructions to defragment your hard disk successfully.
Adding More Memory
If your PC has less than 4GB of RAM and you are using a lot of different programs on it simultaneously, your laptop is obviously going to be slow. If your laptop’s motherboard has slots where additional RAM chips can be added, you can purchase extra RAM and add it to your computer. In the case of a desktop, it is rather easy to do this.
The same can be done for your hard disk. If your hard disk space is running out, it can impact your computer’s speed. In the event that you cannot free up space and need to add more memory to your hard disk, you can do so. But this would be next to impossible to do on a laptop. But you can upgrade your hard disk rather easily on desktop computers.
Is the laptop Still Slow? Contact the Experts
If, after using all of the above steps, your laptop or desktop is still slow, then it is advised that you contact our experts, who can assist you in speeding up your computer. With our services, you will never again have to ask yourself, why is my laptop running so slow?