Customization Guide to Boost Windows 10 Performance

After installing Windows 10, do you notice your computer running slow? Is the speed of Windows 10 an improvement compared to previous operating systems like Windows XP/7/8? So, how can you enhance the startup speed of Windows 10? Read on to find out...

2. Customization Guide to Accelerate Windows 10 Performance

After installing Windows 10, do you find your computer running sluggishly? How does the speed of Windows 10 compare to previous operating systems like Windows XP/7/8? Is there a way to enhance the boot speed of Windows 10? Explore the strategies in this article and apply them to your system!

Explore the following methods to speed up Windows 10:

How to Customize to Boost Windows 10 Speed

Feel free to explore the detailed information below:

1. Disable System Restore

If you don't want to use the System Restore feature, it's advisable to disable it. This action frees up memory, storage space, and minimizes background services on Windows 10. To turn off System Restore on Windows 10, right-click on This PC > Properties > Advanced system settings > select the System Protection tab. By default, this mode is activated (Protection = On):

Click the Configure button, and in the next window, select Disable system protection to turn off the System Restore feature. Then, click OK:

Check again on the System Protection tab. If you see that Protection for drive C is set to Off, it means you have successfully disabled the backup mode:

2. Examine Startup Programs

Windows 10 automatically installs and starts the online backup app - OneDrive - on user systems. This can be a cause of slow startup for computers with slow internet connections. To disable OneDrive during Windows startup, open Task Manager and select the Startup tab:

Right-click on OneDrive and choose Disable as shown below (you can do the same for other applications):

If you want to view details and disable applications that start with Windows 10, you can follow the instructions introduced by Quantrimang.com earlier.

3. Disable Windows Defender

Windows Defender is one of the good and stable free antivirus programs. However, if you don't want to use it or prefer another antivirus application, let's disable Windows Defender. Open Control Panel > Windows Defender or right-click on the program icon in the lower right corner of the screen > Open:

Next, select Settings at the top right corner of the Windows Defender interface:

The next setup window appears with several On options; turn them all Off. Windows will display a notification and change the status of Windows Defender from green or yellow to red as shown below:

4. Disable Firewall - Windows Firewall

The Firewall feature on personal computers is almost... hardly used by anyone. So, why turn on the Firewall? Let's turn it off. Open Control Panel > Windows Firewall:

In the Turn Windows Firewall on or off settings, choose Turn Off... Then press OK:

5. Upgrade, Replace HDD with SSD

Currently, hard drive technology has changed a lot. With quite affordable prices, you can now use the latest SSDs with much larger storage capacity (at least compared to the time when SSDs first appeared), and the data access speed is much faster. Therefore, Windows 10 on your computer will feel much faster. Some references for SSDs with prices over 1 million VND in Vietnam:

• Solid State Drive (SSD) at Hanoi Computer.
• SSD at Phong Vu Computer.
• SSD at Phuc Anh.

6. Disable Graphic Effects, Transparent Icons on Windows 10

Graphic effects have been a significant change since Windows XP, and for high-performance computers, they look great. However, for average or low-end machines, it can be a burden. On Windows 10, right-click on the Desktop, choose Personalize > go to Colors:

Switch off the options:

• Show color on Start, Taskbar and Action Center
• Make Start, Taskbar, and Action Center Transparent

Change from On to Off. 

7. Prioritize Performance Mode

Years ago, Windows XP brought numerous improvements and Microsoft's ambition to dominate the desktop market. Windows XP achieved what no operating system had done before in that era. Prioritizing performance or graphical interface made the user experience interesting. Back to Windows 10, to boost its performance, go to System > Advanced system settings (can be opened in various ways) > Advanced > click Settings in the Performance section:

In this option, switch to Adjust for best performance.

8. Uninstall Bloatware

One of the major factors slowing down Windows is unwanted software, also known as bloatware. They occupy space on the drive and memory unnecessarily, hindering other applications from reaching their full potential.

That's why removing such apps boosts system performance, especially if you download many programs rarely or never use them. For seldom-used apps, to avoid software installation, you can use portable alternatives.

To remove bloatware or unused applications, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on Start> Control Panel.
2. Select Programs > Programs and Features.
3. Choose Uninstall/Change to remove unwanted programs, uninstall each program one by one.
4. Follow the instructions in the dialog to uninstall the software.

9. Activate Hibernate Mode

In Hibernate mode, the state of the computer (open programs and their data) is saved on the hard drive when you shut down the PC. When you turn on the system, Windows 10 takes a few seconds to open and allows you to resume where you left off (because your programs are still open along with their work sessions).

Follow these steps to enable the hibernate option:

1. Press Win + I and then select System
2. Choose Power & sleep > Additional power settings, then open Power Options.
3. On the left control panel, select Choose what the power buttons do.
4. In the new window, click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Select Hibernate and click the Save changes button at the bottom.

Now you can choose the Hibernate option from the Start menu whenever you want to put your computer into hibernation and then quickly resume your work.

10. Disable Search Indexing

The Search Indexing feature improves the responsiveness of the search tool and speeds up searches in Windows 10. However, it degrades performance when running in the background and consumes a lot of system resources. For this reason, if you only search occasionally, it's best to disable this feature.

Follow the steps below to disable the Search Indexing feature:

1. Right-click on Start> Computer Management.
2. Double-click on Services and Applications > Services.
3. In the list of services, find Windows Search and double-click on it.
4. In the new window, in the Startup type section, choose Manual or Disabled and then click the OK button to save your changes.

11. Reduce the Load on the Browser

Browser extensions and add-ons operate for every open tab or window, consuming a significant amount of system resources. Installing numerous browser extensions and add-ons will decrease your computer's performance. To speed up Windows 10, disable or remove all unused extensions and add-ons.

If you use Chrome as your web browser, follow these steps to remove extensions:

1. Click on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the browser window.
2. Select More tools > Extensions.
3. Uncheck Enabled for any extensions you want to temporarily disable or click the trash icon to uninstall them completely.

If you use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser, follow these steps to remove add-ons:

1. Click on the three horizontal lines icon in the top-right corner of the browser window.
2. Select Add-ons to open the Add-ons Manager.
3. Choose Extensions from the left sidebar to view the list.
4. Click the Disable button for add-ons you want to temporarily turn off or click the Remove button to uninstall unnecessary add-ons completely.

12. Clean Up Disk Drives

Over time, your computer accumulates a lot of useless data, occupying space that can slow down overall system operations. That's why you need to remove unnecessary files using the Disk Cleanup tool.

To run Disk Cleanup to free up space on your system, follow these steps:

1. Click on Start> File Explorer> This PC.
2. On the right, under Devices and Drives, select Local Disk (C:), then right-click and choose Properties from the menu.
3. Switch to the General tab and in the Capacity section, click the Disk Cleanup button.
4. After the tool finishes scanning the system, select the file categories you want to delete and click OK to remove them.

13. Avoid Disk Fragmentation

Over time, your drive becomes fragmented, and increased fragmentation also extends the time Windows 10 takes to load data when the parts are scattered across the drive. This leads to slower performance and increases the risk of drive failure.

Defragmenting cleans up the hard drive, and consolidating fragments creates sequential data on the drive, speeding up system operations. Additionally, drive defragmentation based on a schedule regularly improves performance and extends system lifespan.

To prevent fragmentation and keep your hard drive operating efficiently, follow these steps:

1. Click on Start > File Explorer.
2. Select Local Disk (C:), then right-click and choose Properties.
3. Click on the Tools tab, look at the Optimize and defragment drive section, then click the Optimize button to open the Optimize Drives tool.
4. Select each drive one by one and click the Optimize button to defragment each drive.

14. Enable Fast Startup Feature

The Fast Startup option helps speed up your computer's startup after shutting down by reducing the boot time, using a buffer to store essential resources in a single file on the hard drive.

At startup, this main file is loaded back into RAM to accelerate the multitasking process. Note that this option does not affect the restart process.

Follow these steps to enable the Fast Startup option in Windows 10:

1. Right-click on Start to open the context menu and select Control Panel.
2. Click on Hardware and Sound and look for Power Options in the new window.
3. Click on Change what the power buttons do.
4. Now click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Check the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended).
6. Click the Save changes button.

15. Uninstall Fonts and Drivers

Drivers, like fonts, load and consume resources, causing delays in system startup. Therefore, if you don't need them, remove them to improve the performance of your Windows 10 PC.

To uninstall drivers, refer to the “Uninstall bloatware” section above. In the Programs and Features section, simply select the driver you want to remove. If the driver does not appear in Programs and Features, you can follow these steps:

1. Right-click on Start, choose Device Manager to open the window.
2. Identify the hardware location you want to uninstall the driver for, then right-click on it and select Uninstall.
3. Select the option Delete the driver software for this device and click OK.

To remove fonts, follow the steps below:

1. Right-click on Start and select Control Panel.
2. Choose Category in View and then select Fonts.
3. Select the fonts you don't use and then click the Delete button.

16. Disable Background Apps

Running background apps consume system resources, heat up your computer, and reduce its overall performance. That's why it's better to turn them off to speed up your Windows 10 and start them manually when needed. This reduces resource usage and helps boost your system's speed.

Follow these steps to disable background apps:

1. Select the Start button, go to Settings.
2. Click on Privacy, navigate to the last option in the left control panel - Background apps.
3. Turn off unnecessary background apps.

17. Optimize Virtual Memory

If your RAM is low, running multitasking smoothly on Windows 10 can be challenging. The recommended solution is to upgrade RAM. However, if you're not ready to invest in that, another option is to allocate more virtual memory.

Virtual memory is a software optimization measure to enhance the responsiveness of any system. The operating system uses virtual memory whenever it runs out of physical memory (RAM). While Windows 10 manages this setting, manually configuring it yields much better results.

Follow these steps to optimize virtual memory:

1. Right-click on Start, choose Control Panel, and then select System and Security.
2. Click on System in the appearing window, then choose Advanced system settings on the left.
3. In the new window, click on the Advanced tab, and then click the Settings button inside the Performance section.
4. Select the Advanced tab in the new window and click the Change button in the Virtual Memory section.
5. In the new window, uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
6. Select the C: drive and then click the radio button to customize the size.
7. Now set Initial size (MB) to the size of your RAM, and Maximum size (MB) to double your RAM size (e.g., if RAM size is 4GB, set Initial size to 4000 MB and Maximum size to 8000 MB).
8. Click the Set button and then click OK (restart when prompted).

18. Turn off Windows Tips

Windows 10 Tips feature has proven helpful for new users to understand the system and, notably, to avoid unnecessary configuration changes. However, experienced users can disable the Tips feature to maximize system performance.

Follow these steps to disable the Windows 10 Tips feature:

1. Select the Start button, go to Settings.
2. Choose System, and on the left, select Notifications & actions.
3. Turn off the Show me tips about Windows option.

19. Disable Dynamic Color Adaptation

Windows 10's Dynamic Color Adaptation feature automatically selects colors from the desktop wallpaper and adjusts the user interface's color scheme accordingly.

This feature increases resource usage and reduces the performance of your Windows 10 computer. That's why disabling this feature frees up resources and enhances system responsiveness.

Follow these steps to disable the Dynamic Color Adaptation feature:

1. Click the Start button and from the menu, select Settings.
2. Choose Personalization from the left sidebar, then select Colors.
3. Turn off Automatically pick an accent color from my background.

20. Disable Background Services

In Windows 10, there are several background services that are infrequently or never used. Therefore, it's best to either disable or manually start them. Disabling unnecessary background services reduces system resource usage, making the system more responsive.

Disable background services with the following steps:

1. Enter services.msc into the search field of the Start menu and click on the first search result to open the Services tool.
2. Double-click on each service you want to disable, and in their Startup type section, choose Disabled or Manual for each as needed.

21. Turn Off Windows Features

Windows offers many optional features such as .NET, PowerShell, Telnet, and many more. They may or may not be useful to you but still consume memory and disk space. Therefore, if there are Windows features you don't use, turn them off to make Windows 10 faster.

Follow the steps below to disable unnecessary features:

1. Press the Win + X key combination and select Programs and Features.
2. Click on Turn Windows features on or off on the right side.
3. In the new window, uncheck the features you don't use and click OK.

22. Use CCleaner Regularly

Over time, every Windows system gets filled with temporary data and junk files, slowing the system down. It's best to eliminate that data regularly. However, the Disk Cleanup tool (discussed above) doesn't clean all of this data, and here you should use CCleaner instead.

CCleaner is a disk cleanup tool that removes temporary files, cookies, cache memory, and other junk data, things that need regular cleaning to keep the system running smoothly. To find and delete temporary and unnecessary files using CCleaner, follow these steps:

1. Download CCleaner tool and install it.
2. Run the CCleaner tool and then select the Cleaner icon.
3. Select the items you want to clean and press the Run Cleaner button.

23. Fix Registry Errors

The Windows Registry is the central storage for configurations of an entire system. Over time, this database accumulates a significant amount of unnecessary or missing entries, leading to registry slowdown and a decrease in overall system performance.

To avoid this situation, the Registry should be cleaned regularly with a specialized tool. CCleaner is one of the tools that helps clean up problematic items in the registry and even provides a backup for the registry before performing cleanup.

To fix Registry errors using CCleaner, follow these steps:

• Download and install CCleaner.
• Open CCleaner and click on the Registry icon on the right.
• Select the issues you want to address and click the Scan for Issues button.
• After the scanning process is complete, click the Fix selected issues button.

24. Utilize Troubleshooter

Windows 10 comes with a built-in tool to detect and automatically resolve issues without requiring user intervention. If there are problems affecting your PC that you can't identify on your own, you can easily find and fix them using the Troubleshooter tool.

Furthermore, if your system is underperforming, there could be various reasons behind it, and uncovering these issues can be a real challenge.

You can troubleshoot your system issues by following these steps:

1. Right-click on the Start button and select Control Panel.
2. Click on System and Security, and in the Security and Maintenance section, choose Troubleshoot computer problems.
3. In the new window, look under the System and Security option and click on all three options, one by one, then follow the on-screen instructions.

25. Customize File Explorer Options

Windows 10's File Explorer offers various options to enhance the overall user experience, impacting your PC's performance. Disabling unnecessary options will improve the overall performance of Windows, providing you with a smoother experience, especially when using the explorer.

To configure File Explorer options in Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Click on Start, choose File Explorer to open it, and click on the View tab.
2. Click the Options button and select Change folder and search options.
3. A Folder Options dialog will open. Choose the View tab and uncheck the following options in Advanced settings:
   • Always show icons, never thumbnails
   • Display file icon on thumbnails
   • Display file size information in folder tips
   • Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color
   • Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items
   • Show preview handlers in preview pane
4. Also in Advanced settings, select the following options:
   • Hide empty drives
   • Hide extensions for known file types
   • Hide folder merge conflicts
   • Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)
5. Click OK to save the configuration changes.

26. Check drive errors

After numerous read/write operations, drive errors can occur due to power failures and other reasons, leading to a completely damaged or partially corrupted computer system. This results in slower performance and may even cause system hangs and freezes.

That's why it's essential to regularly check for errors on your drives using a drive checking tool. Follow these steps to run an error check on your drive:

1. Open File Explorer, navigate to This PC, and choose a drive.
2. Right-click on the drive and select Properties from the menu.
3. Switch to the Tools tab, then click the Check button in the Error checking section.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions provided in the new window to check the drive.

27. Disable synchronization feature

Windows 10 synchronizes various things like passwords, browser settings, language preferences, and system options with your Microsoft account. This feature consumes system resources and your web connection bandwidth. Therefore, consider turning off the synchronization feature if you don't genuinely need it, as it helps improve system performance.

To disable synchronization on Windows 10 PC, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Start option > Settings > Accounts.
2. On the left, choose the last option Sync your settings.
3. Turn off the synchronization settings.

28. Reset your PC

If all the tips above fail to improve performance for Windows 10, the ultimate solution is to reset your system. This option will give you a fresh configuration installed on the system. Note that while this won't harm your saved files, you won't find your old software and configurations anymore.

Follow these steps to reset your PC:

1. Open the Start menu> Settings > Update & Security.
2. In the appearing window, select Recovery on the left.
3. In the Reset this PC section, click the Get started button to initiate the process.

These are all the tips and tricks that can help speed up a Windows 10 system. Hopefully, with some of the steps above, your Windows 10 has started and runs faster than before.

Share with us the most useful tips for you in the comments below. Additionally, if you know any other tips, we'd love to hear your opinion. Besides, there are many other reputable sources for you to explore and refer to.

Wishing you success!

Source: quantrimang.com