How to Speed Up Your Computer

Is your computer slow, freezing, or making buzzing noises? Before spending a lot of money on a new device, you can perform a few simple actions to make your computer faster, whether it’s running on Windows or Mac.

Back Up Your Computer Data. Many people feel that everything important in their lives is stored on their computers—from cherished photos, music collections, school assignments, tax documents, and so much more. Before making any major changes, backing up your essential files is a good idea.

• Buy an external hard drive with more storage space than the drive you want to back up. After connecting the USB from the external hard drive, your computer will automatically offer the option to use the drive for backup. If you need help, check out guides on how to back up your hard drive.
• If you're worried about losing or damaging the external hard drive, you can back up important files online. Subscribe to a secure backup service (like Carbonite or SOS Online Backup). You can set your computer to automatically back up to the cloud on a schedule or every time you modify a file.
• You can also back up files on a CD or DVD, but make sure to store them carefully to avoid scratches, breaks, or other damage.

Restart your computer. This action can temporarily speed up your computer by refreshing its memory. Restart or completely shut down your computer, wait for a few seconds, and then power it back on.

• Make sure to save any ongoing work before turning off your computer!

Check your hard drive space first. Go to My Computer, right-click on the Local Drive, and select Properties. You’ll see a circular graph showing the used and available space on your drive. If the drive is nearly full, you need to uninstall some programs and files; if there’s still plenty of space left, it could indicate an issue with the operating system.

• As a rule, you should keep at least 15% of your hard drive free for smooth performance.
• If you need more free space, consider purchasing and installing an external SSD (Solid-State Drive) to supplement or replace your old hard drive. SSDs are faster and more secure than regular hard drives.

Uninstall any unused programs. Open the Control Panel, then select Add or Remove Programs (or "Uninstall a Program", depending on your system). You’ll be able to quickly spot the programs you hardly use and remove them right away. For programs you’re unsure about, do a little research before deleting them.

• This will allow you to check how often the programs are used. By right-clicking on the column header in the program list, you can add attributes to organize the programs. Select Last Used On to show when you last used each program. This makes it easy to spot which programs you use regularly and which ones have been untouched for a long time.
• Don’t forget to empty your recycle bin.

Disable unnecessary programs that start with your computer. Some programs automatically launch when you turn on your computer, running in the background to speed up access when needed. Open the Start Menu, select Run, and type "msconfig". Click on the Startup tab to view the list of programs that launch with your computer, and uncheck the ones you don’t need.

• You can also check the taskbar to see which programs are running at startup (be sure to click on the Show Hidden Icons button to ensure nothing is missed).

Switch your computer's power plan to High Performance. Go to the Control Panel and select Power Options. You'll see a list of power plans, typically Balanced, Power Saver, and High Performance. These settings control how your computer uses energy—by lowering performance to extend battery life, maximizing performance with higher energy consumption, or balancing both. Choosing High Performance can improve your computer's speed and overall performance.

• This is only effective if you're using a desktop; setting High Performance on a laptop will only drain the battery faster.

Remove unnecessary items from the Windows Context Menu. The Context Menu is the dialog box that appears when you right-click on something. Sometimes a program will add itself to this menu, either upon installation or automatically. To remove these items, press ⊞ Win+R to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and click OK. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT → * → shellex → ContextMenuHandlers. In the list, remove the applications you don't want in the context menu.

• Be cautious when editing Registry items, as mistakes can cause system errors. If you're unfamiliar with regedit, consider using a free software tool to help manage the Context Menu.

Install antivirus software, scan for spyware, and remove malware. The fewer bugs, viruses, and adware your computer has to manage, the more resources it can devote to running other programs.

• Regularly update Windows. Not only does this help keep Windows running smoothly, but some viruses infiltrate through outdated Windows updates if they’re not installed promptly (and thus can’t be closely monitored).

Run Disk Cleanup. This tool helps free up hundreds of MB by removing temporary files and cleaning the recycle bin. Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, then click Disk Cleanup (under the General tab). A window will pop up, allowing you to confirm which files you want to delete. Check the boxes for the files you want to remove and proceed with the cleanup.

• Make sure to keep any game files (unless you want to delete game save data) and installation files.
• If you have multiple drives or partitions, select the drive you wish to clean up.

Run Disk Defragmenter. When data is fragmented, your computer has to search for each small piece of the split file scattered across your hard drive. Defragmentation reorganizes the data and frees up space on the hard drive so the computer can access it faster. Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, go to Tools, and click Defragment Now.

• Fragmented data can be stored on the internal drive or external storage devices like USB drives or flash drives.

Disable visual effects. There are 20 visual effects that you can toggle on or off. To turn these off and maximize performance, go to the Control Panel, select System, then click on Advanced System Settings. Under the 'Adjust for best performance' option, select it to disable unnecessary effects.

• If you want to retain some image features, select 'Let Windows choose what's best for my computer.'

Upgrade your computer's RAM. To check if you need to upgrade your RAM, open Windows Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. In the Performance tab, look for Physical Memory (MB). If the 'Available' value is less than 25% of the total, you should consider upgrading your RAM.

• Upgrading RAM may not be necessary just to speed up your computer, but if you're experiencing slowness while switching windows, performing tasks, or frequently opening many tabs, upgrading RAM is essential.
• You can either take your computer to a store for the upgrade or do it yourself. Be sure to research carefully before attempting the upgrade on your own.

Remove unused gadgets. Right-click on the desktop and select Gadgets. Right-click on the gadget you want to remove and click Uninstall.

Check your hard drive space. Go to the Apple menu (the Apple icon at the top-left corner of the screen), then click About This Mac, More Info, and then Storage. This will display the available and used space on the hard drive, showing the space occupied by movies, music, photos, and application files.

• Identifying which file types take up the most space is the first step in deciding what to remove (such as deleting or moving to external storage). If your music collection is taking up most of the space, consider quickly addressing it by transferring it to an external hard drive using your iTunes library.
• Try to keep at least 15% of your hard drive space free to allow the system to function efficiently.
• If you're constantly running out of space, consider purchasing and installing an external SSD (Solid-State Drive). SSDs are much faster and more reliable than traditional hard drives, making your computer feel like new.

Use Activity Monitor to check which applications are consuming the most memory. Go to the Library, Applications, then select Utilities. Launch Activity Monitor by clicking on it from the list. Click on the % CPU column to see which program is using the most CPU. If it exceeds 50%, running that program can slow down your system.

• If you find a program causing a slowdown, consider deleting it and replacing it with a lighter alternative to speed up your computer, or close all other programs to allow that one to run smoothly.
• Safari often takes up the top spot in CPU usage. You may want to consider switching to another browser like Firefox or Chrome.

Uninstall unnecessary programs. You can manually uninstall by dragging each application to the trash, or download a program to organize and remove them. Programs like iMovie, Garage Band, and iPhoto are heavy but rarely used, so start with these.

• If you’re unsure, avoid deleting any program you're unfamiliar with, as it might be crucial for your system or other apps.

Delete, compress, or move large, unnecessary files. To find large files, open Finder and press the keyboard shortcut ⌘ Command+F. Click on the 'Kind' button and select 'Other'. Scroll to 'Size' and check the box to include the 'In Menu' option and click OK. Once done, you can search for large files — start with files larger than 200MB. Delete, compress, or move any files you want to save to a backup drive.

• To compress a file, hold down the Ctrl key, click on the file, and select Compress. Double-click the compressed file to uncompress it.
• Go to your Downloads folder. Ensure files are listed by size and click on 'Size' to display the largest files at the top. Delete any files you no longer need.
• Movies are typically the largest files, sometimes up to 1-2GB. Consider deleting films you’re unlikely to watch anytime soon.
• Don’t forget to empty your trash. If you’ve deleted photos from iPhoto or Aperture, be sure to empty the trash within those programs, or the files won’t be deleted.

Disable unnecessary startup programs on Mac. The more programs that start up with your computer, the slower the boot process will be. From the Apple menu, go to System Preferences, Accounts, then Login Items. Select any unnecessary items and click the minus (-) button to remove them.

• Cleaning up your desktop icons also speeds up the startup process, as the computer needs to load all icons at startup. Move the files from your desktop into folders, and remove unnecessary icons. Avoid loading everything directly onto your desktop.

Repair disk permissions. Go to Applications, Utilities, then select Run Disk Utility and choose the startup disk. Click on First Aid and select Repair Disk Permissions. The system will check the disk for permission settings, ensuring files are only accessed by authorized users and apps. Always restart your computer after running disk repair.

• Incorrect permissions may lead to system issues, such as printing problems, login errors, or program startup failures.
• It’s recommended to run this repair program every few months to catch potential issues before they affect your system’s performance.

Remove unnecessary widgets from your dashboard. Even if you don’t actively use your dashboard, these widgets continue to consume RAM as they run in the background and update while you’re working on something else.

• If you’re using OS X 10.4.2 or newer, use the Widget Manager: open the Dashboard and display the Widget Bar by clicking the plus (+) symbol in the corner. Click on the Manage Widgets option and uncheck any widgets to disable them, or if they’re third-party widgets, fully remove them by clicking the red delete button (a circular icon with a line). Click OK to confirm.

Remove unused languages. If you’re using Mac OS X, you can download a free program called Monolingual. A lot of disk space is used by language files that you don’t need. Monolingual lets you remove these unused languages to free up memory.

• No matter which language you use, never delete the English language file. Deleting it may cause OS X to malfunction.

Upgrade your computer’s RAM. This can be especially helpful if your computer slows down when opening multiple programs or switching between them. To check if your system needs a RAM upgrade, open Activity Monitor (Library → Applications → Utilities) and select System Memory. Look at the color of the pie chart: if most of it is green and blue, your RAM is fine. If it’s mostly red and yellow, consider upgrading your RAM.

• To check what type of RAM your Mac uses, go to the Apple menu, click About This Mac, then select More Info. Under the Memory section in the Hardware tab, you can find your system’s memory size and type.
• If you choose to install the RAM yourself, search for "RAM" and your Mac model on the Apple Support page. Apple provides installation guides for various models.

• Reinstalling the operating system can significantly improve your computer’s performance, but it will erase all of your files.
• As a general rule, avoid tampering with things you’re not sure about. It’s best to look up a few guides online before making any changes.
• The safest approach is to create a System Restore point before uninstalling any programs or making changes. That way, you can restore your system to a safe state if anything goes wrong.

• Never delete the system32 file on Windows. This file is crucial for the operating system to function properly. If you remove it, your computer will no longer be operational.