How to Speed Up Your Laptop

Close unused programs and applications. Running multiple programs and apps simultaneously consumes a lot of your laptop's memory, slowing it down. Closing unused programs and applications will enhance your device's speed.

• Look for programs you minimized but didn't close.

Close unnecessary browser tabs. Each browser tab consumes a portion of your memory. The more tabs you have open, the more memory your laptop uses to run the browser. Reducing the number of open tabs can speed up your laptop.

• Close tabs when you're done using them.
• If you open tabs as reminders, consider writing notes or sending yourself an email instead.

Restart your laptop. Laptops perform more smoothly when restarted regularly (~once a week). Restarting can significantly improve your device's speed.

Remove unnecessary programs, apps, and files. Uninstall unused programs, apps, and files to free up memory on your laptop's hard drive.

• Look for folders containing old or unused applications to delete or uninstall.

Click the Apple menu to check for software updates. Select "App Store" from the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and check for software updates. Regularly updating your software helps your laptop run faster.

Limit the number of startup programs in "System Preferences." Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and select "System Preferences." Choose "Users and Groups" under "Login Items." Check the box next to programs you don't want to launch at startup and click the "-" sign to remove them from the list. Preventing programs and apps from launching at startup is an effective way to speed up your laptop.

Disable unnecessary background processes using "Activity Monitor." Your laptop runs many background programs. These processes can consume memory, slowing down your device. Closing unnecessary background processes will improve your laptop's speed. Open the "Applications" folder > "Utilities." Launch "Activity Monitor," click the "Memory" tab, and then apply the "Memory" filter. Double-click the program you want to close and select "Quit." To force quit, click "Quit" again.

• Only close programs you are familiar with.
• The memory filter sorts programs by memory usage, with the most memory-intensive programs appearing at the top of the list.

Disable visual effects in "System Preferences." Visual effects like window minimization animations can slow down your laptop. To turn them off, go to the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and select "System Preferences."

• Choose "Dock." Change "Minimize windows using" from "Genie effect" to "Scale effect."
• Return to the main "System Preferences" menu and open "Accessibility." Check the box next to "Reduce transparency," which reduces the transparency of dropdown menus, toolbars, etc.

Check for updates. Windows releases updates on the second Tuesday of each month. Regularly updating your laptop fixes bugs and improves performance. Select "Start" > "Settings." Click "Update and Security." Choose "Windows Update" > "Check for Updates." Windows will automatically download available updates.

Limit the number of startup programs in "Task Manager." When you turn on your computer, certain programs and apps launch automatically. You can improve your system's startup performance by reducing the number of programs and apps that start up with your computer.

• Right-click the bottom-right corner of the screen and select "Task Manager" to open it.
• Click "More Details."
• Open the "Startup" tab.
• Right-click a program or app and select "Disable." This does not delete the program; it only prevents it from launching at startup.

Run a Performance Report. The performance monitoring tool in Windows 10 provides users with a comprehensive report about their computer. The report identifies issues and suggests fixes.

• Click "Start" and type "perform / report" in the search box. Press ↵ Enter. This launches the Performance Monitor. Wait a few minutes for the program to generate the report.
• Review the report and address the issues. Take time to study the report and follow the instructions to resolve the identified problems.

Disable background apps. In addition to the programs you see, your laptop runs many background processes. These processes continue to receive information (and use memory) even when you're not using them. Disabling these programs can speed up your laptop.

• Select "Start" > "Settings."
• Click "Privacy" > "Background Apps."
• Identify apps you don't want running and toggle the switch to "off." You can manually open these programs when needed.

Defragment your hard drive. Over time, files stored on your hard drive become fragmented, meaning parts of the file are stored in separate locations. When you open a fragmented file, the hard drive must search for the remaining parts, slowing down your computer. Your system automatically defragments the hard drive on a schedule, but you can also do it manually.

• Click Start and type "Defragment and Optimize Drives" in the search bar. Launch the tool.
• Select the hard drive and click "Analyze."
• Click "Optimize" to defragment the hard drive. Avoid using your computer during this process.

Clean up your disk. Run Windows' Disk Cleanup tool to easily find and remove unnecessary files, programs, and apps from your disk. Removing these files frees up memory and helps your computer run faster.

• Click the Start button and type "Disk cleanup" in the search bar. Launch the program from the search results.
• Select the disk you want to clean.
• Check the box next to the types of files you want to delete. You can read a brief description of each file type by clicking the corresponding category.
• Click "OK" to clean up the disk.

Disable visual effects. Windows 10 has many motion effects enabled by default. Disabling these motion effects can improve your laptop's speed.

• Press ⊞ Win+R to open the command prompt.
• Type “sysdm.cpl” in the command prompt and press ↵ Enter.
• Select the “Advanced” tab.
• Under “Performance,” choose “Settings” > “Custom.”
• Uncheck the box next to each motion effect and click “Apply.”

Check for updates. Updating your operating system, programs, and apps can significantly improve your laptop's speed. Here’s how to check for updates on Windows 8:

• Swipe from the right edge of the screen to the center and select “Settings.”
• Click “Change PC settings” and choose “Update and recovery.”
• Select “Check now.” Windows will search for available updates.
• Click “Install Updates,” accept the terms, and press “Finish.”

Limit the number of startup programs. When you turn on your computer, some programs and apps launch automatically. If your laptop has to run too many programs and apps at once, the startup time will be longer. You can improve your laptop's startup performance by disabling unnecessary startup programs.

• Click “Start” and select “Task Manager.”
• Open the “Startup” tab.
• Select the program you want to disable.
• Click “Disable.”

Close unnecessary background processes. When too many background programs are running, your computer's ability to perform simple tasks decreases significantly. Closing these programs using Task Manager will improve your laptop's speed.

• Right-click the taskbar on your desktop and select “Task Manager” from the menu.
• Click the “Processes” tab to view the results.
• Select tasks that use a lot of system resources (highlighted) and/or background tasks (listed under Background Processes). Only choose programs you are familiar with.
• Click “End Task.”

Defragment your hard drive. When you use and move files stored on your hard drive, they become fragmented—instead of storing all parts of a file in one location, they are split into pieces across different areas. Although your computer automatically defragments the hard drive on a schedule, you can also do it manually.

• Click the Start button and type “Defragment” in the search box.
• Select “Disk Defragmenter” from the results.
• Choose the hard drive and click “Analyze disk.”
• Click “Defragment disk.”

Clean up your disk. Windows' Disk Cleaner tool allows users to easily find and remove unnecessary files, programs, and apps from their disk. Using the built-in Disk Cleanup tool to delete these files frees up memory and helps your computer run faster.

• Swipe from the right edge of the screen to the center and select “Settings.”
• Click “Control Panel” and choose “Administrative Tools.”
• Double-click “Disk Cleanup,” then select the disk you want to clean and click “OK.”
• Check the box next to the types of files you want to delete and click “OK.”
• Select “Delete Files.”

Disable visual effects. Windows 8 has many motion effects enabled by default. Disabling these effects can improve your laptop's speed.

• Click the Start button and type “Control Panel” in the search bar. Press ↵ Enter.
• Select “Apps” > “Ease of Access” > “Ease of Access Center.”
• Choose “Make the computer easier to see.”
• Check the box “Turn off all unnecessary animations” and click “Apply.”

Check for updates. Updating your operating system, programs, and apps fixes bugs, improves performance, and speeds up your laptop. Here’s how to manually check for updates:

• Click “Start” > “All Programs” > “Windows Update.”
• Click “Check for updates.” Windows will search for available updates.
• Select “Install updates.”

Defragment your hard drive. When you use and move files on your hard drive, they become fragmented—instead of storing all parts of a file in one location, they are scattered across different areas. Although your computer automatically defragments the hard drive on a schedule, you can also do it manually.

• Click the Start button and type “Disk Defragmenter” in the search box.
• Select “Disk Defragmenter” from the search results.
• Choose the disk you want to defragment and click “Analyze disk.” Enter the administrator password if prompted.
• Click “Defragment disk.” Enter the administrator password if prompted.

Clean up your disk. Windows' Disk Cleanup tool allows users to easily find and remove unnecessary files, programs, and apps from their disk. Deleting these files frees up more memory, helping your computer run faster.

• Click the Start button and type “Disk Cleanup” in the search box.
• Select “Disk Cleanup” from the search results.
• Choose the disk you want to clean and click “OK.”
• Select “Delete Files.”

Disable visual effects. Windows 7 has many motion effects enabled by default. Disabling these effects can improve your laptop's speed.

• Click the Start button and select “Control Panel.”
• Choose “System and Maintenance” > “Performance Information and Tools.”
• Select “Adjust visual effects” > “Custom.”
• Uncheck the box next to each motion effect and click “Apply.”

• Consider upgrading the memory for Mac and PC. This will definitely improve your laptop's speed.

• Avoid installing programs you don't use. Do not uninstall programs you're unfamiliar with, as Windows may require them for basic operations.