How to speed up a slow Windows computer. How to increase computer speed

Today we’ll look at 6 ways to speed up your computer, after which your computer will fly! These methods are suitable for absolutely any computer, regardless of the manufacturer and the type of operating system used on it.

Of course, to significantly increase the speed and performance of your computer, you will have to invest a little. But if you're already tired of , I think you'll be ready to update it a little. All the methods described below do not claim to be unique, but are truly working methods.

1. Use antivirus and antispyware programs

One of the very first programs I install after installing the operating system is . Fortunately, today the problem is viruses and various kinds Trojan programs, is no longer as relevant as 5-7 years ago. The computer infection boom has passed, but the problem is still relevant.

If your computer is connected to the Internet and you do not have antivirus protection, I can only sympathize. After all, going online without an antivirus is the same as walking without protective equipment in a tuberculosis clinic.

Use it antivirus programs that really protect, do not spare money on a license to receive the latest virus database updates. A riot of viruses on your computer not only slows down its operation, but also endangers your information (photos, documents, etc.).

2. Disable autorun of programs you don't use

Many programs, after installation, are registered in autorun so that the next time you start the computer, they will automatically start. If you notice that when you turn it on, your computer takes a long time to start up, one of the reasons for this is large number startup programs.

It is necessary to check it from time to time and clean it of unnecessary programs. Such programs can be: audio players, monitor settings programs (installed with drivers), office programs.

To clear autorun, you need to press the key combination Win+R (or “Start” - “Run”) and enter the command msconfig. In the window that opens, go to the “Startup” tab and uncheck those programs that you consider not necessary when starting the computer. Then restart your computer.

3. Clean your computer of junk

Don't forget to periodically clean your computer of debris. Moreover, if system disk you don't have much free space. After all, while the computer is running, the system constantly needs free space on the disk to run programs.

To clean your computer from debris, I advise you to use it, which I already wrote about on the pages of the site. The program is capable of cleaning both unnecessary temporary files and unused registry branches, which also affect the speed of the operating system.

Clean your computer of debris at least once a month. This is not the most important method of increasing the speed of a computer, but it has a very significant effect on it.

4. Change your hard drive to a faster one

It would seem how it can affect the speed of work computer hard disk? However, this is one of the most important “brakes” that affects the operation of the entire system.

It is on the hard drive that everything is stored system folders and files, and during operation, the operating system constantly accesses certain files and folders. Accordingly, the faster the operating system receives a response from the requested file, the faster it will process the operation.

Disk systems data storage is inferior in speed to modern SSD drives, which have a completely different data storage structure. Disk systems use magnetic disks with heads for reading and writing information, and SSD drives chipsets are used for these purposes. The prices for SSD drives are very affordable, and today everyone can afford it.

5. Add RAM

If you use “heavy programs” and are tired of waiting for Photoshop to start, add RAM and forget about these problems.

If you are playing modern games, you probably want to play on maximum settings, but sometimes the size of your RAM not only does not allow you to play at maximum settings, but also refuses to launch the game in principle.

If you still decide to buy additional RAM, do not forget that it should have the same characteristics as the one that you already have installed. Otherwise, you will experience problems with the system.

6. Defragment your hard drive

Few people use this, but in vain! IN Windows system special software is built in to perform defragmentation. There is an opinion that the built-in tool is not as good as its commercial counterparts, but personally I did not notice any difference.

To perform defragmentation, you need to go to the properties of the disk (which you want to defragment) and go to the “Tools” tab, there click “Defragmentation”.

Following the instructions indicated in the defragmentation window, start it and wait until it finishes. The time spent on defragmentation depends on the size of the disk and how dirty it is.

This concludes the list of ways to speed up your computer. If you know of any other methods, I will be glad to discuss it in the comments.

I will describe a large collection of tips on how to speed up your computer. 25 steps to help you deal with slow system loading.

I applied all these tips on my computers and the result was clearly felt, even without measuring the speed. I hope you don't have any difficulties completing all the steps.

A short description:

1. These tips are suitable for all operating systems of the Windows family.
2. All pictures are from the operating room. Windows systems 7. If you have a different operating system, then look for similar items or ask your question in the comments. I'll help.
3. Do not restart your computer until all steps are completed. In order to save time and gain greater benefit from everything you have done, complete all the points in the order in which they are written.
4. This article is aimed at maximizing the speed of your computer by sacrificing the beauty and convenience of the Wiindows interface. Some advice may seem absurd.
5. On weaker computers there will be a very noticeable increase in speed.

Disabling visual effects

These include drag/close/open window effects, various shadows and thumbnails for a beautiful display. Go to Start >> Control Panel >> Select Category View and click on System and Security. In this category find:

Then a window appears in which, select the visual effects settings.

In the window that appears, select “Best performance” as in the image:

You will immediately notice the changes. It will be a little unusual, but the computer will also work faster. Do not close this window, you will need it later.

CPU time distribution

This setting allows you to set the priority for allocating processor resources. In the same window as in the image above, select the “Advanced” tab and set priority to programs rather than services running in background:

Then go to the paging file settings window.

Setting up the swap file

The page file is used when the computer does not have enough RAM.

Let the system choose the size of the paging file. Check the appropriate box.

It makes sense to set a fixed value if the disk is slow and there is little memory. In other cases, changes can only harm the system.

Desktop optimization

To speed up your computer boot time, remove as many shortcuts from your desktop as possible. The computer spends time calculating them. How fewer shortcuts— the faster the desktop will load when you turn on the PC.

After this, you should remove the background image and screensaver on your desktop. When booting, the computer will not waste time calculating them.

Go to Start >> Control Panel >> Appearance and in the Display category select “Change Desktop Background” as in the image below:

Then remove the background image and replace it with a solid color. I prefer black as it is the least straining on the eyes due to its low brightness.

Now go back to “Appearance” and find the “Desktop Gadgets” category there ( Not available on Windows XP). And click on the line to remove gadgets. Remove all gadgets you have. In fact, you don’t need them; all the information presented in them is already on your computer or on the Internet.

A window appears in which you can remove the screen saver. Picture below:

You have speeded up your computer a little, now it won’t spend so much time loading shortcuts, screensavers, background picture and desktop widgets.

Disabling system sounds

These are well-known sounds: double click, error, warning, login, logout and others. Personally, I don't need them at all. The computer will also need time and resources to play these sounds and therefore it is better to turn them off.

Go to Start >> Control Panel >> Hardware and Sound and look for “Change system sounds"as in the picture below.

Select sound scheme“Mute” and uncheck “Play melody” Windows startup» confirming the changes.

Changing the appearance of windows

Now change the appearance of all windows so that they consume less computer resources and it works faster. To do this, go to Control Panel >> Appearance >> Display >> Change Color Scheme.

Choose a classic theme.

You may not like the appearance and it will be very unusual. This topic contains the bare minimum.

Disabling the Windows boot screen

Press the sign key Windows + R. If it is not there: go to Start and enter “run” in the search to go to the execution line. Write the command in it msconfig and the required window will open.

Check the box without GUI.

Now, when you turn on the computer, you will see a black screen instead of a bar Windows boot. This way you can speed up the computer startup.

Do not close this window and move on to the next step.

Disable cursor graphics

To increase the speed of work a little more, you can disable the cursor animation. Go to Start Menu >> Control Panel >> Mouse:

Then open the "Pointers" tab and remove the cursor layout as in the image below:

Setting up the video card

To defragment you will need 1 more free program from the same company that makes CCleaner. Download Defraggler and install it.

After launching the program, select the disk and defragment it.

This will take a lot of time, but it is very important for speeding up your computer.

It is worth noting that defragmentation prolongs the performance of your hard drive.

Do this operation with all your disks, if there are several of them, and then proceed to the next step.

Defragmentation of system files

Launch Defraggler and select one-time defragmentation system files when you start the computer as in the picture below:

It will be performed the next time you start the computer.

Troubleshooting registry problems

After completing all the steps to speed up your computer, you will have many errors in the registry. To fix them, use the CClener program.

Launch the program and select the Registry >> Search for problems section.

Please note that all boxes must be checked.

Then click Fix >> Fix All. Repeat the search for problems until there are none. It is not necessary to make copies of the registry. Over several years of work, this program did not spoil anything in it for me and I never made copies.

Using ReadyBoost technology

This technology does not exist in Windows XP. Later versions of Windows have it. This technology allows you to speed up your computer using flash drive memory.

All you need to do is format the flash drive and connect it to your computer. Then go to My Computer and go to the properties of your flash drive.

Select the ReadyBoost tab and select “Use this device” as shown in the image below.

Now just don't pull out your flash drive.

It is worth noting that when using this technology, the flash drive quickly wears out and deteriorates.

Not every flash drive may be suitable for, by clicking on the link you can familiarize yourself with this technology in detail.

Additionally if you have a laptop

Set your power plan to high performance. If you always use a laptop with the charger connected, this will not hinder you in any way, but will only speed up your work. Go to Start and search for “Power Options” as in the image below.

Then set it to high performance.

Now your computer will work quickly. Write your results and questions in the comments. Thank you for your attention.

Thematic video

Did the tips for speeding up your computer in this article help you?

Many programs start automatically when you turn on your computer, causing your system to take longer to boot. In addition, these programs take up unnecessary RAM and besides, you don’t always need them.

To edit the list of programs for startup, you need to click the “Start” button and type the msconfig command in the search bar. In the Startup tab, programs that start when you turn on the computer are checked. All that remains is to uncheck unnecessary programs.

Be careful and don't disable autoloading utilities and antivirus products.

3. Disable autoloading of unnecessary fonts

When turned on Windows computer loads a set of over 200 different fonts. You can disable unnecessary ones like this: “Start” - Control Panel - Design and Personalization - Fonts. Open the context menu with the right button and on the unnecessary font and select “Hide”.

Comic Sans only , only hardcore!

4. Deleting temporary files

In the process of work, many temporary files are created daily on the hard drive, which somehow imperceptibly become permanent. They also greatly reduce overall speed computer operation.

Regularly cleaning your computer will speed up the loading of the operating system and programs, and will also free up space on your hard drive.

To do this, just open My Computer - the partition with the operating system (usually Drive C:\) - Windows folder - Temp folder, and then delete all files and empty the Recycle Bin.

5. Disk Cleanup

For optimization Windows developers Microsoft has provided a built-in disk cleanup utility. It searches for and removes junk files, such as temporary Internet files, distributions installed programs, various bug reports and others.

Go to the Start menu - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup.

6. Disk defragmentation

By deleting unnecessary programs and files, start defragmenting the disk, i.e. regrouping files on your hard drive for maximum PC optimization.

Defragmentation can be done using Windows, but you can use special programs- this is a topic for a separate article.

The standard procedure will look like this - in Explorer, select the partition to defragment (for example, drive D:\) and right-click on it, in the menu that appears, open Properties and in the Tools tab, click “Defragment.”

7. Install SSD

A solid-state drive will help speed up the loading of the operating system and programs, self-installation which we reviewed in the laptop. If you don’t have enough money for a 500 GB SSD, it makes sense to purchase a disk at least to install the operating system - it will simply fly on the new SSD.

8. Install HDD


There are many video guides on YouTube HDD installation. Here's one of them

If your budget does not allow you to spend money on expensive SSD drives, you should not give up more traditional components. Installation additional HDD will significantly improve PC performance.

So, if hard drive is more than 85% busy, the computer will work many times slower. In addition, install it yourself extra hard drive to a desktop PC is even easier than an SSD.

9. Installing additional RAM

RAM is used for processing running programs. The more information you need to process, the more RAM you will need.

If there is not enough memory, the system starts using hard resources disk, which leads to a critical slowdown of the computer and freezing of Windows.

Adding or replacing RAM sticks is not difficult. For regular computer with a set of standard office programs 4 GB of RAM is enough, but for a gaming PC you can think about 16 GB or higher.

10. Cleaning

Dust is computer enemy No. 2 (everyone knows that enemy No. 1 is). It prevents normal ventilation, which can cause PC components to overheat, slowing down the system. Extreme overheating of components can lead to their complete failure.

Turn off your computer at least half an hour before you start cleaning. Do not clean in synthetic clothing - friction may result in a static charge that can damage components. To remove static, touch the unpainted part of the central heating radiator.

Turn on the vacuum cleaner at low power and carefully remove dust from all parts of the PC. Particular attention should be paid to the power supply, processor cooler and video card, where most of the dust accumulates.

Some time after installing the operating system, situations may arise when the computer begins to work noticeably slower than before. It may be work related individual programs or games, or a drop in performance in general.

There are several reasons leading to this effect; they should be divided into two large groups.

1. The hardware cannot cope with the increased load. For example, new computer game or an installed editor for creating animations requires large resources. This problem can be solved both by hardware improvements (replacing the video card, central processor, increasing the size of RAM), and by increasing performance using special utilities to “overclock” the system. In the latter case, it is possible to use standard settings through the menu “ BIOS Setup».
2. During the operation of the operating system, a fair amount of “garbage” has accumulated on the hard drive, too many programs are running in the background, Windows registry needs cleaning. All this can greatly slow down work.

To initially determine the performance of the system, a small program called SiSoftware Sandra Lite is useful; in addition to the commercial version, a lightweight, free version is available. It is quite enough for a general assessment.

1. The program needs to be installed and launched; a window will appear with icons indicating groups of real and virtual devices, present in the system.

   

   

2. By double-clicking on the “System Information” icon, we get a detailed summary of the hardware characteristics: model of motherboard, processors, video cards, RAM and others. Not really powerful computers Data collection will take some time.

   



3. A window with characteristics will appear. At the bottom there will be a list with recommendations.

   

The same actions can be done with all elements of the computer. The data obtained will help determine further steps to optimize your computer.

Upgrade Strategies

There are several solutions to speed up your PC.

1. Complete replacement. The latest computer toy or program may require such changes to the hardware configuration that the logical solution would be to build a new system unit. And try to sell the old one for at least a little money.

   

2. If possible, reduce the program (game) settings to medium or minimum. This, of course, is a temporary measure; in 1-2 years you will still have to solve the problem of outdated components.

   

3. Partial replacement of parts. Suitable if the computer as a whole has sufficient power, but one of its elements cannot withstand the load from new software (games). Most often such devices are CPU or video card. In some cases, to speed up it is enough to add RAM modules.

   

4. In some cases, the situation can be saved by installing previous version OS. This is true for outdated computers or laptops, which, for example, will handle Windows XP just fine, but will be quite slow on Windows 7 or 10.

   

Advice! If there is insufficient RAM, upgrading other components may not have much effect. Therefore, you should start improving your PC with it. Before increasing the memory capacity, you must ensure that the RAM limit for a given motherboard is not exceeded, otherwise the excess memory will not be available to the system.

The search for the part “to blame” for the sluggishness is carried out by comparing the recommended system requirements software developers with real characteristics of the component.

During the modernization, do not forget about physical cleaning system unit. Dust that accumulates for years on PC boards and heatsinks, inside the power supply, does not have the best effect on performance, so it is necessary to remove it.

One more additional method is “overclocking” the processor (or video card). The fact is that the factory settings of the motherboard assume a safety margin of at least 15-20% for the clock frequency of the system bus. This is done to ensure system stability.

Most CPUs easily overclock by up to 20%, this is a noticeable increase even when the OS is loaded.

“Overclocking” the CPU and video cards

The easiest way is to increase the clock frequency using utilities; most motherboard and video card manufacturers provide them along with drivers or post them on official websites.

But the fact is that the settings will only work after loading the OS, and some systems (for example, Linux, *BSD) are not supported by the utilities.

Attention! Applying settings related to changes in clock speeds and CPU multiplier may result in system inoperability.

Adjusting the BIOS Setup settings will allow you to immediately evaluate the changes that have occurred: for example, the system will boot faster.

Advice! For stable operation PC with enhanced clock frequency The CPU may require more efficient cooling: replacing the radiator and cooler with more powerful ones or implementing fluid system cooling, the most advanced at the moment.

Changing settings via BIOS Setup

In this case, you need to reduce the operating frequency of the RAM to avoid errors.

Advice! If after the next change of parameters the computer stops turning on, you need to turn off the power to the PC system unit, remove the battery that powers the BIOS chip, it is located on motherboard, and put it back in place. After this, the settings will be reset to factory settings.

Important! It is strictly not recommended to disable CPU thermal protection in BIOS settings. If it overheats, it may fail. If you are not sure of the correctness of your actions, then the most reliable way is to use utilities in Windows.

Acceleration of video cards occurs using appropriate software. For example, NVidia cards can be “overclocked” using the program Nvidia Inspector.

To overclock a video card with using Nvidia Inspector should:

Asus devices on Nvidia chips are similarly “overclocked” using the GPUTweak utility.

Video - Overclocking a video card NVIDIA/NVIDIA Inspector

Five ways to increase PC performance

Method 1

You can open the “Services” tab in the same “msconfig” utility. Here is a list of system services that run simultaneously with the system and occupy RAM.

To avoid disconnection problems system programs and prevent unstable work OS, it is recommended to check the box “Do not display Microsoft services”.

Some of the remaining services can be disabled. For example, the Remote Registry service, which usually runs by default, is not needed. Some installed programs can also register their own services in Services; you need to understand in detail which of them can be safely disabled.

An incomplete list of services that you can safely disable:

• print manager if the printer is not in use;
• Tablet PC input service;
• scheduler Windows Media Center;
• Bluetooth support;
• Windows Search;
• Remote Desktop Services;
• Windows archiving.

More full list services that can be deactivated can be easily found on the Internet.

Method 2

We exhibit optimal size swap file. This is the hard drive space system reserved for temporary storage of files, to help RAM when its size is not enough. That is, this is a kind of addition to the OP.

1. To change, go to “Control Panel”, “System and Security” item.

   

   



2. In the window that appears on the right, click on the “Change settings” link, thereby activating the next “System Properties” window.

   

3. In it, select the “Advanced” tab. Under the first item “Performance”, click on the “Options” button.

   

4. Activate the “Advanced” tab and click the “Change” button in it (the “Virtual Memory” item).

   

5. This last window sets the size of the paging file ( virtual memory).

   

   Note! The “Automatically select paging file size” option is only suitable for office PCs. The most the best option will set the range by checking the “Specify size” checkbox and filling in both fields: “ Original size" and "Maximum size".

The choice of a specific amount of virtual memory in modern PCs depends on the maximum load of running programs.

It's easy to find out:

Note! It is best to set a certain average value, selected experimentally, as both a minimum and a maximum. A fixed size is more convenient, since the hard disk space will be strictly reserved by the system.

Method 3

Method 4

During system operation, files are distributed in pieces throughout the entire hard disk space (fragmented). Reading them slows down as a result of the magnetic head of the hard drive (HDD) wandering along the surface of the disk. To optimize the work, you need to overwrite the files and collect them in order. This is called defragmentation.

If possible, it is better to use the Diskeeper program; it is paid, but there is a trial version.

Staff Windows defragmenter activated from the My Computer window.

The system will analyze the disk and defragment it if necessary. Repeat the action with the remaining logical drives.

Advice! When reinstalling the OS, you need to create at least two logical drive: for the system and for other data (programs, documents, videos, etc.).

Method 5

Using ReadyBoost technology. Windows supports use flash drives to speed up the system. On low-power and medium-sized PCs it gives some performance increase. Especially with many tabs or windows open in the browser in Windows, loading speeds up slightly.

The way ReadyBoost works is that the flash drive begins to work as an intermediary between RAM and hard drive. Part of the OP cache is reset to flash memory, and due to the fact that data exchange between solid state drive and the OP is higher than in the combination OP - “hard drive”, faster data exchange is obtained.

But flash memory has a limited number of read-write cycles, so it will last less in this mode than in normal mode.

There are restrictions:

• For file system Fat32 – up to 4 GB of memory can be used;
• in NTFS – up to 32 GB;
• In total, up to 256 GB (8x32 GB) can be used for ReadyBoost mode.

PC optimization programs

Three most popular programs to remove garbage, filter the registry, remove programs that cannot be removed regular means, searching for duplicates various files and other functions.

Setting the computer shutdown timer

There are two simple ways turn off, restart or sleep your PC.

Note! Where 300 is the time in seconds. After 5 minutes the computer will turn off.

The second method involves writing an entire script.

You can use the following switches (put them instead of /s):

Several Windows 10 programs you can remove right now

1. Metro applications take up space on your hard drive, and their functionality is questionable.
2. Software installed along with drivers. For example, laptops are often sold already with an OS, most additional programs You can safely remove them from the manufacturers.
3. Internet Explorer is not needed. There are many browsers to suit every taste.
4. Windows Media Player not needed. Eat K-Lite Codec Pack for watching movies and a lot of players for listening to music.
5. Windows Games. They also take up space.

PC acceleration to increase fps in computer games

Too low frames per second (FPS) can be caused by either excessive high load system, or outdated PC components.

Before you start replacing components, it is recommended to try the following methods:

• close all other programs, including those running in the background;
• update video card drivers;
• try experimenting with the settings of the video card and the settings of the game itself.

Sometimes games downloaded from suspicious sources may not work correctly. Licensed editions must be purchased.

If all else fails, then it's time to think about upgrading your video system.

Video - 5 ways to speed up your computer

Over time, a huge number accumulates on the computer unnecessary files, resulting in reduced hard drive performance. How longer computer is in operation, the lower its performance. Although some responsibility slow work As your computer reaches the end of its useful life, you can take a number of steps to speed up data processing and loading of the operating system.

Steps

Part 1

Click on the process you want to disable. Please note that disabling a process will not completely block the corresponding program - its autorun will be disabled.

Click Disable. This button is located in the lower right corner of the Task Manager window.

• Or right-click on the process and select Disable from the menu.