Expert tips to speed up your Windows PC

A fast PC is one of the best productivity boosts, both for personal and work endeavours.

With a fast PC, you can run complex software without hassle, multitask without experiencing slowdowns, and enjoy an overall smoother experience when handling tasks on your PC.

Windows is the most popular PC operating system, and we can agree that it has noticeably improved in speed and ease of use over the years.

Windows 11, released in October 2021, and its subsequent updates offer a much better experience than Windows 10, 8, 7, and other previous versions. The latest iteration is the Windows 11 2024 Update Version 24H2, which debuted in October 2024.

While Windows 11 is generally faster than previous versions, particularly on modern PCs, its performance varies depending on the task at hand and your system configuration.

You can optimize your Windows PC to perform better by tweaking its configurations and adhering to specific usage patterns. I’ve put together this guide to help you explore how to speed up your Windows PC significantly.

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Delete old files

Do you remember those old pictures, videos, and files you downloaded but no longer use? They serve little purpose on your PC except to slow things down.

These files occupy unnecessary space, which can slow down PCs, and users often forget to clear them out. Here’s a reminder to get rid of them.

Scroll through your folders and sort them by date, e.g., 2 to 3 years ago. Then, select the files you no longer need and delete them. After deleting them, head to your Recycle Bin and empty the deleted files.

Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Shift + Delete to delete the files permanently on the first try, with no journey to the Recycle Bin.

While most old files are easy to find, some files are pretty sneaky. They are very good at hiding in plain sight, or in deep corners of your PC where they are hard to find. You can discover these files by meticulously exploring your PC.

Alternatively, you can use PC cleaner apps to scan your device to discover these files, then delete them in one swoop.

Remove unwanted startup programs

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems all my Windows apps request to be automatically launched once my PC boots up. I usually deny such requests, but I’ve mistakenly clicked on OK a few times.

When an app automatically launches, it takes up valuable random-access memory (RAM). This is your computer's fast, temporary memory, where it stores and quickly retrieves data to process current tasks.

Clogging the RAM can slow down your PC, so you should minimize or, if possible, have no apps that automatically launch once your PC starts up.

If you observe an app immediately launching after booting your Windows PC, it’s likely listed as a Startup Program. It may have been listed by mistake and needs to be removed. The good news is that removing unwanted Startup programs is an easy process.

1. Open the Windows Settings app.
2. Select Apps from the left-hand menu.
3. Click on Startup in the options list.
4. Find the app you want to remove, then slide the toggle switch to the Off position. After this is completed, the app will no longer automatically launch after booting your PC.

You can also remove an unwanted Startup Program via your Task Manager:

1. Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc shortcut to open Task Manager.
2. Click on the Startup apps tab.

3. Right-click on the app you want to remove and select Disable.

Update your drivers

As a Windows user, you’ll likely have received notifications to update some drivers. These drivers are special software programs that translate instructions between your Windows operating system and your PC's hardware components, such as its mouse and graphics card. Without these drivers, your PC would be a dud.

Drivers need to be updated, like any other software programs, to perform optimally. Outdated drivers can cause delayed communication between Windows and your PC’s hardware components, slowing down your PC.

A feature I appreciate about Windows is that it can automatically search for and install required driver updates. Follow these steps to update any driver:

1. Open the Device Manager app from your start menu.
2. In the Device Manager menu, find the relevant device category (e.g., Printers), then select the arrow (>) next to it to expand the category.
3. In the expanded category, right-click on the specific device and select Update Driver.
4. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
5. Wait for Windows to find and install any driver updates. If no updates are found for a specific driver, check other drivers for updates or close the menu.

You can repeat the above process for any driver you suspect is slowing down your PC. With updated drivers, your Windows PC gets one more boost to help it perform optimally.

Pause OneDrive syncing

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service, making it sync directly with Windows. For new Windows installations, OneDrive's automatic sync is turned on by default, meaning your documents, photos, and desktop folders automatically get uploaded to OneDrive for future retrieval. This automatic sync is a background process that consumes significant RAM and can slow down your PC.

You can pause OneDrive sync to save RAM and boost your PC’s performance. Follow these steps:

1. Open the OneDrive app from your Windows menu.
2. Select OneDrive > Help & Settings > Pause syncing, then choose how long to pause automatic syncing for.

After pausing automatic sync, you can restart your PC and monitor for performance improvements.

You can also unlink your PC entirely from OneDrive with the following steps:

1. Select the OneDrive Cloud icon from your notification area.
2. Select the OneDrive Help and Settings icon, then choose Settings.
3. Head to the Account tab.
4. Select Unlink this PC, then Unlink account​​​​​​​.

Use ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is an innovative feature from Windows that helps users optimize PC performance. This feature uses an external USB flash drive or memory card as supplementary short-term memory storage, reducing the load on your PC’s internal RAM. It’s best used if you have a Windows PC with low built-in RAM.

Your external flash drive or memory card needs at least 500 MB of free space for ReadyBoost to work. If you meet this requirement, follow these steps to implement ReadyBoost:

1. Insert the external flash drive or memory card into your PC.
2. Select File Explorer on your taskbar.
3. Right-click on the USB drive or memory card, then select Properties.
4. Select the ReadyBoost tab, then Use this device. Windows will scan the external drive to determine its eligibility for ReadyBoost. If eligible, it will let you know how much free space can be used to optimize your PC’s memory.
5. Click OK to reserve the free space for ReadyBoost to begin working.

Detect and eliminate viruses

Viruses are a major culprit for unusually slow PCs. These malicious files, intended to steal data, display dodgy ads, or just cause disruptions, run background processes that clog your PC’s RAM. Viruses run these processes sneakily and might not be discovered until you investigate deeply.

If you observe your PC slowing down, it’s advisable to check for and delete viruses to boost its performance. But it’s not as straightforward as it sounds.

Viruses come in numerous forms, and detecting them requires different approaches. Besides, when dealing with viruses, prevention is usually better than a cure.

You can install and run antivirus software on your Windows PC. Popular examples include Bitdefender and Malwarebytes. This software will scan every corner of your Windows operating system to sniff out and eliminate viruses.

Scanning capabilities vary, but antivirus tools are generally good at sniffing out most malicious files. With these malicious files gone, your PC’s performance will significantly improve.

When you download any new file, your antivirus software will automatically scan it for malicious code and stop the download if detected. It’s not just a tool for fighting existing viruses, but rather preventing them from entering your PC in the first place.

Add more RAM

I’ve discussed RAM and its critical contribution to your PC speed. If your PC often slows down, it may be because you're using it heavily and straining the existing RAM. In that case, you have the option of adding more RAM to enable your PC to process tasks faster.

You can add a DDR5 RAM kit to upgrade your PC’s existing RAM. Prices vary according to size and performance, but $50 to $300 can get you a decent-sized RAM boost.

Given the extra costs involved, this option is best reserved if you’ve tried other performance-boosting options but have not gotten your desired results. In that case, a RAM kit can substantially speed up your Windows PC.

Change power mode

You may have changed your power & battery settings to conserve energy consumption and battery life. However, this setting can affect performance, as it usually sacrifices some performance as the tradeoff to conserve battery life.

To change your Power Mode configurations, open the Settings app, then head to System > Power & Battery > Power Mode.

In the Power Mode menu, choose Best Performance.

This setting optimizes your Windows PC for the best possible performance. However, it also consumes more battery power, so it’s ideally used when you’re close to a socket outlet to plug in your laptop.

Adjust your Windows appearance

Those visual effects on your Windows homepage and lock screen are fun to watch, but they silently consume RAM that could be used elsewhere.

A seemingly trivial but valuable way to free up RAM is to stop the usual animations and shadow effects.

Follow these steps to adjust your Windows appearance for the best performance:

1. Type “Performance” in your search box and click on it.
2. Select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows in the list that pops up.
3. On the Visual Effects tab, choose Adjust for best performance, then Apply.

Turn off unwanted notifications

As a Windows user, you’ll be familiar with that sound that plays whenever an app sends a notification.

For me, the sudden sound can be exciting, but repeated plays get tiring. Excessive notifications don’t just disturb your hearing, but also consume RAM resources. You can speed up your PC a bit by turning off notifications from unnecessary apps.

For example, you can leave email notifications on but switch them for games and social media apps.

You could even switch off notifications entirely if you don't think you need them. Follow these steps to control your notifications:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Head to System > Notifications.

3. Under Notifications, you'll find a list of apps on your PC. Select the app you want to pause notifications for.

4. Turn off notifications for the app.

You can repeat the above steps for each app you want to turn off notifications for, ideally, the ones that send them frequently.

Follow these steps if you want to turn off notifications from all apps in one go:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Head to System > Notifications.
3. Toggle off the switch next to Notifications.

Uninstall unnecessary apps

Apps often pop up and run background processes when using your PC. Some of these apps are useful, but others may be apps you installed a long time ago for specific tasks that you forgot to uninstall.

Scroll through your app list and identify the apps you haven’t opened in a long time. If any app is no longer helpful, feel free to uninstall and delete it from your PC. Deleting the app frees up both long-term and short-term memory for your PC to dedicate to other useful apps.

Sometimes, PCs come with pre-installed apps, such as SupportAssist on Dell PCs. If you don’t use these pre-installed apps, you can delete them from your PC to free up valuable space.

Follow these steps to uninstall an app on Windows:

1. Open Settings.
2. Head to Apps > Installed apps.

3. From the list of installed apps, find the one you want to remove, then select More (three horizontal dots) > Uninstall.

Alternatively, you can uninstall an app directly on the Start menu.

1. Select the Start menu > All apps.
2. Search for the app to be uninstalled.
3. Right-click on the app, then select Uninstall.

Enable Game Mode (for gamers)

Gaming is a common scenario when Windows users experience performance lag, unsurprisingly, because high-end games consume enormous computing resources. Running a single game can clog your RAM, leaving little else for other tasks.

Firstly, close all other apps before opening a game to free up RAM for your game to run smoothly. To enable optimal performance, you can also turn on Game Mode, a setting that gives your game more power to run.

It essentially turns off other activities running in the background to dedicate all possible RAM resources to your game.

Follow these steps to enable Game Mode:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on Gaming > Game Mode.
3. Toggle on Game Mode.

Restart regularly

This measure is more of a preventive one, meant for heavy users who love to put their PC in Sleep mode instead of doing a complete shutdown.

While you can frequently put your PC in Sleep mode, it isn’t ideal as a substitute for a shutdown. You should shut down or completely restart your PC at least once every week.

A restart clears out your RAM and frees up resources to use for computing tasks. Any previous background process stops, allowing you to start afresh and dedicate your RAM to the most important tasks.

Restore your PC to a previous setting

If you’ve tried other options to no avail, you can try restoring your Windows PC to an earlier setting, called a restore point. This feature only works if you’ve previously turned on System Protection on your PC. This option is not on by default, but users can turn it on anytime.

With System Protection turned on, Windows will automatically create snapshots of your system settings at specific intervals. If a fault occurs, in this case a performance lag, you can restore a previous snapshot.

Restoring a snapshot doesn’t affect your personal files. All your pictures, videos, and documents will remain intact, and only the settings will change.

This System Restore option works if the setting slowing down your PC was made in the last 7 to 14 days– you can restore a previous snapshot and overwrite that setting. Follow these steps:

1. Type “restore point” in your search box, then click on Create a restore point.
2. Select System Restore on the System Protection tab.
3. Select Next, then choose the restore point you want to revert to.
4. Click Next > Finish.

After following the above steps, you should restart your PC and observe if performance improves.

Final words

There’s no silver bullet for speeding up your Windows PC. It depends on your unique usage patterns and what caused the slowdown you’re experiencing.

Above, I’ve described some of the best tips that might help make things quicker. Among these tips, you’ll likely find one that resolves your problem.

If the problem isn’t resolved, you may seek further help from Microsoft’s support team or a hardware expert.