5 easy things I did to give my slow PC a new life

Most of us have had the experience of enjoying our new Windows PC’s blistering speed only to get disappointed when performance drops off, and it becomes sluggish. It takes forever to start and there’s a noticeable lag when switching between programs or internet browser tabs.

These issues are inevitable as we load new games and apps which gobble up our laptop’s memory and CPU power. The good news is that slow performance is easily remedied by doing some basic maintenance and changing some settings. That’s why I do these five things to stop my PC from slowing down because I want the best Windows 11 experience.

Disable Startup Programs

No more waiting

Windows laptops take longer to start when they have to load more apps. Many of these apps can’t be avoided and are critical to our work, but others start by default and aren’t required for daily tasks. All they do is lurk in the background and use up valuable resources.

My laptop boots up fast because I disable startup programs I don’t need. I can always click on them to open them manually later. The Startup menu is located in Settings -> Apps. It displays a list of my installed programs and the impact they have on my laptop’s startup time. I then go through the list and disable the ones I don’t need with the handy sliders.

Remove unused apps

Don’t let them pile up

I test many apps for work, and they pile up in my system after I forget about them. These apps take up valuable storage space and can run in the background if I forget to disable them in the startup menu. They also contribute to a bloated registry and can have compatibility or performance issues if they aren’t updated regularly.

That’s why I spring-clean my PC around once a month and remove the apps I don’t use rather than dealing with unnecessary issues. I navigate to Settings -> Apps -> Installed apps and go through the list to see which ones I no longer use. I then click on the menu icon and Uninstall and follow the instructions to remove the unwanted apps.

Install Microsoft PC Manager

User-friendly health monitoring tools

I like to monitor my PC’s health and resources to discover potential issues and to ensure everything’s running as it should be. I do this with the free Microsoft PC Manager app, which displays all the info I need on a single interface and provides useful optimization tools to boost performance.

The main interface shows how many apps are running and the amount of memory they are consuming. It also has some system repair tools to fix certain issues. I find the Health check particularly useful because it displays how much storage space I can free up and provides recommendations for apps that can be uninstalled.

Optimize Browser settings

Minimize resource use

Browsers are integral to my workflow because of all the web-based apps I use. However, they are known for their high memory use and can slow my system down if they aren’t optimized. Some browsers consume more RAM than others, but I look at functionality and choose the one that best meets my requirements before worrying about the resources it uses.

Every browser has different optimization settings to boost performance. For example, if I’m using Microsoft Edge, I disable it from running background processes and extensions when it’s closed to free up memory. With Google Chrome, I turn on the Memory Saver feature and disable the extensions I’m not using.

Scan for Viruses and Malware

Stop system threats

It’s easy to pick up malware, like viruses, adware, and spyware when browsing the internet or installing new programs. These unwanted apps are notorious for slowing PC performance and can also be a nuisance when they hijack processes or display constant pop-ups.

I don’t bother with paid antivirus apps because the built-in Microsoft Defender does the job of protecting my PC. I still need to do my part and download the latest security updates to get the best protection. Some threats still slip through the cracks and cause problems with my PC and I still need to run scans with third-party apps, like Malwarebytes to remove them.