Have you ever felt that your computer feels a little draggy? I've felt it many times, even with a reasonably powerful computer or laptop with high end specs.
I've tested various computers and laptops but with use over time it becomes slow and laggy. And I can assure you that for most of the part, it's not your fault. Here are few ways by which you can make your computer go faster than ever!
The reason why your machine slows down
There could be a lot of reasons for your computer to slow down. It can be
as simple as caching issues or as complex as Thermal throttling. But, we'll
cover all the solutions for each specific problem.
This calls for the need of maintenance. How exterior maintenance and
cleaning is important, internal maintenance is as important as that. So, if
you're familiar with internal cleaning, both software and hardware wise,
then you should do definitely do it 3 to 6 months once.
Deleting unused junk
If you have some apps or games that lies unused then it's time to clean
them up. Cleaning them gives your system lot less load to deal with.
If you're using a SSD, then having more space can give you more
performance.
You can also reuse that space for something else too.
The most common areas of finding unused junk is your downloads folder,
Desktop and most importantly your Recycle Bin. I've had 12 GB worth of
precious space occupied by my recycle bin!
Clear your Temp folder and cache.
Probably an extension of the first step but more important than that. You
can delete those age old unwanted temporary files from a few folders.
For Windows
Go to Start Menu > Type %temp% and click on the temp folder. Close all
your apps and games, and select all the files using Control + A and
permanently delete them by Shift + Delete.
For macOS
For macOS, the process is quite different. Go to Finder > Go > Type
~/library/cache and selectively delete what you wanted to.
Be Cautious: macOS cache can contain some important files like App preferences or Game saves for example. I strongly recommend you to delete caches from apps like iTunes or apps that you don't use much.
A quick search on internet can give you more ways to delete cache from other cache reserve folders. However, proceed with caution because you may sometimes delete an important file.
For Linux
Cleaning temp files is straightforward and feels like a breeze. Open
terminal using Control + Alt + T and type sudo apt-get
autoremove.
You'll be prompted to enter your administrator password.
Tada, You have cleaned all temp files from your Linux desktop.
Restart
Give your system some rest. I myself have put my computer into sleep
for about months! A simple restart can free up cached data from memory
and clear the air out for you.
You could also restart in safe mode to check if everything is working
the way intended.
Reset BIOS Settings
Often neglected, resetting your BIOS System to factory defaults can make
your system faster! At least, it reduced my boot times from 2 minutes to 15
seconds.
But before you do that, check your BIOS Settings once and note the ones you
might need to change after the reset, like changing boot order.
Operating System might be the culprit
Sometimes, your operating system might be the one which slows down your
device. It can be due to incompatibility, or the Operating System might be
too heavy for your system (*Ahem, Windows*).
Reinstall your Operating system.
As a last resort, reinstall a fresh copy of your Operating System. It
helped in my case, maybe it might help you too.
If you had a dual boot configuration in your system. maybe that could slow
down too. I do not know why this happens but for some weird reason it slowed
down my system.
Upgrade Time!
If all these doesn't work, maybe a quick upgrade can do the job for you. If
you have a system with very less RAM (According to today's standards) then
maybe a RAM upgrade can do the Job for you.
Solid State Drives
The most common upgrade is from a Hard Disk to a Solid State Drive. They
are fast, damn fast, and doesn't have moving parts which reduces the risk of
failures unlike Hard drives.
They are expensive (Obviously) but they are worth it. If your system has a
M.2 Slot, then I strongly recommend you to use a M.2 Drive.
If you have a SSD yet your system is lazy enough then probably you need to
increase free space. SSDs need to have a goofy amount of free space to work
well.
A simple workaround is to install your Operating System in a SSD and store
your huge games and files in a Hard Disk. Makes things quite
organized.
RAM Upgrade
A Ram upgrade can always almost guarantee you a fast system. More the
RAM, more the Power. Using a fast RAM (3000mHZ or Above) is always
recommended.
While the norm for around 3 to 4 years might be 8GB, 16GB upgrade is always
appreciable.
Use a Fresh Thermal Paste
Warning: It might get advanced here.
While installing RAMs and SSDs can be easy, reinstalling Thermal Paste
isn't!
However, if you've got some experience you can easily do it, and it might
even solve your overheating problem.
Throttling and Bottlenecks
Thermal Throttling is dangerous. If you could invest in some good coolers
for your PC or a Good cooling pad for your laptop, you might be able to fix
that.
However going to a professional and fixing it might be the way to go.
Try to fix bottlenecks like a weak Processor coupled with powerful graphics
by investing in good parts. Consult your technician for more details.
Final Verdict
We have discussed simple fixes to even changing the processor in this
article. Try to do the simple ones first because for most part they might be
the only solution.
I hope it helped you and I'll catch you up in the next one.
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