Reasons For A Slow Laptop And How To Fix It

Reasons For A Slow Laptop And How To Fix It

The laptop is a device that offers so much in terms of productivity and entertainment. At the same time, it can be slow at times or even freeze up. 

When this happens, people may not know what to do next because they are unsure why their machine has slowed down. 

There could be several reasons for this problem; below we will outline some common culprits as well as recommend solutions accordingly.

Reasons for a slow laptop

1). Laptop running for long 

The computer has been running for an extended period without rebooting. 

A reboot clears the RAM memory and helps keep the machine more responsive. 

It’s also good practice to let your system run in between sessions so that it doesn’t start up from a cold boot every time, which takes longer than normal startup times may have done before you closed down last night.

2). You may have malware on your computer

This is software that can hijack it and hold its resources for ransom, slowing down the system in an attempt to make you pay money or reveal personal data. 

Running a virus scanner regularly will check for this kind of problem while also protecting against other threats like spyware and ransomware (malicious programs designed specifically to steal information from an infected machine). 

If you find anything at all suspicious about how your device works, talk to someone who knows computers, like a technician.

3). Too many programs open

You are using too many programs at the same time, which can slow your laptop down as it tries to juggle them all in its memory. 

Close any unnecessary ones and only use one browser tab per program you’re on so that they don’t take up too much of the system’s resources. 

To find out what could be slowing down your laptop, click on “Task Manager” under Windows Explorer > File Explorer > Task Manager, then click on the Processes tab which will show you all applications currently open and how much CPU power each one has used over time as well as Memory Usage for both RAM and Pagefile usage so you can see if anything is using too much memory.

4). Your computer is getting old

Older computers can’t cope with multiple programs as well.

So it may be worth investing in a newer one if your laptop is more than two or three years old and you have noticeable slowdowns when using the system for long periods of time.

5). Incorrect power settings

Your laptop’s power settings are set up incorrectly, causing the battery life to be shorter than expected.

As well as slowdowns when using external devices such as Bluetooth speakers or mice. 

Check how long Windows wants your device plugged in all day versus running off battery only by clicking “Power Options” under Control Panel > Hardware & Sound >  Power Options > Change Plan Settings.

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6). Malfunctioning cooling system

Your laptop’s cooling system is set up incorrectly, causing overheating and slowdowns. Check your fan settings by going to Control Panel > System & Security > Power Options (on the left under Hardware).

7).  Faulty hardware

Slow laptop issues could also be an issue with the hardware itself.

You might need new RAM, better airflow on the underside of the machine, or even just reinstalling Windows!

But before rushing into any decisions like these which could cause more harm than good (such as losing valuable data), try troubleshooting first by following some of our tips below:

  1. Run the troubleshooting wizard in Windows by pressing Ctrl, Alt and Delete together. This will scan for any malware or viruses on your computer that could be slowing it down. 
  2. Reboot your laptop into Safe Mode (press F11) to see if the performance is better without some of the programs you have installed- this can help determine what’s causing the problem so you know how best to fix it! 

If everything still seems like a no-go, then try using CCleaner.

It deletes excess files from memory as well as running a disk defragmentation process.

These are both good steps towards freeing up space and speeding things back up again. 

It might also be worth removing some old hardware drivers that haven’t been used in a while, or files that you don’t use on your laptop anymore.

If nothing seems to be helping and you’re still struggling with slow speeds, make sure to back up all of the data you want to save onto an external memory stick or hard drive.

So there’s no chance of anything being lost if it does get wiped – then wipe the computer clean by reinstalling Windows from scratch! 

Then consider buying some additional RAM for your machine- this can sometimes help speed things up again as well as making multitasking much easier. Install any new drivers for hardware too when they become available.

Steps to Fix Slow Laptop

– Check for malware on the device; remove any suspicious files found during an antivirus scan. 

– Close any unnecessary apps/programs that are running in order to free up RAM resources from being used by too many processes at once; use only one browser tab per program open (multiples will still create lag). 

– Investing in a new laptop might help reduce some memory usage issues caused by your old one.

– Disable any programs that you don’t need to open and close for optimal performance, such as video games or software in the background (like Skype). 

– Analyze what’s using up most of your bandwidth: if it’s a program like Spotify or YouTube streaming music/videos constantly, try playing them offline so they aren’t needing constant access to data from the internet. 

– Delete any unnecessary files that are not needed on your laptop, such as old music or videos you don’t need anymore (maybe a good time to clean out e-mails too). 

– Lower the brightness/color intensity if possible so as not to overheat your computer; try opening task manager so you can see what’s using up most resources at that moment. 

– Try installing an application like CCleaner which will delete unneeded temporary data left behind by programs running in the background like Firefox or Chrome–delete this data to free up space and resources.

– Check your battery to see how much it has been discharged–if you’re in the red zone, then plug in the laptop or use a portable charger so that your device doesn’t overheat. 

– Try restarting your computer after installing updates if possible at this moment because they may have changed something with software that was causing resource usage problems. 

In conclusion

Check device performance by tracking how much free memory is available before opening any new apps or browser pages.

If it has maxed out already (it will tell you), then invest in additional RAM for better multi-tasking capabilities or swap traditional hard drives for flash storage upgrades like SSDs instead!

Upgrades won’t solve everything, but they’ll help make things run more smoothly temporarily while searching for an alternative solution. 

I hope this guide helps you solve your slow laptop issues.

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