How to Speed Up a Slow Windows PC: 15 Practical Tips
Your PC takes 3 minutes to boot. Apps take forever to open. Chrome lags with more than 5 tabs open. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone — it’s the number 1 computer complaint. But before buying a new PC or formatting your drive, there are dozens of simple optimizations that can breathe new life into your machine.
This guide gives you 15 practical tips, ranked from the simplest to the most advanced, to speed up your Windows PC without buying anything and without any special technical skills.
Contents
- 1. Beginner level: the first 5 reflexes
- 2. Intermediate level: going further
- 3. Advanced level: pro optimizations
- 4. When the hardware is to blame
- 5. Frequently asked questions
1. Beginner level: the first 5 reflexes
Tip 1: Restart your PC (for real)
This may seem obvious, but Windows 11 doesn’t really shut down when you click “Shut down” — it uses Fast Startup, which puts the system into hibernation instead of switching it off completely. RAM isn’t cleared, and phantom processes stay in memory.
The real fix: click “Restart” (not “Shut down”). A restart forces a true shutdown then a true boot that clears the memory. Do it at least once a week.
Tip 2: Disable startup programs
This is the number 1 cause of slow startup. Every installed program tries to launch in the background: Spotify, Discord, Teams, OneDrive, Adobe, Skype, Steam, Epic Games…
How to do it:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
- Go to the “Startup” tab (or “Startup apps”)
- Disable everything that isn’t essential
What to keep enabled: your antivirus, audio/graphics drivers, and Windows system services. Everything else (Spotify, Discord, Steam, Adobe, Dropbox) can be launched manually when you need it.
Tip 3: Clean up disk space
A drive that’s more than 90% full significantly slows down Windows. The system needs free space for virtual memory, temporary files and updates.
How to do it:
- Settings → System → Storage
- Click “Temporary files” and delete them
- Enable “Cleanup recommendations” to identify large useless files
- Empty the Recycle Bin (right-click → Empty Recycle Bin)
- Remove old Windows installations: Settings → Storage → Temporary files → check “Previous Windows installations”
Goal: keep at least 15-20% free space on your system drive.
Tip 4: Update Windows and your drivers
Windows updates fix performance bugs and optimize the system. Driver updates (especially GPU) significantly improve performance.
Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates
Install everything, including “optional updates” which often contain the latest drivers.
Tip 5: Scan for malware
A PC that has suddenly become slow is often the sign of malware running in the background (cryptocurrency mining, spyware, adware). Run a full scan:
- Windows Security → Virus & threat protection
- Click “Scan options”
- Select “Full scan” and run it
The scan takes 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the number of files on your drive.
2. Intermediate level: going further
Tip 6: Change the power plan
By default, Windows uses the “Balanced” plan, which reduces performance to save energy. On a desktop PC, that’s pointless.
Control Panel → Power Options → High performance
On a plugged-in laptop, use “High performance”. On battery, stick with “Balanced” to preserve battery life.
Tip 7: Disable visual effects
Windows 11 uses animations, transparency and shadows that consume resources, especially on PCs with integrated graphics.
How to do it:
- Search for “Performance” in the Start menu
- Click “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows”
- Check “Adjust for best performance”
- Re-check “Smooth edges of screen fonts” (without it, text looks awful)
Tip 8: Disable useless services
Windows runs dozens of background services, some of which are useless for most users:
- SysMain (Superfetch): preloads data into memory. Useful on an HDD, but wastes RAM needlessly on an SSD. Disable it if you have an SSD.
- Windows Search indexing: constantly indexes your files for search. If you don’t use Windows search, disable it.
- Fax: who still uses a fax?
How to do it: search for “Services” in the Start menu → right-click the service → Properties → Startup type: Disabled.
Tip 9: Check the integrity of system files
Corrupted system files can cause slowdowns. The SFC command checks and repairs automatically.
Open Command Prompt as administrator and type:
sfc /scannow
Wait 10-15 minutes. If corrupted files are found and repaired, restart the PC.
Tip 10: Use Resource Monitor
Before optimizing everything blindly, identify THE component slowing down your PC:
- Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Performance tab
- Watch the 4 indicators: CPU, Memory (RAM), Disk, Network
- If one is constantly at 90-100%, you’ve found the culprit
| If the problem is… | Likely cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| CPU at 100% | Too many processes / malware | Close apps, scan for malware |
| RAM at 100% | Not enough memory | Close Chrome tabs, add RAM |
| Disk at 100% | Slow HDD or SysMain active | Switch to an SSD (!), disable SysMain |
| Network maxed out | Download in progress | Wait for it to finish or limit the bandwidth |
3. Advanced level: pro optimizations
Tip 11: Disable Fast Startup
Windows Fast Startup sometimes causes persistent performance issues because the session is never truly closed.
Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable → Uncheck “Turn on fast startup”
Tip 12: Optimize virtual memory
Virtual memory (the page file / pagefile) is disk space used as backup RAM. By default, Windows manages it automatically, but you can optimize it:
- System Properties → Advanced → Performance → Settings → Advanced → Virtual memory
- Uncheck “Automatically manage”
- Select your SSD, choose “Custom size”
- Initial size: 1.5x your RAM (e.g. 8 GB RAM → 12288 MB)
- Maximum size: 3x your RAM (e.g. 8 GB RAM → 24576 MB)
Tip 13: Clean the registry (with caution)
The Windows registry accumulates obsolete entries over installs/uninstalls. A careful cleanup can help. Warning: never edit the registry manually unless you know exactly what you’re doing. Use a tool like CCleaner (free version) for automatic, safe cleaning.
Tip 14: Reset Windows (the soft nuclear option)
If nothing works, Windows offers a reset that keeps your files but reinstalls the system:
Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Keep my files
It’s less drastic than a full format but resolves most system-related performance issues.
Tip 15: Upgrade to Windows 11 if you’re still on Windows 10
Windows 11 is generally faster than Windows 10 on the same hardware, thanks to a better task scheduler, an optimized memory manager and DirectStorage for NVMe SSDs. If your PC is compatible, upgrading to Windows 11 is an optimization in itself.
4. When the hardware is to blame
If after all these optimizations your PC stays slow, the problem is hardware. Here are the two most impactful upgrades:
Upgrade #1: Replace the HDD with an SSD (HUGE impact)
If your PC still has a classic hard drive (HDD), replacing it with an SSD is the best possible upgrade. The gain is spectacular:
| Operation | HDD | SATA SSD | NVMe SSD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows boot | 60-90 sec | 15-25 sec | 8-15 sec |
| Opening Chrome | 5-8 sec | 1-2 sec | <1 sec |
| Copying 10 GB | 3-5 min | 45-90 sec | 15-30 sec |
A 500 GB SATA SSD costs around 40€ and literally transforms any PC into a responsive machine.
Upgrade #2: Add RAM
If your PC has 4 GB of RAM, it’s insufficient for Windows 11 in 2026. Chrome alone uses 2-3 GB with a few tabs. With 4 GB, the system constantly relies on virtual memory (disk), which slows everything down.
- 8 GB: the comfortable minimum for office work and the web
- 16 GB: recommended for multitasking, gaming and creative software
- 32 GB: for video editing, 3D and virtual machines
5. Frequently asked questions
My PC is only slow at startup, what should I do?
The problem is almost always linked to programs that launch at startup (Tip 2). Disable them and startup will be much faster. If it’s still slow, switching to an SSD (Upgrade #1) is the definitive solution.
Chrome uses a lot of RAM, is that normal?
Yes, each Chrome tab uses 100-300 MB of RAM. With 20 tabs open, you can easily reach 3-4 GB. Solutions: close useless tabs, use extensions like “The Great Suspender” that put inactive tabs to sleep, or upgrade to 16 GB of RAM.
Are “PC cleaner” programs useful?
Most are useless or even harmful. Avoid programs that promise to “boost” your PC in one click — that’s marketing. The only legitimate tools are: the disk cleanup built into Windows, CCleaner (in moderation), and Task Manager to identify resource-hungry processes.
Is Windows 11 slower than Windows 10?
No, quite the opposite. On the same hardware, Windows 11 is slightly faster thanks to an optimized task scheduler. RAM usage at idle is slightly higher (+400 MB) but overall performance is better. For a detailed comparison, read our Windows 11 vs Windows 10 comparison.
How long before a PC becomes slow?
With an SSD and 16 GB of RAM, a well-maintained PC stays fast for 5 to 7 years. With an HDD and 8 GB of RAM, slowdowns usually appear after 2-3 years. Regular maintenance (updates, cleanup, managing startup programs) significantly extends its lifespan.
📌 Also read
- How to Format and Reinstall Windows 11
- Which Windows for Gaming?
- Windows 11 Home vs Pro
- Windows 10 End of Support: What to Do?
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