How can I speed up my computer running windows 11?

Operating Systems & Open Source Windows
1

Hello everyone, I have a Windows 11 laptop that has become increasingly slow recently. Basic tasks now experience noticeable lag. My computer has an Intel 10th Gen Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and I primarily use it for office work and web browsing. I have already performed basic steps like restarting the system and checking for malware.

I am looking for a comprehensive, step-by-step checklist to speed up my computer with Windows 11. Should I use a PC cleaner to do that?

2

To speed up an old Windows 11 computer,

  1. Delete large files and free up space, especially on system drive.
  2. Remove junk, temp and cache files from hidden folder.
  3. Disable auto startup apps.

You can do this manually or use a dedicated app to do the house keeping automatically.

Microsoft post:
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/windows11/how-to-speed-up-windows-11-and-make-it-run-faster/4483282

Or this step-by-step guide: https://www.uubyte.com/online-help/pc-cleaner.html

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4

Disk Cleanup is a crucial step in how to speed up computer windows 11. This tool safely removes redundant system files and frees up valuable disk space, effectively resolving storage-related system slowdowns.

  1. Search for Disk Cleanup in Windows 11, right-click the app and select Run as administrator.
  2. Choose the C: drive in the pop-up window and click OK.
  3. After the scan, check all boxes except the Downloads folder. Click OK > Delete Files.
  4. Click Clean up system files, select the C: drive and scan again.
  5. Check all available items, especially Windows Update Cleanup and Delivery Optimization Files, then confirm to delete the files.

Mastering disk cleanup and maintaining a regular routine is a reliable way to how to speed up computer windows 11, keeping your device running efficiently long-term by fixing storage-related slowdowns.

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5

Update it as far as possible and then run AtlasOS scripts. It will do all the steps for you. 8GB is barely cutting it for WIn11 though, I have seen the OS alone use like 6-7GB now days.

Your best performance speedup would be to install ZorinOS or Mint OS instead of using Windows bloatware. What office work programs do you use? Word and Excel can be replaced by LibreOffice. You can even try out the OS without installing it if you wish just to see if you like the feel, though trying it has things running slow because the whole things runs of a USB flash drive.

6

This happened to me too two months ago. I deleted all the junk files, updated my Windows and also used malwarebyte software to free my PC from any malware. After doing all these steps my PC has increased.

7

I came here to see how many “install Linux” comments there would be, but to my disappointment, I find actual sensible answers :srs:

I guess that means I should include something sensible too. A few things you could try:

  • SSD upgrade, usually 1TB drives have increase I/O performance; NVMe drive would be best if possible
  • RAM upgrade (costs are crazy, so only if you can), a two module kit of 16 or 32 GB of DDR4 (whatever max the motherboard supports) would likely help
  • Uninstall any programs you’re not using
  • Close as many tabs/windows as possible in the browser. Organize tab groups (the close them), create bookmarks, add to a reading list, etc. and close the browser whenever it’s not strictly necessary
  • Disable as many startup programs as you can, ones you know you don’t need, if you’re uncertain, probably best to leave them
  • Delete unneeded files, empty trash, etc.
  • Clean your laptop, especially the intake and exhaust ports; especially needed if it gets hot while in use
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8

Builtbybel has some good tools for cleaning up windows and reducing resource usage. As with anything from strangers on the internet, use at your own risk. I have used bloatbox and bloatynosy on multiple installations.

Obligatory recommendation to just install Linux.

9

How to speed up computer Windows 11? The Memory Compression Tweak is a method that involves adjusting how Windows manages its RAM to potentially improve system performance. In Windows 11, memory compression is a feature where inactive or less-used data in RAM is compressed to free up space for active processes, which can help in speeding up the computer.

By tweaking or disabling this feature, some users believe they can reduce overhead and make their system more responsive, especially on systems with limited RAM.

However,when you speed up computer Windows 11, it’s important to note that altering system settings like memory compression can have mixed results and may not always lead to faster performance. In many cases, Windows’ default memory management is optimized for stability and efficiency.

10

Disabling the Superfetch service can sometimes help speed up Windows 11 computer, especially if it’s experiencing lag or slow startup times. Superfetch preloads frequently used applications into memory to speed up their launch, but on some systems, it can cause high disk usage and slow down performance instead.

Perhaps you are searching for “How to speed up Windows 11 computer”, and you will also find that many people recommend this method. It’s worth giving it a try.

11

I use a couple toys to speed up Win11.

<fx: deep breath>

                    [mandatory cautions]

Backup first.
Backup second.
Running scripts you got from some rando is never the best idea, so USE WITH CARE!
If you love your computer as it is, so you’ve got two backups, right?

Seriously - Back it up.

Did I mention backing up?

Anyway, three steps. I often use the first two on a fresh install.

Debloat - ditch the crap you don’t use/need/want

There a lots of different scripts around to remove the bloatware from Win11. I use Raphire. The really nice thing about this one is the ‘custom mode’ (option 2). Step by step, it will ask you what apps you’d like to get rid of, restore things like right-click, start menu orientation, what you want to see when you open explorer, etc.
When you’ve done all that (a few minutes, plus or minus some web searching), the script will apply those choices and save them. You can re-run and apply your choices next time (there will be a next time after updates), and save the whole folder for your other Win11s.

GitHub - Raphire/Win11Debloat: A simple, lightweight PowerShell script to remove pre-installed apps, disable telemetry, as well as perform various other changes to customize, declutter and improve your Windows experience. Win11Debloat works for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Oh shut up Windows - yes, really

A great little program prevent nags, nuisances, irritations and prevents chaffing. You can really drill down and block things like OneDrive, Copilot, it can even deal with some of the junk in Office.
You can also control Updates, reboots, etc.

https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

Those two do have some overlap, but they’ve generally given me consistant results.
I repeat those two steps after updates.
Micro$lop will be the judge of what is reasonable. Copilot and its friends will reappear eventually, with even more wonderful ‘features’ when they work around your work-around.

Disk Cleaning
There’s two tools built in. “Disk Cleanup” is built in oldie that removes temp files, some cached stuff, etc. If you click the “System cleanup” button, you can also clear out old windows update files. Just search for it in the Start menu.
From Windows Settings > Storage > Temporary files, you can also dump a heap of crap. Just clearing out Thumbnails can do wonders for a slow Explorer, but keep in mind there’s going to be some lag as you browse around because they have to be regenerated.
I know both these look like they do the same job, but that’s not always the case, especially if you’ve upgraded to 11.

<fx: phone buzzing>

… other things, just quickly …
Take a look in System > Devices and remove anything you don’t have or use. Drivers may be trying to poll devices and getting stuck in loops, If you don’t have those bt headphones anymore, etc.
A queued job to an unavailable printer makes Windows sad. Really really sad. It’s a stupid bug that’s been around forever. Clear all jobs from the queue before you remove the printer.
Control Panel > Programs and Features, anything you can ditch… especially old printers and IO enhancements (Logitech Setpoint, for eg).

There’s more (always), but I’ve gotta jet.

Good luck, and remember to backup!

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12

Format and clean out with Ntlite

13

Format c: drive and install Linux :smiley:

(sorry couldn’t resist)

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14

It’s pretty standard to hear that in comments now a days.

15

Open task manager and observe RAM/CPU/GPU usage. But 8GB likely is your bottleneck and you need at least 16GB for light work. The reason the SSD matters is, that SSD is used for swap, and with only 8GB it is used even more. And SSD get slower as they fill up and 256Gb is pretty small these days. So the suggestions to upgrade RAM and SSD are spot on.

Also look in taskmanager which apps use lot of RAM or CPU.

Clean up the SSD:

  • go to settings-> System → Storage and enable “storage sense” and let it run daily (you also can run it manually). “Disk Cleanup” was mentioned above. CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, but I think storage sense replaced that and is better. I just ran storage sense, and after that, “Disk Cleanup” only found a few kB to clean. But I’m here to learn more…
  • enter “%tmp%” in any folder and then delete all temporary files
  • manually clean what old data you may not want/need anymore

Speed up:

  • DO NOT RUN any scripts, magic software or modified W11 (like Tiny 11 etc.). If those methods don’t break your system now, they may break it at the next update. They also may disable security features and you have to blindly trust some random guy on github. Sure, W11 may run fewer processes with those scripts, but you may learn the hard way, that Windows Defender or security updates are actually important processes :slight_smile:
  • Go to Settings → Apps and remove ALL apps you don’t REALLY need, MB, fan control, RGB software and any software that looked like a good idea at the time. Also remove software MS put in that you don’t need.
  • Go to “startup” and disable startup of all apps you don’t need to start up automatically
  • Go to “Task scheduler” and disable all tasks yo don’t want to auto-start. Many software create a schedule to get triggered to run. Don’t just delete a scheduled task, disable it. If you remove it, an update may create a new “scheduled task”
  • Open Edge (assuming you use a different browser) and go to settings → system and performance → disable startup boost
  • Don’t install anything unless you really need it. And if you need an app only occasionally, see if it has a portable version that doesn’t actually install. ANY app you install, may auto-start, and may use storage all over the OS. If you ever want to try an unknown software, use the “Sandbox”.
  • Since this is a laptop, the laptop manufacturer may have put their own bloat on the OS. Maybe a fresh OS installation (with W11 from MS directly) is a good idea. But look first what you can do manually. You said it got worse over time, so this may be related to software after you got the laptop.

Update all chipset/GPU drivers with driver directly from the manufacturer (AMD/Intel/Nvidia). Do not install any motherboard magic software that allegedly does it all for you and promises a thousand other things. MB software is bloaty and buggy.

I expected people would suggest installing Linux…even when you didn’t mention your use case, actual hardware, software needs, or any desire to tinker.

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16

Oh god, why does this thread look like it’s 90% written by AI?

The answer to this really depends on what you mean by “speed up”.

For example, I have a 3rd gen Core i5 laptop from… I don’t even know how long ago. It has a CD drive and a frickin VGA port! (When’s the last time you saw one of those?)
The only upgrade I ever performed on it, was to replace the shitty spinning rust it originally came with a 512G SSD.

And it’s STILL perfectly usable. I use it to look up recipes in the kitchen and watch youtube videos.

It runs W10 and boots in a minute. I remember this was the era of 2-4 GB of ram and 1366x768 screens because I specifically looked for a model with 8 GB of RAM and a 1080p screen.

Ofc just launching the browser fully pegs the piddly 2C/4T processor for a few seconds. But it plays youtube videos smoothly. And it can run office stuff no problem.

So yea, it all depends on what you find acceptable.

One thing I will say is that monitoring is a key part of keeping a system healthy.

Which is why Process Explorer is a permanent resident of the taskbar on any system under my care.
It lets you monitor your system resource usage.
For example I expect CPU to be effectively 0 when I’m not doing anything. And I expect to have tons of free RAM after a fresh boot. Process Explorer is what tells you when one of these is not right, and lets you find the culprit.
For drive space, I use WizTree to see what’s hogging drive space.

Honestly, for web browsing and office work, I’d rather just put some easy flavor of Linux on it.

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