{"id":108355,"date":"2018-09-14T16:18:32","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T20:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=108355"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:02:16","slug":"5-ways-to-make-your-computer-run-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/5-ways-to-make-your-computer-run-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"Sick of a Slow Computer? 5 Simple Ways to Make Your PC Run Faster!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Computer running slow? If you’re noticing a significant drop in processing speed and startup time, it’s time to take some actions to help out your poor PC. Except for hardware issues like failed drivers or a broken power supply, there’s no reason that an up-to-date computer should ever get slower than it was right out of the gate. The slow-down occurs as a result of bloating startup menus, abundant downloads and unnecessary programs, and a handful of frustrating default settings you’ll need to fine-tune.<\/p>\n

This is not<\/em> a list about how to fix these problems specifically on Windows 10, but is rather an overall list of functions<\/strong> you can cull or engage on any OS. For ways to speed up Windows 10 specifically, check out our articles here<\/a> and here<\/a>. For simplicity’s sake, however, we will<\/em> be navigating with Windows 10 in our examples.<\/p>\n

\"SpeedUpYourPC!\"<\/p>\n

Each of our solutions in this guide will require minimal-to-zero background knowledge, so don’t worry if you’re not a computer geek. Everything we’re about to list is readily accessible right after booting up your PC. Let’s get started.<\/p>\n

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5 ways to make your computer run faster<\/h2>\n

1. Disk check, disk cleanup<\/h3>\n

Running a Disk Check<\/strong> will scan a specific drive for unused space or corrupt files. While a virus scan will eliminate malware (which could very well also be slowing down your PC!), the Disk Check goes further by also purging that unused space that could be bogging down your processing speed.<\/p>\n

To initiate a Disk Check, open your File Explorer<\/strong> and navigate to This PC<\/strong>. You should see your drives listed under Drives and Devices.<\/p>\n

\"FindYourDrives\"<\/p>\n

By the way, this is a handy way to tell how much space you have left on your particular drive. If it’s full to the brim, that might help explain why things are running so slowly! Right-click<\/strong> on a disk (like your C: drive<\/strong>) and select Properties.<\/strong> This will open up a menu with seven different tabs up top. Click the one that says Tools.<\/strong> Inside the Tools<\/strong> tab, click Check,<\/strong> then say Scan drive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"CheckDisk\"<\/p>\n

The scan might take a little while (upwards of 30 minutes<\/strong> if you haven’t performed this before), but it’ll be worth it. Depending on how cramped your drives were, you may even notice an improvement immediately. If not, then you should try a Disk Cleanup<\/strong>. This is as easy as pressing the Win<\/strong> key and typing Disk Cleanup<\/strong>. Click the top option (should be a desktop app). This will scan your PC for systems and files that can be safely removed.<\/p>\n

\"OpenDiskCleanup\"<\/p>\n

Let your PC complete its scan, then you’ll be transported to this window:<\/p>\n

\"DiskCleanup\"<\/p>\n

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Click OK, or select more files if you feel comfortable removing them. As you can see, our Disk Cleanup eliminated over 90 MB<\/strong> of junk!<\/p>\n

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2. Defrag your drives<\/h3>\n

While we’re specifically working on cleaning the drives of your PC, you can also go ahead and defrag<\/strong> them. What this will do is reorganize the files on your hard disk so they can be accessed faster by your PC’s subsystems. To defrag, go back to your File Explorer<\/strong> (Win+E<\/strong> for a shortcut) and right-click<\/strong> again on your drive (C:). Open the Properties<\/strong> menu and go to the Tools<\/strong> tab. Instead of hitting Check this time, though, hit Optimize.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"OptimizeDrives\"<\/p>\n

It will open a window that looks similar to the picture above. Click the Optimize button and let your computer work its magic. You’ll notice that towards the bottom of the window it says that your PC is scheduled by default to optimize every week. This means that you shouldn’t need to run a defrag unless you’re specifically hit by a sudden slow-down. If you wish, you can also adjust the frequency at which your computer defrags: Daily, weekly, or monthly. We recommend keeping it on default, but if you want to adjust it just click Change Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can check out this video here for a more complete defragging walkthrough:<\/p>\n