Why Is My Computer So Slow? 10 Real Fixes That Actually Work

This is obvious advice that most people don’t actually follow. There’s a difference between Sleep, Shut Down, and Restart — and it matters.

• Restart (not Shut Down) clears RAM and resets system processes properly
• On Windows 10/11, “Shut Down” sometimes uses Fast Startup, which doesn’t fully clear memory — Restart always does
• Restart at least twice a week if you keep your computer running constantly

Every app you install wants to launch at startup “for convenience.” After a year of installing software, you can have 20+ programs loading the moment Windows starts — most of which you never use.

• Windows: Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager → click “Startup apps” tab → Right-click anything with “High” impact you don’t need and select Disable
• Mac: System Settings → General → Login Items → Remove anything you don’t need launching at startup
• Safe to disable: Spotify, Discord, Teams (if you don’t use it daily), Adobe updaters, Skype
• Never disable: antivirus, audio drivers, graphics drivers

Your operating system needs free space to function. When your drive is over 85% full, performance drops dramatically. Windows needs room for virtual memory and temporary files; it borrows disk space when RAM runs low.

• Windows: Settings → System → Storage → turn on Storage Sense, then click “Cleanup recommendations” to remove large and unnecessary files
• Empty the Recycle Bin — people forget this holds onto gigabytes of deleted files
• Move photos, videos, and old documents to an external drive or Google Drive/OneDrive
• Uninstall software you no longer use: Settings → Apps → Sort by Size
• Target: keep at least 15–20% of your drive free at all times

Sometimes one rogue process quietly eats all your computer’s resources. Task Manager tells you exactly what’s happening in real time.

• Windows: Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc → look at CPU and Memory columns. Sort by CPU to find the biggest culprit
• Mac: Open Activity Monitor (search in Spotlight) → CPU tab → sort by % CPU
• Common culprits: browser with too many tabs open, Windows Update running in background, antivirus scan, video call app
• If something looks unfamiliar and is using 30%+ CPU, Google its exact name — it could be malware

Your web browser is often the single most resource-hungry program on your computer. 20 open tabs, 30 extensions — it’s not the computer that’s slow, it’s the browser.

• Close tabs you’re not actively using — each tab uses RAM even when you’re not looking at it
• Audit your browser extensions: only keep ones you use regularly. Remove the rest
• Clear browser cache: Chrome/Edge → Settings → Privacy → Clear browsing data → Cached images and files
• Try using one browser at a time — running Chrome, Firefox, and Edge simultaneously is a RAM nightmare

Malware — especially cryptominers and adware — runs silently in the background, using your CPU for other people’s purposes. A computer infected with a cryptominer will feel like it’s struggling even to open a folder.

• Download Malwarebytes (free version) from malwarebytes.com — it’s the best free malware scanner available
• Run a full scan — takes 15–30 minutes but worth it
• Windows also has built-in Windows Security (formerly Defender) — run a full scan from there too
• If Malwarebytes finds something, quarantine it, restart, then scan again

Outdated operating systems and drivers cause compatibility issues and performance problems. Manufacturers push performance improvements through updates — skipping them is leaving speed on the table.

• Windows: Settings → Windows Update → Check for Updates → install all pending updates, then restart
• Mac: System Settings → General → Software Update
• For graphics and chipset drivers on Windows, visit your laptop manufacturer’s website (Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS) and check the Support/Downloads section for your model
• After major Windows updates, performance can temporarily dip for 30–60 minutes while Windows indexes files — this is normal

Windows has many visual animations — shadows, transparency, fade effects — that look nice but use CPU and RAM. On older machines, turning these off gives a noticeable speed boost.

• Press Windows key, type Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows, and open it
• Select “Adjust for best performance” or manually uncheck animations you don’t need
• On Windows 11: Settings → Accessibility → Visual Effects → turn off Transparency and Animation effects
• This is especially helpful on computers with 4GB of RAM or less

This one surprises people. Dust blocks vents and traps heat. When a processor gets too hot, it automatically slows itself down to prevent damage — this is called thermal throttling. A dusty laptop can run at half its rated speed.

• For laptops: use a can of compressed air to blow into the vents (usually on the bottom and sides) for 5–10 seconds in short bursts
• For desktops: open the side panel and carefully blow dust off all components and fan blades
• Do this every 6 months, especially if the computer is on the floor or in a dusty room
• A laptop that runs hot to the touch almost certainly needs this done

If you’ve tried everything above and the computer is still slow, the hardware genuinely may be the bottleneck. Two upgrades make the biggest difference — and both are affordable.

• Upgrade from HDD to SSD: If your computer uses a traditional spinning hard drive (HDD), replacing it with an SSD is the single biggest performance upgrade possible. Boot times drop from 2 minutes to 15 seconds. Everything feels instant.
• Add more RAM: If you’re running 4GB of RAM on Windows 11, upgrading to 8GB or 16GB will make multitasking dramatically smoother
• Check if your laptop’s RAM is upgradeable before purchasing — some modern thin laptops solder RAM to the motherboard
• An SSD costs around ₹2,000–₹4,000 for 256GB and can give an old laptop 3–4 more productive years